All Things Fall Apart (2011)

Director:

Mario Van Peebles

Writers:

50 Cent (screenplay)
Brian A Miller (screenplay)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

A drama centered around a promising football running back during his senior year in college. |

Plot Keywords:

Title Based On Poem | Three Word Title

Cast

Ray Liotta	...	Dr. Brintall
Mario Van Peebles	...	Eric
50 Cent	...	Deon
Lynn Whitfield	...	Bee
Ambyr Childers	...	Sherry
Tracey Heggins	...	Sharon
Elizabeth Rodriguez	...	Mrs. Lopez
Steve Eastin
Brian A Miller	...	Steven
Corey Large	...	Paramedic Adam
Cedric Sanders	...	Sean
Jana Veldheer	...	Bar Patron
Alara Ceri	...	Denise (as Alara Cerikci)
Mckeel Robins	...	Soccer Referee
Hamzah Saman	...	Nurse
Diane Witter	...	Woman buying car
Rocky Rector	...	Man on Bus (as Richard 'Rocky' Rector)
Mike P.	...	June
J. Burton Reynolds	...	Jerry
Armon York Williams	...	Bar Patron
Josh Carrizales	...	Carlos
David Paulus	...	Assistant Head Coach
Chris Kotcher	...	Frat Boy
Mike Puwal		(as Mike P.)
Keith Seccombe	...	Doctor
Kimberly Harsch	...	Soccer Mom (uncredited)
Rolin Stone	...	Assistant Coach #1 (uncredited)

Directed by
Mario Van Peebles

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
50 Cent		screenplay
Brian A Miller		screenplay

Produced by
50 Cent	....	producer
Michael Corso	....	executive producer
Patricia Eberle	....	executive producer
Randall Emmett	....	producer
Brandon Grimes	....	co-producer
Anthony Gudas	....	executive producer
Kevin Reidy	....	line producer
Richard Rionda Del Castro	....	executive producer
Scott Robinson	....	co-producer
Scott Robinson	....	line producer

Original Music by
Tree Adams

Cinematography by
Matthew Irving

Film Editing by
Bob Mori
Kirk M. Morri

Casting by
Nancy Nayor

Production Design by
Joshua Stricklin

Art Direction by
Morgan Gillio

Set Decoration by
Bill Taylor

Costume Design by
Sabra Temple		(part one)

Makeup Department
Harvey Riley	....	additional hair stylist

Production Management
Beau J. Genot	....	post-production supervisor
Jon Recher	....	production supervisor
Michael J. Urann	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Susan M. Elmore	....	second assistant director
David C. Huet	....	assistant director
Dan Lazarovits	....	first assistant director
Paul Lindsay	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Kyle Scott Copeland	....	art department intern
Mikki Lee Cronkhite	....	props assistant
Trevor Post	....	prop maker
Jesse Tofferi	....	prop maker
Leah Vukovich	....	set dresser
Ed Wager	....	carpenter

Sound Department
David Barber	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Barber	....	supervising sound editor
Sean Gray	....	sound designer
Sean Gray	....	sound effects editor
Matt Mulder	....	boom operator
Angie Pollema	....	intern
Sean Quashnie	....	sound mixer
Brett Sorensen	....	sound utility

Visual Effects by
Wesley Cronk	....	visual effects
Max Lazzarin	....	visual effects

Stunts
Todd Rogers Terry	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Mark David Adler	....	key video assist
Melissa Bayer	....	film loader
Brett Beimers	....	key grip
Jimmy Callian	....	still photographer
Michael Dallatorre	....	camera operator
Edwin de Jong	....	jib operator
Eric Evenhouse	....	second assistant camera
Andy Fortenbacher	....	first assistant camera
Geoff George	....	first assistant camera
Brad Grimmett	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Brad Grimmett	....	steadicam operator
Jeff Harkes	....	lighting technician
Ian Henderson	....	assistant camera
Traver Johnson	....	intern: camera
Nate Kolbeck	....	first assistant camera
David Lowing	....	gaffer
Matthew Lowing	....	dolly grip
Van Nessa Manlunas	....	media manager
Eduardo Enrique Mayén	....	camera operator
Casey McClurken	....	best boy electric
William Novy	....	electrician
Aaron Picot	....	digital loader
David Ruck	....	second assistant camera
Don Stover	....	best boy grip
Jeremy Tremp	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Dale Vance Jr.	....	b camera / steadicam operator

Casting Department
Brittany Burke	....	casting associate
Maureen Dreher	....	casting: Midwest

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kate Bennett	....	assistant costume designer: part one
Colleen Gura	....	set costumer
Daniel Overton	....	wardrobe production assistant
Anthony Rivera Jr.	....	costume supervisor
Mackenzie Storhaug	....	wardrobe intern

Editorial Department
Damian Drago	....	title design
Eddie Mikasa	....	assistant editor
Thom Obarski	....	trailer editor
Alan Pao	....	digital intermediate producer

Music Department
Jake Staley	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Mark A. James	....	L.A. transportation captain
Raymond Landino Jr.	....	driver
Reno S. Mifsud	....	transportation captain
Billy Neckrock	....	driver
Jack Jay Reece	....	transportation coordinator
John 'Detroit' White	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Jax Baker	....	assistant production coordinator
Lauren Beale	....	assistant to producer
Geoffrey James Clark	....	football coordinator
Tom Feldpausch	....	production intern
Andrea Flader	....	set production assistant
Nicole Flowers	....	first assistant accountant
Paul Giorgi	....	production accountant
Adam Kristopher Johnson	....	production assistant
John Kangas	....	production assistant
Kalyn Karnan	....	script supervisor
Nicholas LaVelle	....	production assistant
Justin Le Pera	....	football coordinator
Aaron Lebovic	....	production coordinator
Lauren Lebow	....	assistant to producer
Dennis Loring	....	payroll accountant
Tony Nawrocki	....	production assistant
Kurt Race	....	location consultant
Daniel Rbibo	....	insurance services
Rick Rosenthal	....	production counsel
Joshua Rubino	....	production assistant
Noah Sampsel	....	production assistant
Greg Saraceno	....	production accountant
Jonathan Sessions	....	production assistant
Kathleen Soltysiak	....	script supervisor
Tim Sullivan	....	assistant to producer
Timothy C. Sullivan	....	assistant to producer
J.P. Vega	....	production assistant
Jeremy Waterbury	....	office production assistant
Larry Woodall	....	set medic

Thanks
Bryan Bossard	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Cheetah Vision
• Tax Credit Finance (financed by)

Distributors

• Image Entertainment (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Bliss Media (2011) (China) (all media)
• Eagle Films (2011) (Non-USA) (all media) (middle east)
• Image Entertainment (2012) (USA) (all media)
• Marco Polo Productions (2011) (France) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Bangladesh) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Bhutan) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (India) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Maldives) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Nepal) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Pakistan) (all media)
• Tanweer Films (2011) (Sri Lanka) (all media)

Other Companies

• Something Kreative  sports coordination
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Juniper Post  post-production (Sound Facility)
• Line 3500 Studio Rentals  transportation equipment
• Line 3500 Studio Rentals  transportation
• Lowing Light & Grip  grip and lighting equipment
• Movie Movers  cast trailers
• Movie Movers  hair and make-up trailers
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Movie Movers  transportation
• Schellenberg & Evers  Michigan tax & audit professionals
• Tunnel Post  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexual references and some drug use

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Michigan, USA

Company:

Cheetah Vision

Trivia:

50 Cent weighed 160 pounds when he portrayed the cancer-stricken Deon. The rapper went through a nine-week liquid diet and went on a treadmill three hours a day, losing his entire muscular frame. He has gained more than 40 pounds back after filming wrapped.

A noble failure.

Mario Van Peebles came back to the director's chair recently, and he's been churning out films faster than ever before, with "Things Fall Apart", "Redemption Road" and "We the Party", but does he still have what it takes to make a film on par with "Baadasssss!"? Unfortunately no, "Baadasssss!" was a very tough act to follow and he will obviously never top it, but it's nice to see him directing full length films again. "Things Fall Apart" is 50 Cent's big attempt at gaining recognition as an actor, and at this time, he's producing other films with his production company, and this is the only one I've seen so far.

I consider the film to be a noble failure. 50 Cent is obviously no actor, and although he worked hard in the physical department of the film by losing weight, training, etc, his diction is really bad and it can be very hard to understand what he's saying most of the time. Also, he can't do emotion well, a lot of his line deliveries during key moments are anti-climatic and cheesy, and he looked very awkward in the romantic scenes. The story is based on one of 50 Cent's actual friends' life, and it deals with the harsh reality of cancer, being unemployed as a black man and having a hard time finding work and coping with a struggling family that rarely gets along.

The football scenes are directed very cinematically, with a lot of slow-mo used, which I didn't care for. I would have liked if they were directed normally and more clearly, they were too showy for their own good. The cinematography is nothing to write home about, but there are a few nice shots, including a montage where Deon (50 Cent's character) is walking through the city and reflecting on his life; the use of color in the montage is eye catching, and there are some visually appealing shots of the sky in various moments of the film, but for the most part, the film is directed pretty straightforwardly.

The actors besides 50 Cent pretty much deliver like they're supposed to, with Mario Van Peebles himself, Lynn Whitfield, Ray Liotta, Tracey Heggins and Cedric Sanders rounding out a fairly decent cast, but don't expect to be blown away by any of them. The biggest problem besides 50 Cent's mediocre performance lies in the screenplay, which was written by 50 Cent and Brian A Miller, a relatively new director/writer who directed 50 Cent in "Caught in the Crossfire" and directed Dave Batista in "House of the Rising Sun", and since neither have had much writing experience or written anything significant, the film suffers for it.

The film is way too melodramatic and the amateur screenplay doesn't offer any meaningful or three-dimensional characters. Instead, we're given bad caricatures with poorly written lines and monologues, including an embarrassing speech Mario Van Peebles has to give at the end of the film about the qualities of every race and how they can blend together to form a great person. It's just badly written and angered me more than uplifted me, which I know wasn't intentional. 50 Cent's bland acting didn't help. Like I said, I appreciate the effort at making a film about his friend's life, and injecting some social commentary into the film, but it's all so forced and badly done. The film could've used a few re-writes, as well as a new screenwriter.

The film also lacks subtlety, and the ending is so abrupt that it might make you laugh more than cheer. I did like what the film had to say about making the most out of your life even with a disease that could kill you at any moment, and I liked that the film made an attempt to explore the complex issues of cancer and tumors, and how there isn't simply one answer or source as to how they surface inside the human body, so the film wins some points for that, but I could've done without the references to Obama, which will severely date the film, and the film could've made a better effort to show why the unemployment rates are sky high.

Overall, it's not a terrible film, but it's far from good. I didn't feel good watching it and I didn't feel uplifted in the end, I felt like something was missing and the film was attempting to cover up its mistakes with blatant melodrama and cliché twists in the story. The messages are good and the story is a worthwhile one despite the hackneyed execution, but this is a far cry from the best dramas about cancer out there, and to repeat myself, 50 Cent can't act.