Our intrepid — and damn lucky — contributor Chris Azzopardi got down and dirty with two of the hot men in Magic Mike, the mega-gay-appealing male stripper movie coming out this Friday: Channing Tatum and Joe Mangianello. Here’s the interview:
STRIPPED DOWN
“Wearing a thong is a pain in the ass,” says Joe Manganiello with complete disregard to the glaring innuendo. Beat. “Oh, god. I can’t believe I just said that.”
Who can blame him? Avoiding double entendres about Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh’s unexpected (but completely acceptable) foray into the male-stripper world is hard (see?).
Magic Mike stars Manganiello of True Blood, homo heartthrob Matt Bomer, Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum, the latter the movie’s muse, after it was revealed that the gay-loved dreamboat wasn’t just busting a move in 2006’s breakout role Step Up — before acting, he was pocketing dollar bills for his dance moves, too. One of Hollywood’s hottest actors, known for melting hearts in Dear John and The Vow, was suddenly faced with a pole-dancing past. His stripper alias? Chan Crawford.
“That’s so lame,” Tatum says in our recent interview. “I didn’t choose it. But Crawford? What am I: Cindy Crawford’s brother?”
OK, let’s face it: It looks silly, it looks cheesy …. and you so want to see Magic Mike — the movie with Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello and their thong-encased junk. It doesn’t open until June 29, but you can see it more than a week early, and for free. Just go to 
