Published: Wednesday - November 9, 2005
Words by Allen Starbury
50 Cent (Photo: Paramount Films)
With 50 Cent's acting debut hitting the big screen, people are wondering how he will do as an actor, considering the fact that he has dominated the music industry for nearly three years.
Just a week before his movie and corresponding soundtrack was scheduled to drop, 50 put himself out there for questioning and went over some of the most relevant questions about the film. Some of those being: how he made the transition from music to movies, how his experience with director Jim Sheridan and actor Terrance Howard was, and obvious questions about his how similar were the scenes in the movie to his actual life.
BallerStatus participated in a conference call with 50 to answer some of these questions as well as many others relating to his life and "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'."
BallerStatus.com: When you are playing a character in a movie like this, say the character gets shot, do you ever think like the scene shooting scene can outdo what happened to you in real life? You got shot nine times. Do you think Hollywood can recreate something like that?
50 Cent: Well, I think that we are going to recapture the mood of the actual situation that we did without totally emulating it the same way. We created another scenario that will give that same impression and effects on me during that situation. In the film I get shot in front of the house that my grandmother lived in. My grandmother actually was in front my house when I got shot, so there are some facts to it while it is been fabricated a little bit. How it happens is different.
BallerStatus.com: Did you take any acting lessons to prepare? If you did, did long-time people like Terrence Howard and Bill Duke have any advice in what they say to you?
50 Cent: You know what I did? I did not take acting lessons. I didn't take acting classes or read Shakespeare or anything like that. But when they were calling me to read over the script, we did it so many times that I had the actual scenarios into my head to the point that they were fluent.
When you read the script, sometimes a great actor or someone who is familiar with reading the script tells you what the actual emotions are [that] gives you an example of how you should respond. Because reading a book and reading a screen play are two different things. So, I worked with someone for awhile just going through it as the screenplay kept changing because I hadn't had the experience with the film process. I did not realize when I got the first draft that there would be two more drafts of it. We went over the first draft and then the script changed and it changed again, so by the time we got there, I kind of had to know where I was at because the actual person I worked with earlier on...we let her go. Terence did not think she would be the right person to stay with me the entire time.
BallerStatus.com: She was an acting coach?
50 Cent: Yes.
BallerStatus.com: Now "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" has become kind of like your slogan. It was the title of your first album, and it is the title of your movie. Do you think that is really what life is all about -- trying to get rich at all costs? Do you think that is a positive message to send to the youth?
50 Cent: You know what I think? When you say "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," according to your perception of the person who is saying that is going to change what the actual statement means. If you are a real person and a positive person, and they say they are going to get rich or die trying, you are going to automatically assume this person is determined. See what I am saying?
But if your perception of the person is negative, then you think it is literally "get rich or die trying." For me the message that you are trying to send on an artist's level, I think that you sit and base everything and every decision that you are making based on what someone else is going to appreciate. I wrote the title of that album and the actual album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', based on the mood of the things that were going on around me. The actual album is a reflection of the environment that I have worked in, so it is aggressive. Because I sold 11 million records with it and the masses recognize [and] associate "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" with 50 Cent, I titled my film after it.
For every one person who purchased my album (my solo album), there was one person who stole it or downloaded it or however else they can get it and there are probably two other people who enjoyed some of the music while it was playing that didn't bother to buy it. So, I mean, I probably generated the interest of 44 million people. So, if you make reference to that name it makes perfect sense.
BallerStatus.com: What was it like to work with Jim Sheridan, as far as his directing? Did you find it an interesting experience?
50 Cent: Jim was great. Before I had gone into the film "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," I sat back and I watched "In America" and I watched his other films prior -- "My Left Foot." I was excited about working with him. He was cool. I don't know if he had prepared to meet me or this was his true character because attitude was consistent the entire time.
He is different...his lifestyle. When you look at him, he is from Dublin. So, life in Dublin is far different from South Jamaica, Queens. But, it is parallel in the actual behaviors and the mood of things. He was able to capture it on film and I am very proud of "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." I got a chance to work with the likes of Terrence Howard, Joy Bryant, Bill Duke, Omar Miller and Tory Kittles to name a few. It was a big learning experience for me.
BallerStatus.com: Was it a big transition for you going from making music videos to making a real movie?
50 Cent: Absolutely. You know when you make a music video, you spend a lot of time performing directly into the camera. On film, you never are supposed to look at the camera unless it is one of those films where you are actually talking to the audience. It was a transition; it was something for me to actually get used to. Like they give you a mark where there's not even a person there for you to deliver your line to, you know? You are supposed to respond as far as expressions and everything else naturally like you were talking to somebody. So, it was definitely different from everything I have experienced in music videos, even though some of the music will have a theme or a platform where you are doing a little acting.
BallerStatus.com: When you are making music videos it is much faster, it is much lower budget and it doesn't require as many takes as far as my understanding is. But, when you are making a movie and it is just take after take after take, I assume that is how it works for you. How do you stay in character? How does the performance of something where you have to do it over and over again differ from being on stage or on a music video where it is much more spontaneous in the moment?
50 Cent: For me, having it be my first time doing a film, I was focused on a doing a good job. The success that I have had with music and everything else...you see a lot of successful musicians making films and not be successful creating a good film. I went there with that pressure on my mind, so I stayed focused during each one of the shots because I wanted to make sure I was giving the best possible performance. Overall, I think the transition from music to film is an easier transition than it would be for an actor to make the transition to music.
That is because you become typecast by the music people. They decide who you are based on your hits. For me, it hasn't even been my records. It has been more about what journalists and other media outlets have reported about me.
BallerStatus.com: Is that accurate? Has the reporting been...
50 Cent: I mean, some of it is accurate. Other stuff, they just fabricate it to sell...to generate the interest of the public. They just throw it out there. They have to give you a test of the realness before they do something fake, so you can believe it.
BallerStatus.com: The real is in this movie?
50 Cent: Yes. Do you know what it is that sells? I will give you an example. I get shot in the film, right? But, I am not in the car; I got shot in the car. My grandmother calls me while I am actually getting shot. My grandmother did not call me or I did not hear her call me, but she was in my front yard. So the experience is different, but it still sets the mood of what actually took place.
BallerStatus.com: Because this movie is sort of autobiographical, what was it like to replay some of the scenes especially some tougher times in your life?
50 Cent: It is loosely based, but there were points where I had to make reference to situations I had really been through in order to accurately portray my character on the screen. It is therapeutic at some point.
BallerStatus.com: Was it rough for you?
50 Cent: One particular scene...because people always point to me getting shot again -- that experience. But that did not bother me as much because we changed it a little bit. You know what I mean? The actual scene that was kind of eerie for me was the operating scene. In other words, I was on the operating table and it took us about eight hours to get the small portion that we use in the film. I had prosthetics, makeup and all this stuff on me, so I couldn't really move. When it was like "Cut," I could open my eyes...all you do is open your eyes and see the operating room.
I spent those eight hours with actors over me delivering dialogue doing good jobs and acting like surgeons. So for me, I had been in the actual place before, but I had been unconscious. It was a whole different feeling. When I got up from that particular scene...when it was done and we wrapped up, I kind of did not want to really talk to people and run around playing and stuff like that. I went straight back to my trailer and relaxed.
BallerStatus.com: With top selling CD's and now your new movie, what can we expect next from you? Do you think you are going to go to maybe take a break from some music and do some more acting? Or are you going to make some entrepreneurial things?
50 Cent: I am always looking forward to new options and opportunities to open up for me, so I will explore everything possible on the business level. As far as acting is concerned, I won't do it again until I find a script or screenplay that is exciting enough for me to commit to it.
BallerStatus.com: I saw that Terrence Howard has like a small role in your movie. I just wanted to know if you saw "Hustle & Flow" and what you thought of it and how your movie is going to compare to that?
50 Cent: I saw "Hustle & Flow." I think Terrence is great. He is showing you once again you don't have to win to fight with a knockout. You can always be a combination with a performance; "Crash" and his performance in "Hustle & Flow. Definitely this one when they see it, they are really going to enjoy it. He's a great actor.
BallerStatus.com: Rappers are usually considers sellouts when they become a mainstream or commercial artist. With you transition to film, this may even help to fuel that point. Do you every worry about your street credibility being lost?
50 Cent: No. I am progressing; I am moving forward. As far as street cred, I think the more successful you are, the less street you are. So, the object is to stay street but stay relevant. They say since I sold so many records, they say I am pop. Pop is short for popular. But, the content of the music is still a representation of the environment that I come from.
That element gives me...like right now, there are people on Channel 7 news and see them protesting saying that do you think this is the message we should be sending our kids and to have a gun on the advertisements for the film? They say do you think this is promoting violence? But, we know how often they utilize guns as marketing tools to sell movies. If not, all we have to do is walk into our local Blockbuster or video store that rents tapes and get a look because it is all over the place.
They are pointing at me at this point because there are certain standards placed on music as an art form that aren't applied to any other forms of entertainment. Because I am coming from music, they felt like it is promoting violence directly. I am adjusting to it. When you become successful and you are in the public eye, you become public property, so you are subjected to all kinds of things.
BallerStatus.com: Does that get frustrating?
50 Cent: Well, you have to accept it. You have to learn how to take it for what it is. This is definitely going to happen, so there is no reason for me to get worked up or upset about it. Or how about this? How about the same people on the Channel 7 news wouldn't allow me to call them to promote my film but because they say that, they will promote that I am promoting violence. It does work as a benefit to marketing of the actual film because they hate it, but it still works.
BallerStatus.com: How much control do you give someone telling your story, be it Jim Sheridan or a screenwriter or anyone else?
50 Cent: If you are smart, you give them all the control. My adjustments were with Terry Winter, the writer of the screenplay. When Jim came into the picture, I fell back. I played my position and that is only because Terry was using information he compiled with me to create the screenplay. I was making sure that things were 100% accurately similar to some of my experiences.
Jim, when he came in to make the film, I hadn't made a film before, so I would be a fool to be standing there saying, "No, we should do it like this" when I never even had been through that process or even been around a film being created. So, I let him do what he does best and I got into character and did what I had to do to give a good performance. I can't wait until everyone sees it.
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