I got excited today while reading news accounts that rapper
had dropped about 50 pounds for a new movie role in "
." Immediately I envisioned him accepting the Oscar for setting aside pop culture fame to star in an adaptation of
's ground-breaking novel about Nigeria. Written a half-century ago, it explores the challenge of personally reconciling colonial life and native tradition, just as independent African states were emerging.
Great stuff for a movie, no? And who better than 50 Cent to introduce a new generation to Achebe, whose most recent book is a collection of essays called "The Education of a British Protected Child."
Well, don't get your hopes up. The movie is about a football player who is diagnosed with cancer. And though the 50 Cent may still win an Oscar, I won't get the movie I had hoped for.