He’s not the first music star to try a crossover in entertainment to movies. Not even close. But at least Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson is smart enough to know he can't just jump into making films and be instantly an Oscar winner

So, at a news conference at the Sundance Film Festival, the rapper was quick to admit that as an actor and filmmaker, “I'm a work in progress”.

As a rapper, he’s known as 50 Cent, and his early work and life were as remarkable for their violence as they were his music. But as an actor, 50 prefers to use his name, Curtis Jackson.

He has been acting for around six years, starting with an action movie titled after his album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” but more recently he has tried to stretch his talents. Three years ago, he came to Sundance and after seeing some of the films here, he told his producing partner, Randall Emmett, “we have to do the same shit they’re doing”. (Something makes us think the Sundance organizers don’t consider their films that way, but we knew what Jackson meant).

So, Emmett and Jackson founded Cheetah Vision Films, cut a $200 million deal with Hollywood studio/distributor Lionsgate to make 10 movies.

They have six in the can, and on Saturday at Sundance — his third time at the festival — he was talking about his new slate, his future in the film business and collaborating on movies with boxer Floyd Mayweather.

Jackson told Reuters he likes action films and comedies.

Of the types of movies he’d like to make, he mentioned films such as “Training Day” and “Bad Boys”. And when asked who he wanted to work with, his answer was Sylvester Stallone and Forrest Whitaker. That’s quite a range.

He did mention that of the six films completed, he’s starring in one, called “Things Fall Apart”, which he said was “more of a drama”.

He ran into Robert Redford here at Sundance and Redford had seen an early version of the movie. Redford told Jackson, “you know, you were great in it”. Jackson asked Redford if he was surprised!