Rapper 50 Cent will
make his acting debut, when he turns his attention to the silver screen for his
“semi-autobiographical” drama, “Locked and Loaded.”
The rapper will
play a former drug dealer, who leaves the seedy underworld behind for a career
in music.
Terence Winter,
who has gained critical acclaim as writer and executive producer of HBO’s
“The Sopranos” will write the screenplay.
Interscope founder
Jimmy Iovine and Eminem’s manager Paul Rosenberg will serve as producers.
Iovine and Rosenberg
also served as producers for Eminem’s smash movie, “8 Mile,”
which grossed almost $120 million at the box office.
According to reports,
the flick is part of a first-look feature film deal between MTV Films and Paramount.
In May of 2003,
the rapper announced that he had signed a book deal with MTV Books/Pocketbooks,
to create his autobiography.
The film is slated for a late 2005 or early 2006 release date.