Samuel L. Jackson vs. Curtis (50 Cent)

We still don’t know for certain that 50 Cent will be joining Samuel L. Jackson in “Home of the Brave,” to be filmed in Spokane in March.

The hip-hop star is listed as in “final negotiations.”

However, the pot is boiling at the various movie gossip sites, because of a testy exchange of words last year between the two Jacksons – Samuel L. and Curtis. (50 Cent’s real name is Curtis Jackson.)

Samuel L. has long held the position that rappers need to prove themselves before they can be compared to trained actors. And on at least one occasion, he did single out 50 Cent.

He was quoted in early 2005 as saying, “I like listening to 50 Cent and I can groove to his music, but I don’t want to groove to him on screen, just yet. Maybe if he does five movies and he shows some talent.

“I mean, how does he get to work with (director) Jim Sheridan (on “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ “) and I don’t? What is it about 50 Cent that makes Jim Sheridan say, ‘I’d really like to make a movie with him?’ “

50 Cent came back in the New York Daily News with: “He (Samuel L.) was a crackhead originally, right? So I come from being a rapper, and he comes from being a crackhead” – a reference to the actor’s rehab stint for cocaine addiction in 1990.

Ouch.

Last summer, however, Jackson was quoted as saying, “We’re actually OK. 50 Cent calls me all the time, you know, we talk on the phone.”

Still, with 50 Cent’s track record, this may not be over. After all, a nice feud is free publicity.

“Home of the Brave” is reported to have a $12 million budget, which is bigger than most of the recent Spokane-filmed movies but still low by Hollywood standards.

Samuel on Iraq

On a more substantive note, Jackson said in a recent interview that he hoped that “Home of the Brave” will open people’s eyes about the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life. The movie, directed by Irwin Winkler, is about three soldiers who return to Spokane after stints in Iraq.

“Sometimes they are gone so long that they come back and their jobs are gone, jobs that they’re supposed to be able to get back,” Jackson told Rebecca Murray on the Web site “Hollywood Movies.” “Or their wives and girlfriends are estranged. …

“Hopefully this film will make people aware of it … because there are a lot of us untouched by it.”

Vernon Baker documentary

A reminder: NBC will air a documentary on local Medal of Honor winner Vernon J. Baker as part of its Winter Olympics coverage just before the closing ceremonies tonight.

Tom Brokaw will host the segment, which will focus on the World War II battle for Castle Aghnolfi – not far from Torino – in which Baker and other members of an all-black infantry platoon led an attack on Nazi fortifications.

Because of the variables in the Olympic telecast, we can’t tell you exactly when this will air. But it should be during the prime-time coverage, beginning at 7 p.m., as part of the run-up to the closing ceremonies on KHQ-6.

Baker, who lives in St. Maries, is the only living black World War II recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Bantam Books is reissuing the paperback of Baker’s biography, “Lasting Valor,” co-written by Spokane writer Ken Olsen, in conjunction with the documentary.

Vegetable soup

I found it especially … delicious that two new shows were announced on the same day earlier this month: the Black Eyed Peas and Veggie Tales.

The former is the pop act booked for the Spokane Arena on May 16. The latter is the kiddie show, booked for the Spokane Opera House for two shows on April 2.

Tickets for both are available through TicketsWest outlets (325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).

Bon appétit.

Channeling Bing

Do you remember that British TV show “Dead Famous: Ghostly Encounters,” which sent a crew to Spokane last fall to shoot a documentary on Bing Crosby?

The Crosby segment is tentatively scheduled to air on March 14 on 7 p.m. on the Biography Channel (cable channel 275 in Spokane, 115 in Coeur d’Alene). Just thought you might want to know.