Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, and Mike Ruffalo Take Cannes By Storm With ‘Foxcatcher’

It would appear that Channing Tatum has traded in his Magic Mike moves for a dramatic role alongside Steve Carell and Mike Ruffalo in Foxcatcher, which debuted in Cannes recently. The trailer for the movie was released on Monday, with an anticipated public release date of November 14, 2014.

Foxcatcher is a true crime drama movie about an offbeat, but affluent man by the name of John du Pont, who is seeking to put together a medal-winning wrestling team to compete in the Olympics. The character of du Pont is played by Steve Carell, who previously popularized the hit TV show The Office and is perhaps best known for his many comedic movies. In the movie, however, Carell portrays a character that is out of context with his normal comedic routine. NY Daily News calls Carell’s portrayal of du Pont ‘nearly unrecognizable’ as an antagonist in the film as it contrasts with the normally light-hearted characters that he plays.

The film is said to already be generating Oscar buzz, according to Daily Mail Online:

“Meanwhile, the powerfully disturbing true-crime saga debuted to rave reviews as critics predict a clutch of Oscars for the 134-minute movie.”

In the movie, du Pont recruits the Schultz brothers, played by Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, to join his elite wrestling team. The two brothers are highly successful amateur wrestlers, with both having won Olympic Gold Medals, NCCA Division One Titles, and World Championships. They began training at the du Pont financed facility to prepare for another Olympic bid.

The older brother Mark Schultz is played by Ruffalo, and the younger sibling Dave, who incurs much of du Pont’s eccentric wrath, is portrayed by Channing Tatum.

Foxcatcher was directed by Bennett Miller, who also directed Capote and Moneyball, which were also favored with Oscar nominations. The movie also features a role by Sienna Miller, who plays du Pont’s wife.

The storyline follows the 1996 shooting of Mark Schultz while he was actively training and coaching at the famed Foxcatcher National Training Center, a state-of-the-art Olympic athlete training center. The property on which the center was built belonged to John du Pont, who was the heir to the vast fortune left to him by his late great-great-grandfather E.I. du Pont, who founded the DuPont corporation.

The three stars worked the red carpet in Cannes, where the movie was shown at a private screening for industry professionals. Footage shows them playfully snapping pictures of one another and the audience while posing for candid shots for the paparazzi. However, of his role as Mark Schultz, Channing was quoted as saying, “It was the hardest acting challenge I’ve had to date,’ when interviewed by the LA Times.