In The Name Of The Club

No, that's not the lowest budget in Hollywood history. We reported here that rapper 50 Cent (if you don't know who he is, shame on you; go ask the kids) is following the Eminem route to movie success, with a semi-autobiographical tale starring the rapper-about-to-turn-actor in Locked and Loaded. Today's news is that Jim Sheridan will be directing the film, which is set to begin shooting early next year. This again echoes the choice of Curtis Hanson for Eminem's 8 Mile: instead of going for the easy option and choosing some fresh-from-MTV music video director, 50 Cent has also chosen a respected heavyweight director. It will also mark a slight change of pace for the Irish director, whose last film was Oscar favourite In America, a small, intimate family drama. But, when you think about it, it makes a kind of sense. Sheridan's previous films include The Boxer and In The Name of the Father, which had the sort of gritty, urban feel that this film will need. What's more, his previous leads were Daniel Day Lewis (three times), Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton and Richard Harris