I Got It MADE

Word has it that 50 Cent is going to die today. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure 50 Cent is getting shot." The speculation comes not from a roundtable of gangsters but a group of young runners on the set of Dead Man Running. The British gangster film, due for release in November, is financed in part by Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole, and the dozen runners are working on a film set for the first time thanks to the Live The Dream Foundation and Chris Nathaniel's NVA Management. The runners, all from London and in their teens and twenties, were given a pep talk by the Manchester United defender before getting down to work. Now, though, their focus is on 50 Cent, the American rapper who has just arrived on set to play the movie's villainous loan shark.

Rio's group is thrilled - but still nowhere near the end of an unpaid 14-hour day of filming on the banks of the Thames. Progress is slow. "When you watch a film it seems so fast," says Darren Cordon, a 17-year-old from east London. Andre Scarlett, 28, from west London, chips in: "But you only get about 90 seconds of footage from a day's work. We couldn't believe it."

So far, the runners have helped rig up a scene in a nightclub ("Bringing in the lighting, the cables, getting people drinks and food") and escorted groups of extras for an action shot of Brit-flick inevitable Danny Dyer (who co-stars with Brenda Blethyn) on a motorbike. As it turns out, 50 Cent will not be killed tonight; he will instead climb out of a chauffeur-driven Bentley, straighten his suit, and step out of shot.

It is a scene repeated several dozen times, in the freezing cold, yet all are upbeat. "There's not much running involved," says a bemused Darren, "but they treat us like one of the crew." Jay Matthew, 24, from north London, agrees. "It's a good insight," he says. "I've got a clear idea of what happens on a film set, all the different avenues." "They even put us behind the camera," says Junior Weatherly, 21, from Lewisham. "Rio's advice was to get in there, take advantage of the situation and meet people. Push yourself."

Each of the runners found a different way on to the project - some heard about it on Choice FM, others at a seminar held by former MTV presenter Richard Blackwood; one blagged his way in while processing a shooting licence for the film at Romford council - but all are from similar areas of London to Ferdinand. Their backgrounds mean that they lack clear routes into clannish industries such as film. Here is a key principle of the Live The Dream Foundation: that young people can secure jobs in glamorous careers if they search out less obvious opportunities; that they do not have to be an actor or rapper or centre-forward to work in film, music or football.

"It's hard to get work as a runner, and I'd been looking for a while," says Hari Singh Mullay, a 24-year-old from Ilford. "To get an opportunity like this, I'm so grateful."

It isn't just work experience, says Chris Hill, the third AD (assistant director) who has been corralling the runners. "It's a very structured industry," he explains. "You start off working for literally nothing. This is how everyone does it, coming in from scratch. But you need a break to get your first job. The second job comes from the first - from two people you've never met before talking over dinner."

He picks out Hari for praise. "The apprenticeship starts when you first get near the kettle," Hill says. "Go to college and get a PhD in media, but if your tea-making on set isn't very good, you're finished. It's all about service with a smile - and Hari never forgot an order." Hari chuckles. "Fair amount of tea, yeah. Quite a bit of tea. I'm the man at tea."

But Hari is serious about making the most of this opening; it's only his third day on a set and he wants more. "I work in an office, but I'm a creative person and my mind ticks away," he says. "I never thought I could be a director, but you never know now - maybe one day." The director on this shoot is Alex De Rakoff - "The one in the Del Boy coat and a beret," as one of the runners puts it - and he started as a runner.

50 Cent eventually steps out of the Bentley in a manner that satisfies everyone, and the day's filming is over. There's applause as people look forward to warming up indoors, but the runners are already fanning out to disassemble lights and cart boxes of cables into trucks. They seem to think it has been worth the slog despite the cold, the long hours and the absence of pay. "We've got a clear idea of what happens on a film set now - what, where, who," Hari says. "And we got to see Danny Dyer ride a motorbike down some stairs," Darren adds. Everybody agrees this was payment enough.

Majcip

What the fuck?

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Rest in peace to Michael Jackson aka Forever King of POP

Restrictive

Im confused no buck

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violence032

its a movie people calm down

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"i looked my daughter in the eye and realized my goal in parenting is to keep her off the poll!!"

ns_diplomat

...i dont know what to say...

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G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath!!
"Shout out to all the people in Montreal - Montreal is real hood. Real gangsta out there." - Juelz Santana

*50*CENT*WIFE*

Oh really lol...

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.....*M*K*J*.....B.I.S.D-NOV,16,09.....

TonyMontana131

damn, i thought this was real.... anyone wanna act on this? hip hop would be FOREVER in debt to you...

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Up and comin' MCs don't stand a chance
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