Forget “Soul Plane”: Hip-hop stars have some good recent history crossing over into movie acting, particularly when they take serious roles.
“Run It” singer Chris Brown wants to be next in line (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). “I’m looking at some serious roles that would take me out of the kiddie–well, not kiddie–but the sweet Chris Brown that everybody knows,” he told mtv.com.
“It would be more of a life-challenging Chris Brown, like how 50 Cent’s story was [in ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’.’]”
C’mon, Chris. You’re young, but you could aim a little higher. Why not pattern yourself after one of these stand-out dramatic performances?
Ludacris
“CRASH” (2004)
Granted, Ludacris’ performance isn’t the only reason “Crash” was the surprise winner of the Oscar for best picture, but he brought some humor to the preachy drama as street thug Anthony.
Quote: “It’s just black people demeaning other black people, using that word over and over. You ever hear white people callin’ each other ‘honky’ all the time?”
Eminem
“8 MILE” (2002)
It probably isn’t as hard to star in a movie based on your own life, but for a few hours there, Slim Shady had us believing he was a scrappy underdog from a trailer home. That, and his rap battles stayed true to the game.
Quote (rapping): “You never gonna judge me, though/’Cause you don’t know what … I’ve been through.”
Ice Cube
“BOYZ N THE HOOD” (1991)
It’s hard out there for a frustrated inner-city teen. Ice Cube is the ultimate cautionary tale in John Singleton’s drama about three friends growing up in L.A. You know he made you choke up at the end of the movie.
Quote: “Either they don’t know, don’t show or don’t care about what’s going on in the hood.”
Tupac Shakur
“JUICE” (1992)
Tupac is so good it’s scary in the hard-boiled street flick about a hustler trying to get “juice,” or respect, by robbing and murdering. What would make a man gun down his friends? Tupac shows us.
Quote: “I’m the one you need to be looking out for, partner!”
Mos Def
“THE WOODSMAN” (2004)
Talk about a serious role: The lyrically gifted MC plays a shady detective stalking a pedophile (played by Kevin Bacon) who has been released from prison. Mos Def gets an honorable mention for playing groundbreaking heart surgeon Vivien Thomas in “Something the Lord Made,” which was released in the same year.
Quote: “I saw 20-year vets on that job. Hard guys, they just broke down and cried. I was there, I cried. There ain’t no … woodsman in this world.”
It’s full speed ahead for Uma
Uma Thurman says she’s “just another American woman who was in an unfulfilled marriage that fell apart,” and she refuses to throw any dishy darts at her ex-husband, Ethan Hawke.
“I cannot participate in anything critical about my children’s father,” she tells Parade magazine. “I just need to keep peace. I think it’s fair to say that I haven’t said one mean thing, and I’m not going to start now. It’s terrible for my family.”
In “My Super Ex-Girlfriend,” which opens July 21, Thurman plays a superhero dumped by her regular-guy boyfriend (Luke Wilson). She gets revenge by using her powers to make his life miserable.
“I like that it’s a gender-bender flick where the woman has the edge,” she says. “No one likes being rejected. It’s very smart and observant about human nature. That’s what makes the whole thing hilarious.”
The comeback
Tom Cruise will be “Trapped in the Closet” after all on an upcoming rerun of “South Park.” Comedy Central plans to air the Scientology spoof (below) on July 19 after pulling the episode out of reruns in May when it prompted Isaac Hayes (the voice of Chef) to quit the show. Said series co-creator Matt Stone, “If they hadn’t put this episode back on the air, we’d have had serious issues.”
Blind ambition
Jessica Alba will be Renee Zellweger’s eyes in “The Eye.” In fact, Alba will replace Zellweger in the thriller about a blind woman who gets strange visions after she receives a cornea transplant, zap2it.com reports. Zellweger cut ties with the project for reasons that haven’t been publicly disclosed.
Holding court
A trial date for Foxy Brown, charged with assaulting two nail salon workers in a fracas over the cost of a manicure, has been delayed until Aug. 28. Brown showed up Wednesday at Manhattan Criminal Court with her third lawyer since the Aug. 29, 2004, incident. The trial was supposed to begin next week.
