Talking to Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson on the phone is an educational experience: he might have a bullet-proof vest, bulging biceps, and the G-Unit, but did you know he could cry on cue?
Better known as a hip-hop megastar, there's more to this celebrity than catchy hooks and on Nov. 9, moviegoers will get a chance to see his incredible tale on the big screen, a film that shares the name of his breakout album and personal mantra, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." Co-starring summer smash hit Terrence Howard and piloted by the six-time Academy Award-nominated director Jim Sheridan, I got a chance to talk to Mr. Jackson about his film debut, rapping, and how he's been affected by fatherhood.
Question: You've said in the past that the trials you've had in your life have gotten you where you are today, and that's obviously a big premise in your movie. Would you have rather had a normal life and not had those things happen to you or are you glad that they happened and you would keep things the way they are?
CJ: For me, I'd keep things exactly the way they are, you know? If it didn't feel so bad then, it wouldn't feel so good now. What we consider a 'normal life' may be a life where people don't actually come into their own and be able to show some significance about them as a person. Like, I'm from the bottom, so my situation either becomes inspiring to people or they're envious because they're not in the same position I'm in. But overall, I feel good about my accomplishments. And I don't believe ambition is a learned behavior; I believe it's part of your character. I realized, comin' up without finances, it felt like finances would be the answer to all my problems, and it wasn't until I acquired the finances that I realized what truly makes me happy is setting new goals and accomplishments.
Q: Was it less difficult to do this movie because it was based on your life?
CJ: When you play a character...people do research; the majority of the time, they have to do research to kinda create who this character is in their heads, and the mannerisms, and how they would respond to certain things. Having the film be loosely based on myself, it was easier at some points, and it was more difficult at some points, because I had to get myself mentally in the space that I was in when I was going through those things so that I could identify with where I was at certain points. Because if you put yourself in a real upsetting situation... like, I was able to cry on cue, but then the next scene is a scene that is almost comedy -- how do you come from that? You know what I'm saying? It's all shot out of sequence.
Q: You talked earlier about people saying things about your [graphic movie] posters, but what is your feeling? [In one of the promotional posters for "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," 50 Cent holds an infant in one arm while the butt of a gun protrudes from his waistband.] What do you say about the conflicting views there?
CJ: I say that it's all their perception of me, and that's been created by all the publications again. In my eyes, the photograph I'm showing you is that I'm the protector in the situation. I actually have my son in one arm and the gun behind me, like I'm gonna do whatever it takes to do what I'm trying to do. And it was perfect; I thought the photograph was a great representation of the actual film, because I was really aggressive in order to get by in the environment where I was from, and I had the option to write music for a living.
But when I committed to write music for a living was when my son came into the picture. [Before,] if I had to go to jail, where I had to go away and sit on the bench for a little bit, the only person it would be bothering was me -- I was my only responsibility at that point. When my son came into the picture, he changed my life; he became my priority. And I had to provide for him, so I know that if I wasn't physically available to provide for him, nobody else would. So the poster, we know we've seen way bigger guns than that gone -- you [only] see a handle sticking out on my back! And we've seen guns pointed at us, machine guns, every kind of gun you could think of, on film; they're using it to market the film, and that's the truth.
