"I Was Happy To See 50 Cent Get To A New Place. This Is Kind Of A Gift To Him"

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In light of the Academy Awards just a few days away, Hollywood actor/director Mario Van Peebles chopped it up with SOHH to discuss working alongside G-Unit's 50 Cent for their new All Things Fall Apart film.

Peebles said while fans may be impressed by their onscreen presence, it is the message he hopes leaves a lasting mark.

"I'm excited about it, I was excited working with 50 Cent on it," Peebles told SOHH. "I was happy to see him get to a new place. This is kind of a gift to him. It wasn't about headlines or money. There's a scene in the garage where you have Mario Van Peebles and 50 Cent but you also have [characters] 'Deon' and 'Eric' and there are some strong points being made. You build the house but forget to make the stuff the house is built under. You buy the record, but forget to buy the record label. It's about making you think, 'How can I be in the business of what I love?' If you've dropped out of school but never worked on your b-game -- your football, basketball, sports game is only going to carry you until you're 30 if you're lucky." (SOHH)

The Hollywoood veteran also used Fif as a prime example of someone capitalizing off something bigger than just one talent.

"Then you have to get your street game in order," he added. "50's always doing that. He's doing Vitaminwater, he produced the movie, he's producing his records, he's producing other artists and then you get your bigger hustle on, your Quincy Jones life-long hustle on. Not your short term hustle. Get your Magic Johnson hustle on where you go from being on the Lakers court to having your own theaters. You have to do things that are sustainable. (SOHH)

Last September, Peebles recalled how much weight Fif lost to portray the film's protagonist.

"Everyone has a different skill set that takes us inside his or her characters and 50 Cent's got good timing. I think he really held his own against actors like Ray Liotta, Lynn Whitfield and myself--we've all been in the game for awhile," Van Peebles said in an interview. "He never gave up. 50 was ready and I really worked him all the way. He really has a natural sense for acting...I had to lose weight--about 20 pounds when I played Malcolm X in Ali, but 50 Cent was losing so much weight I started calling him twenty five cents. He lost a lot of weight to do the role -- and we just timed it out so that 50 could slowly add the weight back on when we would shoot certain scenes. He was dedicated, incredibly focused and took it really seriously." (BET)

Prior to its nationwide release, 50 said he did not envision walking home with an Academy Award for his portrayal of a cancer victim.

He said he doesn't anticipate winning awards for his acting role. "Well, you know, I haven't received accolades that comes with the success that I've had in music," he said. "It would be a surprise" to win any acting awards, he said, noting that it's already a reward to have people aware of the role. (Billboard)