50 Cent runs with British gangster movie

By Stuart Kemp

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - American rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson plays a ruthless loan shark in the London gangland movie "Dead Man Running," which began shooting Wednesday.

Also cast are Brenda Blethyn ("Secrets And Lies") Tamer Hassan ("Layer Cake"), Danny Dyer ("The Business"), and Monet Mazur ("Stoned").

Writer/director Alex de Rakoff's script details the story of an ex-con trying to go straight who is given 24 hours to raise 100,000 pounds ($150,000) to pay off Jackson's loan shark or become a "dead man running."

The mission takes him from the dog tracks of East London to the underground drug scene of rural Manchester as they try every trick and scam in the book to get the cash before it's too late.

The movie has attracted the backing of U.K. soccer players Rio Ferdinand of Manchester United and Ashley Cole from Chelsea FC who take executive producer credits.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter