Wendy R. Williams talks with Fifty Cent, Terrence Howard, Joy Bryant, Jim Sheridan and Terence Winter of Get Rich or Die Tryin’ Essex Hotel, New York City October 30, 2005 Movie Opens November 9, 2005 Photo Credits – Wendy R. Williams
	Fifty Cent

The Interview with Curtis “Fifty Cent” Jackson

Question: Why did you want to make this movie?

Curtis Jackson: I wanted to bring my message to people who don’t listen to Hip-Hop. This movie is a 75% accurate story of my life.

Question: What are some of the things that are not the same?

Curtis Jackson: I have no interest in meeting my father.

Question: How did it feel to relive your life in film?

Curtis Jackson: It is hard to get back into the emotions you felt before. But the biggest misconception (out there) is that I have bad intentions. I would rather that people judge me in the film then on other information.

Question: How did you feel about your bill board being removed from the vicinity of schools?

Curtis Jackson: I can’t have a gun on a poster but you walk into the video store and there they are on the cover of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Question: What other actresses would you like to have as a love interest in a movie?

Curtis Jackson: To perform a love scene? (His answer was only an enormous smile.)

Question: What do you want out of life?

Curtis Jackson: At one point in my life I was the only one who believed in me. My grand parents thought I was weird. I would sit by the radio working on my rap (but it looked like I was) mumbling to the radio. But now I had four of the number one selling albums in one year, I have my clothing line G-Unit and I am releasing a new game, Bulletproof.

Question: Would you mother have liked this film if she were still alive?

Curtis Jackson: If she were still alive, it would be a different film.

Question: Your life story has Shakespearean overtones. The death of the dark prince, the search for the father, the warring clans.

Curtis Jackson: Jim Sheridan put all of that in the film.
(Note from New York Cool – Fifty Cent’s life is a Shakespearean play, actually several of them.)

Question: Would you talk about writing music?

Curtis Jackson: I was inspired to really start writing music when my son was born.

Question: Do you worry about your personal security?

Curtis Jackson: I am more vulnerable because of where I am from. When you come from nothing and are successful, you are either a source of inspiration or a source of envy. I take precautions.

The Interview with Terrence Howard

Terrance Howard and Joy Bryant

Question: Would you talk about the similarities of your character Bama in Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and your character in Hustle & Flow, DJay? .

Terrence Howard: There are similarities in the creative aspects of movie characters, but they are different facets of a diamond. My character in Get Rich or Die Tryin’ is actually based on a real character in Fifty’s life, a guy names Country, who is no longer around.

Question: Tell us about the nude shower scene. Now we are under strict orders not to review the movie until it opens, so I can only hint about the shower scene, but it is set in a prison and there is a knife and Terrence (among others) was nude.

Terrence Howard: Well, it was a really cold day. We were supposed to wear biker shorts and be shot from the waist up but it just wasn’t working. Jim Sheridan is this little leprechaun who can show you the way to the gold at the end of the rainbow. But I saw his frustration about the scene not working, so I finally just said, “let do it.” After all, Curtis was the one with the most to lose, he's the one the guys in the hood will freeze frame and say, "Hey, look at Fifty's ass." But Fifty just said, “Let’s do this quickly before Terrence changes his mind.” An actor uses his body as his instrument. You don’t just act from the shoulders up.

Question: How about working with a novice actor like Fifty (Curtis Jackson).

Terrence Howard: Acting is story telling and Fifty has been telling his story through music all his life. It is like an artist switching from acrylic to oil. The day I first met Fifty, he was in a room and as I passed it, I could feel his presence. He has such a strong life force, it is like he has lived before.

Question: Have you had the leap to fame that everyone predicted you would have from Hustle & Flow?

Terrence Howard: I have actually had more of a leap from Crash, but Hustle & Flow definitely fanned the flame.

Question: There is a lot of violence within the hip-hop culture. Are you afraid that you might be attacked because of this movie When we went to the press screening, there were metal detectors. I thought it was to prevent video cameras but after I saw the movie, I thought to myself, well, duh…..maybe they were looking for guns.

Terrence Howard: I think they were actually looking for video cameras. I have never seen a movie get pirated as quickly as Hustle & Flow. The movie probably lost $60,000,000 to the bootleg market. Most of the time when I am congratulated on the movie by someone from the ghetto, they say they saw the movie at home and it has not been released to DVD.

John Lennon sang about beauty and love and he was shot. I walk the streets of the city at night with Fifty and we are okay.

The Interview with Joy Bryant

Joy Bryant

Question: What are the similarities between you and your character?

Joy Bryant: I was born and raised in the Bronx and the scene where you first see my grown character (Charlene) reconnect with Marcus (the character play by Curtis “Fifty Cent” Jackson) was in my old neighborhood, the neighborhood I left when I was thirteen. Some of my old friends from junior high came to the set to say hello.

Question: Aren’t you going to be in the new Usher movie?

Joy Bryant: No. What kind of story is that? I was in the Usher video not the movie. But if I am, what is my part and how much am I going to get paid?

Question: Did you ever aspire to be a rapper?

Joy Bryant: No, but as a kid I was a break dancer - my claim to ghetto celebrity. I wanted to be a DJ but the guys kept taking the records away from me.

Question: How about your looks? (This girl is a real looker).

Joy Bryant: My grandmother raised me and she raised me to think about education, not men. I was a nerd (she went to Yale). I didn’t even think about my looks until I started modeling.

Question: How was the audition process for your part in Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ?

Joy Bryant : I read with Fifty and was instantly offered the part. Jim is like that, when he sees it, he decides.

Question: How was it to work with Curtis Jackson? Were there any problems with him being a new actor?

Joy Bryant: He was one thousand percent present and focused. This was his life story. It is harder to play yourself than it might seem. Sometimes if you have to much process you over think. Fifty went purely from instinct.

Question: How was performing a love scene with Fifty?

Joy Bryant: Denzel Washington always told me to be fearless as an actor. I think it was harder for Fifty. I was a model and was used to standing in a room filled with people (at a fashion show) either in my underwear or sometimes topless. I had more of a problem keeping a straight face while listening to Jim’s instructions (about how they were to act the sex scene). But Fifty is hot.

Question: Who made your jacket?

Joy Bryant: Chanel.

The Interview with Director Jim Sheridan

Jim Sheridan

Question: How did you get involved with the project?

Jim Sheridan: Bono knew I love rap and told me about Fifty. I love music that tells a story like “Big John” “Every morning at the mine…” Narrative in song. I listened to Snoop Dog in my car. People would look at me like , “What is this little European guy doing listening to that music?”.

Question: How was it working with Fifty?

Jim Sheridan: I had a brother who died when he was seventeen. When I saw Fifty and that bullet scar on his face, my heart just went out to him. I wanted to protect him. I came from a rough neighborhood (in Ireland) and I grew up knowing how to fight.

Question: How about your process as a director?

Jim Sheridan: I want to stop the fear – give my actors freedom. If you carefully back light them, they can’t be free to create. If you tell them to be on a certain mark, they can’t be free. Acting has to be unconscious. And I need to be free. I can’t be worried about being exposed as an unconscious racist if I just say whatever I think. I have to take that risk to be free

Question: How was it making a black movie?

Jim Sheridan: I had never before thought about doing a black movie. Fifty said that having black skin worked out very well when black people were in the jungle because they could not be seen. When you are lighting back skin, you need to bounce the light. Black skin reflects light.

Question: How was it to work with a first time actor like Curtis?

Jim Sheridan: Acting is one of those crafts that you can learn 90% of it in 10% of the time. The first few days I did have to give him some instructions about keeping his eyes and feet still. But the skill of the craft is not to learn how to stand on a line. The skill of the craft is to be true. Start with the people – make it real for them – worry about lighting it later.

Question: What about the Shakespearean (or Operatic) undertones?

Jim Sheridan: I worked that into the movie. The theme of the search for the father.

Interview with Terence Winter (Screenwriter of Get Rich or Die Tryin' and Executive Producer and Writer for The Sopranos)

Terence Winter

Question: Tell us about women and Fifty Cent.

Terence Winter: I traveled with Fifty for two months and women were always throwing themselves at him, but I never saw anything - at least not in my hotel room. And I never saw him drink anything stronger than vitamin water.

Fifty’s life is already a movie script. It is laid out in three acts with a hell of a climatic second act – when he is shot and loses his music contract and has to start over again.

I worked with Fifty for eight months to get his voice in my head so I could write him. I was expecting him to be a much tougher person – more of a gangster. He is a really sweet guy and a great story teller.

Question: Were you surprised by the emotion of Fifty’s acting – the parts where he has to cry.

Terence Winter: Fifty grew up in an environment where he had to control himself to stay alive.

Question: What stories did Fifty tell you about his life?

Terence Winter: Fifty told me once that he was never addicted to crack - he was addicted to selling crack. It was like being a gambler with a room in Vegas. When you go to bed at 3AM in the morning, you know that if you just walk to the corner you will make money.

He also told me a story about how a car dealer he dealt with sold the same car to another dealer and he yelled at him. I asked why and he told me that he could have been mistaken for the other dealer and killed.

Question: Did Fifty like the script?

Terence Winter: I wrote the script alone and when I finally gave it to him, I was worried that he would say things like, “That’s not what happened.” But he loved it.

Question: Is it true that Fifty throw money to the kids in his old neighborhood?

Terence Winter: He gives back.

Question: What are the differences between The Sopranos and the world of Get Rich or Die Tryin’?

Terence Winter: The food and the clothes.

Check back on November 9, 2005 for New York Cool’s review of Get Rich or Die Tryin’.