The stars (and Paris Hilton and her boyfriend) were very much out last night in Cannes at the legendary Hotel du Cap for amFAR's Cinema Against AIDS 2009 benefit.

Taking a break from shooting "Twelve" in New York alongside Chace Crawford, 50 Cent was on hand for the night's activities and for the film festival. So what does Fif think about the small French Riviera city? "So far, so good," he said. "I've been worse places."

In addition to the $28,000 scooped up for a smooch from Robert Pattinson, the amFAR also saw the sale of Bill Clinton's saxophone for $180,000 and a screening of Quentin Tarantino's upcoming "Inglourious Basterds" for $84,000. "It's exciting," 50 said about the gala. "This is a positive event, so I wanted to come out and be supportive of it."

He might not have been the night's highest roller, however. When asked how much he planned to spend on the evening, he said, "I don't know. I'm trying not to do too much money. You know how you go on vacation, you enjoy yourself, and then you go home and you're upset because you had too much fun?" he smiled. "You know, I'm gonna be conscious, but I'll spend some."

We see all kinds of strange pairings when celebrities from one world collide with stars from another, creating photo-op gold for the frenzied paparazzi. Here's a pairing I was surprised to see hit the wires this morning: Bette Midler and 50 Cent had their arms around each other at the eighth annual spring picnic for Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project at New York's New Leaf restaurant.
 
Now, it turns out this is actually the second collaboration for this unexpected pair — six months ago, they opened a community garden together in Queens at another NYRP event. Philanthropy: It breeds togetherness.
 
But this is more than a pairing I never thought I'd see so buddy-buddy, because that would have meant I would have imagined it in the first place. So, here you have it, folks — photographic evidence that the friendship is real and going strong:
 

 
I'm looking forward to the next logical step: Bette Midler singing the hook on a 50 track.

Apart from acknowledging Ross' #1 debut, it's fair to say 50's been quiet as of late about the on-going Rick Ross rivalry. But never forget he's is one of the best strategists in the game. Whether he's moving like a juggernaut or silent like a ninja, one thing is for sure: He's always making moves.

Last week, 50 — who's currently in the middle of shooting his new film, "Twelve," in New York alongside "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford — stopped by our local Play N Trade to meet and greet a few hundred fans who were patiently waiting to get a signed copy of his new computer game, "Blood on the Sand."

Security and management walked in first to survey the situation. Moments later, the blacked-out SUV pulled up outside. With photographers poised at the ready, 50 jumped out and struck a pose for the waiting photographers and said hello to his fans.

While all this was going on outside, I was hard at work inside ... playing his new computer game on a giant plasma screen. "Blood on the Sand" is a huge improvement on "Bulletproof," and a good game. I liked it! So as I was playing as 50 Cent, the real deal walked in and we sat down to catch up.

Time wasn't really on our side. Fans had been lining up for hours and 50 had a LOT of games to sign, pictures to take and hands to shake, but before the doors opened we sat down with Fif for a quick-fire round of questions.

Our chat covered a lot of ground: his computer game and the other games he has in the pipeline, his new movie, his future roles (unfortunately we won't be seeing him in the Sly Stallone directed "The Expendables," starring action heroes from Dolph Lundgren to Jason Statham), the new Eminem album, the relationship between him and his mentor, his return to the studio for Before I Self Destruct, and yes, the Rick Ross situation.

We'll have loads more from our chat with 50 in the coming days — don't miss it!

So today's HOTD went a little bit differently. See, I'm usually the gal who writes and produces the segment (which is shot at my desk), but today, after finishing the script, I stepped away from the prompter and in front of the camera. It was very nerve-racking, and I promise, if I ever do it again, I'll look straight into the camera instead of, well, everywhere else. Anyway!

Two members of Britney Spears' tour crew got into some trouble yesterday, and in addition to Ms. Spears speaking up about it, our own Jocelyn Vena offered a few words.

And do you read Britney's Twitter? How about 50 Cent's? Well, yeah, they're not written by the actual celeb.

Have a great weekend!

The Jonas Brothers + their "3D Concert Experience" movie + cross-country surprise theater appearances via private jets = an opportunity MTV News couldn't miss. Check out our coverage of their visits to a suburban New York mall and a theater in Charlotte, North Carolina. And don't miss our reporter's personal account of being a mile high with the JoBros.

Lately, when Simon Cowell disses "American Idol" contestants, they shrug it off like it's nothing. Last week, he said top-12 finalist Allison Iraheta had no personality. "He doesn't know me," she later retorted.

"Watchmen" fanatics don't even have to wait for the DVD, or the movie's release for that matter, to discover the hidden Easter eggs in Zack Snyder's adaptation — 'cause we've got a handy little guide to them right now.

Keep an eye out for Anjulie, a young Canadian singer/songwriter who sounds like a mix of Nelly Furtado and Duffy. She's currently touring with Jesse McCartney, and her music has been featured on MTV's "The City."

Though he'd made jokes about it on his site, 50 Cent no longer sees humor in the Chris Brown/ Rihanna incident after viewing the leaked photo of a battered Rihanna. How did he find a domestic violence investigation funny to begin with?

Kelly Clarkson is coming back in full force with her new album All I Ever Wanted. In Bigger Than the Sound, James Montgomery thinks we'll all discover that we shouldn't have broken up with her back in the day.

Aubrey O'Day claims she would never say no to a Danity Kane reunion, even though she is pursuing her own solo career.

Seth Rogen confirmed to MTV News that the newest member of his "Green Hornet" team is none other than director Michel Gondry. Find out how the "Eternal Sunshine" auteur came onboard a superhero project.

And over in the Multiplayer blog, check out what a "Resident Evil 5" producer has to say about Japanese and Western influences on the game.

Maybe you've noticed this, but most of the people who write about hip-hop (here and elsewhere) are men. So, it's easy to see why they've missed a very important aspect of 50 Cent's many beefs: He is acting exactly like a 15-year-old girl. Seriously. Every time he opens his mouth in an interview, on his Web site or in a mixtape track to talk about Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Rick Ross or the many frenemies who came before them, it reminds me of a scene in "Mean Girls," or "Heathers," or my junior high school cafeteria.

Implying that Kanye is "gay" is just the latest, most obvious move from the mean-girl playbook, which is why I'm singling out Fif for this — 'cause he's certainly not the only one. And taking Ross' baby mama shopping? Don't tell me you never knew a cheerleader who flirted with a rival's ex for revenge. ThisIs50.com is starting to look like the slam book that got Lindsay Lohan in trouble with Tina Fey. (Except, instead of altered yearbook photos and gossip written in multicolored pens, this slam book currently features a video of the chart-topping rapper in drag going off on something Foxy Brown said.) Oh, and remember when 50, Papoose and Fat Joe started using Photoshop in their public catfights? I wouldn't be surprised if these guys graffiti the Madison Square Garden bathroom stalls with "---- is a slut" on their downtime before concerts.

Not that I don't immensely enjoy reading about all these tiffs and listening to a few clever dis tracks, mind you. But it would be nice if these talented MCs put all this creative energy to use making music. Maybe 50 and the others should take a tip from some actual teenage girls: Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez.

Even after Miley and Mandy came out with a video parody of Demi and Selena's YouTube post, all of the girls went out of their way to assure the world that there was no beef. Miley isn't exactly the queen of tact, but she and her publicists know that fans are capable of buying more than one artist's CDs and concert tickets. The pop world is big enough for all these girls. Don't you think the rap world might also be able to contain its many stars?

The first time I ever flew to New York was about six years ago, to interview an artist whose single "In Da Club" had just dropped.

Six years on, 50 Cent is still going hard. He's arguably the most internationally successful hip-hop artist in the game — 50 has elevated himself beyond the world of rap into movies, philanthropy, clothing and above all, business! But with all the executive swagger that 50 has, one thing he never steps away from is beef.

I doubt anyone — any artist, anyway — in music has ever had as much rivalry as 50 Cent, and that's just with other recording artists! From the LOX, Fat Joe, Nas, Irv Gotti, DJ Khaled, Ja Rule, Kanye West, T.I., Camron, Diddy, Game, Cassidy, Young Buck, R. Kelly (50 dissed him at SummerJam), Big Pun, Jay-Z ... from his early record "How to Rob," 50 has never been afraid to go at anyone, whether jokingly or seriously. Even Oprah wasn't safe!

It looks like 50 is hungry again, and next up are Rick Ross for an "appetizer" and Lil Wayne for the "full-course meal" — which are 50's own words on the new dis track "Officer Ricky."

By now, we're used to beef as a marketing move, but obviously 50 loves the competition. His willingness to go in on other MCs is a reason why some love him and others hate him. He thrives on it. With a new album set to drop some time in the coming weeks, it's time to build the hype, and there's no better way it seems than engaging in a lyrical war of words with another heavyweight MC. I wonder how it works? Does 50 sit down with his crew and say, "OK, who can I go at this time?" Obviously, the bigger the name, the bigger the hype. So who's next? (Hell, who's left?)

Eminem is out; he's family. Jay-Z is an obvious choice, but hasn't risen to such challenges lately, being a grown man and all. And he's been going at Kanye West for awhile now. So it all comes down to Lil Wayne, and responding to Rick Ross' slam. Wayne should actually take it as a compliment!

I don't mind a bit of competition between MCs, as long as it stays in the studio.

So who will come out on top: 50 or Wayne? Sound off below!

NEW YORK — 50 Cent is a boss, so he'll boss you around and you'll like it! The G-Unit general was throwing out orders to people who weren't even there on Friday afternoon at the Nokia Theater in Times Square. The entire G-Unit got onstage for a brief performance of their stint for "A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE" (check out their full performance when the show airs Friday night at 10 p.m.).

"I have the savoir-faire," 50 rapped. "I'm the reason everybody's here/ I say, 'Get up!'/ I make it hot, I make it hot in here/ Your feet hurtin', I really don't care/ I said, 'Get up!'
I want see you, I want to see you move/ And get all into the groove/ I said, 'Get up!' "

Check out photos from 50's rehearsal after the jump.

The concert will be the very first time 50 will perform "Get Up" on television, and he was definitely excited. The Unit's practice was a quick 15 minutes, and after a couple of minor tweaks, everyone felt they were ready for showtime. Ludacris (who rehearsed Wednesday), Kanye West, Hinder, Saving Abel and others will also perform for the concert.

After the Unit got offstage, 50 got ready for some promotional obligations for his forthcoming LP and film, both titled Before I Self Destruct and slated for a December 9 release. Meanwhile, outside of the dressing room, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo chilled with the rest of their staff and friends, talking music with MTV News Hip-Hop Editor Shaheem Reid (that would be me). The subject of mixtapes came up and Banks — a.k.a. the PLK (Punchline King) — said that he was amped up to drop his next one, Halloween Havoc, and wondered when Jadakiss would be dropping his street CD.

Don't miss "A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE," presented by MTV's Choose or Lose campaign and CNN to support veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The show will feature performances by 50 Cent, Ludacris, Kanye West, Hinder, Saving Abel and more and airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.

Read more about 50 Cent's custody battle here.