USA: Controversies over guns and violence mar the debut of rapper 50 Cent's new film, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."

50 Cent has made the move from gangsta rapper to movie star in "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," a semi-biographical story about a drug dealer who abandons crime to pursue a music career. And just like 50 Cent's music, his movie has raised concerns about the promotion and glorification of guns and violence. The R-rated film, whose title is taken from 50 Cent's major-label debut album that sold more than 7 million copies, is due to open November 9. 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, said he has been longing to get his real life story out. "It's important for me to tell the story because there's been pieces of my life, through different media outlets, people got a chance to hear portions of it and they made assumptions about who I am without actually having the information, so me making this film is allowing them to have a little more accurate idea of who I am and they can make their judgements based on that," he said. But some people are pre-judging the film, saying that it provokes violence. Controversy has erupted over billboards for his new movie, some of which had been hung near grade schools and were taken down by Paramount Pictures after public protests. The posters feature 50 Cent stripped to the waist with his bullet-scarred back to the camera and arms stretched out, holding a microphone and a gun. 50 Cent turns a blind eye to all the controversy, citing that the poster is merely a marketing tool. "When you go to a Blockbuster or a local video store where you can rent DVDs or cassettes, you'll be able to find hundreds and hundreds of references to weapons used on the covers to market the actual film, and nobody had a problem with any of them until they see 50 Cent with a gun because there are different standards based on music. If you went into a music store, you wouldn't find many CDs distributed through a major record company that had those images, so I understand why they're saying those things but it's absolutely nonsense," he explained. Director of "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," Jim Sheridan said that everyone is making too big a deal out of the poster, and that people need to focus on real guns, and not Hollywood props. "So I'm not really so concerned about cardboard guns on a poster. I'd be much more concerned about real guns. So I think they should make a bigger effort to get rid of the guns. It's kind of insane to think that freedom depends on having a gun in your hand, and if it does, they can't expect the most disenfranchised, poorest part of society not to have guns," said Sheridan. 50 Cent served prison time during his days in the illegal drug business and was once shot nine times in an assassination attempt before he hit it big in music. He said that hip hop, for most artists, is just a reflection of their violent surroundings. "A lot of people that are actually involved in hip hop culture come from environments that are violent, so they kind of write from an aggressive standpoint," he said. 50 Cent's latest CD, "Massacre," has sold 4.7 million copies in the United States since its release in March. And with a personal biography already on bookshelves, and a movie ready for theatres, 50 Cent might just prove that violence can pay.

ITN Source | November 5, 2005

Tags:. .career. .stripped. .promotion. .jackson. .protests