FLASHBACK: Things Fall Apart: How Chinua Achebe forced 50 Cent to change film title

In June, Nigerian literature enthusiasts gathered in Enugu State for a week-long celebration that brought together leading literary voices, cultural enthusiasts, historians, and artists.

The event was the 67th anniversary of the publication of ‘Things Fall Apart’, Chinua Achebe’s literary classic that redefined African literature.

Regarding cultural impact, Achebe’s late literary work is considered a cornerstone of modern African literature.

Published in 1958, ‘Things Fall Apart’ has sold more than eight million copies worldwide.

So, when in 2010, American rapper, actor and film producer, Curtis Jackson, famously known as 50 Cent, announced his movie of the same title, the Achebe Foundation expectedly kicked against it.

The celebrated novelist was 80 at the time. Incidentally, he died in 2013, three years after the incident and two years after the movie’s release.

At the time of his death, Achebe was primarily based in the United States, specifically in Boston, Massachusetts.

He had been teaching at Bard College and later at Brown University, both in the United States.

Upended

Despite the novel’s acclaim in the literary world, 50 Cent claimed not to be aware of its existence.

The rapper spent much of 2010 shooting his film of the same name, even though the storylines in both artistic pieces are worlds apart.

“It’s a project that I wrote, produced and financed myself,” he explained in 2010.

After being contacted by Achebe’s legal team, 50 Cent was said to have offered $1m to hold on to the title, which the Foundation found laughable.

“The novel with the title was initially produced in 1958 (17 years before 50 was born).

“It is listed as the most-read book in modern African literature, and won’t be sold for even £1bn,” The Guardian UK quotes Achebe’s lawyers as saying.

Having reached a stalemate, the business mogul changed the title of his movie to ‘All Things Fall Apart’. This was to enable it to meet the release dates.

All Things Fall Apart

Released in 2011, the movie follows the life of Deon (50 Cent), a skilled college running back, who falls ill from a genetic disease just when he was about to go into the championships of the NFL.

Idolised for his athletic ability, Deon shares the glory on and off the football field.

His mother, Bee, is incredibly proud, and his younger brother, Sean, is understandably jealous.

Also in the mix is Deon’s stepfather, Eric, who sees him as a winning lottery ticket.

Deon has to claw his way out of the debilitating effects of cancer to see if he can play again.

The movie is a 2011 American direct-to-video drama directed by Mario Van Peebles.

In addition to 50 Cent, it stars Ray Liotta, Mario Van Peebles, Lynn Whitfield, Ambyr Childers, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Cedric Sanders, Tracey Heggins, Steve Eastin, Chanel Farrell and others.

Extreme transformation

Other than the controversy surrounding the movie’s title, ‘All Things Fall Apart’ drew public discourse when pictures from the set first hit the internet in 2010.

When the pictures of the photographs of the otherwise burly 50-year-old first hit the internet, many thought it was doctored.

Understandably, in the photographs, an otherwise burly 50 looked emaciated.

But that wasn’t the case. The actor and rapper had dug deep into his inner Denzel Washington to deliver a role that made him look almost unrecognisable.

Explaining how he managed to pull off the extreme transformation without needing CGI, he said he went on a liquid-only diet, working out three hours a day on a treadmill for nine weeks to achieve the necessary look.

This transformation saw him go from 97kg to 72.5kg, shedding 24.5kg.

A similar transformation in Hollywood was Christian Bale’s weight loss for The Machinist, where he lost 28.5kg.

But it’s not the first time that the rapper has been in that condition, revealing that when he was shot in the jaw in 2000, he could only drink liquids, and his weight dropped to 157 lbs (71 kg).

He admitted to the Associated Press in 2010, “This time it was a lot tougher for me.

“I had to discipline myself not to be in the physical state to convey the energy I felt. It’s a passion project for me.”

Soon after the film wrapped up, the star returned to the gym to return those kilograms.

Other than his success in music, 50 Cent has proven his acting abilities in films such as ‘Southpaw’, ‘Den of Thieves’, and the critically acclaimed and popular TV series ‘Power’ (2014-2020).

In 2022, the rapper announced plans to release a movie series based on the Nigerian internet fraudster Ramon Abass, aka Hushpuppi.

In 2024, his production outfit, G-Unit Film and Television, launched a new studio in Shreveport, Louisiana.

At 956,000 square feet, G-Unit Studios is the second-largest Black-owned production studio behind Tyler Perry Studios.

READ ALSO: FLASHBACK: Five of Nigeria’s greatest WAFCON final victories

Adaptation

Meanwhile, Hollywood star Idris Elba will play the pivotal character of Okonkwo in a TV adaptation of the Chinua Achebe classic ‘Things Fall Apart’, Variety reports.

According to Variety, the TV adaptation is being developed at A24, an American independent entertainment company.

Elba will also executive produce alongside David Oyelowo and Amanda N’Duka via Yoruba Saxon, Ben Forkner, Dayo Ogunyemi, and Achebe Masterworks.