Popular rapper 50 Cent may be a super star in the United States of America where he plies his trade in the music industry, but his stardom was not enough to sway one of Africa’s greatest playwrights and superstar novelist, Nigerian born Chinua Achebe when he attempted to adapt the theme Things Fall Apart for his new movie.
The rapper’s latest movie has been renamed ahead of its release, due to a conflict with Achebe’s most famous work.
“ Things Fall Apart,” published by Achebe in 1958, is Nigeria’s most famous English-language novel and it has sold more than ten million copies worldwide.
Unfortunately, 50 Cent was not aware of this.
He spent the better part of 2010 shooting a film of the same name based on the story of an American football player diagnosed with cancer.
“It’s a project that I wrote, produced and financed myself,” he explained last year. Directed by Mario Van Peebles, it premiered at the Miami film festival in March, this year, and is expected to be released soon.
Unfortunately for Fiddy, his film will not keep its original title. After being contacted by Achebe’s legal team, 50 Cent allegedly offered $1m to hold on to the title.
Achebe, 80, took this as an insult. “The novel with the said title was initially produced in 1958 (that is 17 years before 50 Cent was born),” replied his lawyers.
“It is listed as the most-read book in modern African literature, and won’t be sold for even £1bn.” The film has now been renamed to All “Things Fall Apart.”
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