Don’t put away the body oil and spangled thongs just yet, gentlemen: Hollywood’s love affair with male strippers is, clearly, far from over.
After the amazing success of “Magic Mike” put male stripping on the cinematic map, producers are raring to put even more men onstage wearing naught but banana hammocks. Three new movies about nude-dude dancers have made the news this week, and the latest entry into the genre, “Chocolate City,” is an urban take on the classic tale of a young, struggling student who turns to stripping to make ends meet.
Tyson Beckford is in talks for the starring role in that film, according to Deadline. The model/actor would play a veteran stripper who takes the young (as-yet uncast) ingenue under his wing. Michael Jai White is also circling a supporting role as the club owner.
“Chocolate City” is finding its cast at a high-profile moment for male strippers, with a trailer for Joe Manganiello’s documentary “La Bare” making its splashy, flesh-filled premiere this week as well.
But if you’re looking for proof of Hollywood’s ongoing fascination with this subject matter, then the most compelling evidence yet is a surprise revelation from a GQ interview with Channing Tatum, about who’s manning the cameras on “Magic Mike XXL.”
As it turns out, director Steven Soderbergh, who opened the door for the oeuvre at large when he collaborated with Tatum on “Magic Mike,” and who’s technically supposed to be retired from filmmaking, just couldn’t stay away when the cameras started rolling on the next installment of this stripper story. Soderbergh’s serving as director of photography and film editor on the sequel.
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