Okay, maybe Will Smith set a precedent. Unfortunately, nobody else has been able to come close to his abilities. Guys like "50 Cent" are a "dime" a dozen. They all come off as street punks in every role. No real acting skill, just the ability to put on the gangsta face expression and point a gun at people sideways.
shareHey, I agree with you there, this 50 Cent is only worth 50 Cs in my books, gettho actor, I have no idea why people would want this "Thing" in any movie
shareice cube went to kids movies.....lol
share50 cent has a lot, money and pretty famous.
So what does he do to reach real stardom, he makes a movie and spends big bucks on names like willis and philippe thinking that acting next to them will make him look good.
The only problem is, when you can't act, you can't act.
Millions spent on names for the movie poster won't change that.
Yes he's always producing these craps, just check who's producer on this one...
The real shame is on willis and philippe for accepting the "roles" ($$) and supporting these doomed projects and this joke of an "actor".
In the end, 50 cent still looks absolutely retarded when he's trying to act and the real stars just put a sign on their forehead "will suck for cash".
Everybody loses except 50 cent who thought he was gonna become a movie star during the making of the "movie". Expensive illusion.
Not really true, OP. Some are quite good. As for where the idea came from; it arose as early as in the fifties, when people like Elvis, while a great singer, made a complete fool of himself trying to be an actor. The idea came from a long line of delusional rock/pop stars, and rappers are just the latest to jump the wagon.
Personally I can't stand rap and I certainly agree that most rappers in their public image come across as dense fúcks who have serious problems tying their own shoelaces. But there are certainly more rappers than Will Smith capable of acting.
Tupac Shakur recieved generally very good reviews for his acting, and I personally thought he was way better at that than his "day job" (check out Gridlock'd, for instance). Mos Def is good ("16 Blocks"). Ice Cube, as mentioned (though turned to horrible Disney stuff lately) recieved universal acclaim for some of his early movies ("Higher Learning"). Mark Wahlberg -- goes without saying.
So I disagree that Will Smith is the only one. I do agree however, that most of them (like rock/country/popsingers in general) should stick to the stage.
Way to generalize. Some singers can act, some can't. Rap is just another singer's medium, and way more challenging than a standard performance. (Most people can at least belt out a song that they've heard, but I challenge anyone to casually rap.) BTW, some rap is absolutely stellar. Some is absolutely crap.
Moz Def is an excellent actor. Ludicrous is very good too. Ice-T seems to be making a solid career acting. Busta Rhymes did a good job in "Finding Forrester."
"I'd never ask you to trust me. It's the cry of a guilty soul."
Mos Def cannot act...period
yes, that is just my opinion
I'm not even sure 5o cent can even rap worth a damn...Its all mono-tone this and mono-tone that.
You Just Brought A Gun To A Bomb Fight, Officer!!!
Mos Def, LL Cool J, Will Smith, Common, Queen Latifah, Chris Bridges (Ludacris), Tyrese Gibson, Ice T, Method Man Ice Cube (for the most part)...etc. Oh and before Mark Wahlberg hit it big, he was more famous as a rapper than an actor, think about that.
All of these guys (and gal) can act and some of them are actually damn good at it and some forget they had a "rap/hiphop" career because of how good they actually are at their craft.
There are far more crappy actors that are mainly actors than they are rappers that are trying to get better at acting, just remember that. For every 1 bad rapper turned actor there are about 50 really terrible actors.
As for Curtis Jackson, I've noticed he's been getting better, but it's a slight improvement in each project he's apart of. There is definitely a place for him in movies, but maybe much smaller roles.
I think the problem is that 50 cent is so terrible it's hard to believe or remember the amount of successful rappers turned actors. He has three expressions:
1) smiling
2) blank
3) frowning
mos def is an amazing actor
and will smith is phenomenal, where along the way did you become actor master who decides who can act? 50 cent may not be an amazing actor but theres a reason hes a multi-millionare who is in movies and you aren't.
Cause he got shot 9 times?
share50 Cent gets in movies because he pays his way through it. He ends up being a back end producer, and fronts a lot of the expenses to make any movie he wants. He's worth over 900 million so he can afford it, that's for sure.
there have been over 5 movies (written by 50 Cent) that went right to DVD. one of them was Gun, another was "before I self destruct", another was his first role "get rich or die tryin" - I'd have to look at IMDB for the other ones...but basically, it's his money, he fronts it all, writes the script, the script then gets 100 re-writes, and he's the leading man, and the film goes right to DVD. he never sees a dime of profit, mostly loss...but he likes to do all of that just to feel that sense of worth as an actor. It's hugely pathetic...the weird thing, is that in some movies, he's actually "not that bad". When he gets shot, or has a crying scene, or a screaming/emotional scene...he's not bad, but direct dialogue is his problem.
anyway, just proves that if you have enough money, you can do whatever you want.
Tupac and Mos Def were/are both good. But most are indeed very poor. 50 Cent is for me, one of the worst, but his name value and obvious desire to be an actor lead to him getting roles that are way, way beyond him.
shareActing like you were shot and hiding for 20 years doesn't count.
As for who started this, I blame it on Ice Cube's scowl being confused with acting.
Because they surround themselves with yes-men and don't realize they suck because nobody tells them so. Anyone with a lot of money gets to treat earth like their playground. It's much different at the top. If someone you know became famous, would you spend all your time sucking up to them, or calling them on their *beep* You'd suck up because you want some of what they got.
share