50 Cent Turns Book into FilmMay 2009 BlackNews.com - What does the recent police shootings in New York City of victims like Sean Bell have to do with the urban novel Officer Down by Mo Shines and 50 Cent’s Cheetah Vision Films? Officer Down recently caught the eye of 50 Cent in a chance meeting a few weeks ago. Shines says, "Once 50 read it, there was no way he could deny it. Officer Down is the perfect fit for Cheetah Vision Films or G-Unit Books. Plus, I feel 50 is the only dude with enough balls to produce a film dealing with real issues taking place in the hood." But the hungry self-published author refuses to sit around waiting for a book deal. "I gotta do it independently until I find a publisher that believes in my vision. Time waits for no man." Officer Down is the story of a scorned mother hell-bent on bloody vengeance. In a tumultuous time when the NYPD was involved in the deaths of several young, black men, Faith Green's world is shattered when her son becomes yet another casualty. Enraged by the circumstances surrounding her son's death, she takes the law into her own hands after the cops responsible get off with a slap on the wrist. With the help of Mo Shines' writing derives from the harsh and grim realities he was exposed to growing up. Shines says Officer Down was inspired "by all the minorities gunned down by the police--Eleanor Bumpers, Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dourisman, Sean Bell...any of them could've been me. Writing this book also helped me release the anger and frustration I felt as a black man. Growing up in the hood, I've stared down the barrels of quite a few overzealous cops." The author wants to make his intentions clear, however. He doesn't want it to seem like he's endorsing violence against police officers. "In no way am I saying for people to go out and shoot cops. That would only make matters worse. Besides, there are a lot of good cops out there; but then there are the trigger-happy ones. They don't seem to value human life." Shines states that the theme embedded in Officer Down is "...if you don't stand for something, you die for nothing. People can only take so much before finally striking back." Coupling a fast-paced, intense plot with a strong message, "Officer Down" reaches out to a diverse audience. For more information about Officer Down, Grits & Butter Publishing, or to schedule an interview, please contact Jenny at (614) 707-2009 or MoShines2008@aol.com www.myspace.com/moshines2006 THE URBAN BOOK SOURCE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY COMMENTS THAT ARE POSTED. IF A COMMENT IS DEFAMATORY, PLEASE CONTACT US AND APPROPRIATE ACTION WILL BE TAKEN. |
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her gun trafficking boyfriend and his disgruntled Marine brother, Faith exacts her revenge by knocking off the cops one by one, leaving the entire city on edge.
I would like to see this book go as far as it can go. Why not? It's a story which makes sense and has everything to do with our everyday lives. Mo Shines, stay on it. 50 Cent been putting out music and entertainment to appeal to the dumb, death and blind-even he knows this. Well here is his opportunity to take it back to his beginning and put something out which is real.
Even if he cannot get the backing to do "A" budget movie. It still can go to dvd. And it does not cost much to do a dvd movie. The hardest part is distribution-which he already has the connections to.
50 Cent doesn't seem like the type to even tell you he liked it, if he is not supporting the project. All you have to do is stay on him to make it happen.
Well, the best with it! Regardless know you did a good job. Not because he acknowoledged your work. But because you chose to go out there on the limb with these projects and not right about some senseless bullshit just because it's an easy sale. You can sell this book to, especially in the street market. You have to get your 30 second pitch together. It's an issue that blacks in their teens, twenties and thirties are very aware of--so you can get the sales. But you have to get around.
"Survivor" I Changed The Rules my biography coming real soon! Pre-orders will be available to be placed on amazon.com in two weeks. The book will hit the streets in July. But will not hit the store market until Dec.
You hear all the stories, "I was this, I was that". But for most it's all talk and good marketing. But my life is reality-the good and the bad. We've seen and heard all the west coast stories. Now you get to see the east coast story. Real choices-real redemption!
While they work on financing; a screenplay has to be drafted. That's going to be WORK. It's no easy task turning a 300+page novel into a 90-120 page screenplay. What works in a novel probably wouldn't work in screenplay and vice versa. What sounds cool in a book doesn't work onscreen in most cases. Transitons, set-ups and synergy are totally different in the visual medium of film, where ACTION defines character instead of just prose and dialogue. This is where most film option deals fall apart; the writer and the screenwriter assigned to them often run into obstacles during the process of adapting the book material into working scenes for a screenplay. Because of the challenge of translating a book into a working screenplay the production company can't pitch the project to investors. Without investors they can't get financing for the film. So the prodco just lets the deal expire after a year or so of the option. Hopefully the author will get the film rights to revert back so they can make another deal.
In most financing cases these days, most Executives aren't too keen on spending close to $20 million on a movie like this because it's guraunteed not to do well at the box office. The subject matter is just TOO controversial to sell to a mainstream audience of moviegoers, even in the black community. Even if Fitty gets the financing to make this film, Distributors probably won't buy it because of the subject matter. In addition, R-Rated movies don't do well at the box office these days; and this movie is guraunteed to get an R rating due to the violence and profanity most urban lit novels have in them. Theater owners ain't gonna be keen on picking this one up becase they fear protests from police groups and police departments all over the country. I hope the best for this author but outside of a SHORT limited-run Direct-To-Video release, this project probably won't go far.
In a book are not the same on the cases of most of these books i
Let's go through all the let downs:
Teri Woods book was suppose to be made, just as Hood Winked said.
Dutch has been in production with C-Murder since 2005, I keep seeing posting for casting! Jason Poole's book Larceny was something to had been a film. Omar Tyree's books was suppose to had been a film, the list goes on and on. It seems Hollywood doesn't want to produce any of these books into movies. I say write better high quality stories and maybe well actually get one in a theater or something.
Lastly, this is probably going straight to DVD. But I hope the best for the author.
Just my two cents!
@ Hood Winked, stop hating!
I'm tired of hearing this shit about Urban Books being made into a movie. Hell they said T. Woods True to the game was going to be a movie, over ten years later its on every table for $5.00. No Movie.
Mo Shine, I know you wanna SHINE brother, put don't believe the OPTION.