Bernie Mac may be gone, but he leaves among his legacy the upcoming movie 'Soul Men,' in which he stars opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Isaac Hayes, who also passed away unexpectedly this weekend.

"Both those guys were tremendous talents and just genuine gentlemen," 'Soul Men' director Malcolm D. Lee tells ET. "It's a tremendous loss, both in the comedic world and the music world -- they were both giants."

In 'Soul Men,' in theaters this November, Sam and Bernie play a pair of backup soul singers who haven't spoken to each other in 20 years. But when they're invited to perform at a tribute concert for their famous former band leader, the two curmudgeons reluctantly agree to travel cross country together for the honor.

"The last thing he said to me was, 'Make a good film, Malcolm,' and you know, I'll try my best to do that," says Lee, whose directing credits include 'Undercover Brother' and 'Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins.' "But he gave us a tremendous performance; he left us with a real tremendous gift."

Lee recalls that Bernie's health issues never got in the way of his work ethic: "Every time we called for him to shoot he was ready to go. We never waited for him, so he wasn't limited by that, but even if he was, I don't think he would ever let that slow him down; Bernie just wasn't like that."

And while shooting long hours at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Bernie never forgot the audience that made him a star: "He always kept the extras entertained; he'd do an impromptu stand-up [routine]. He'd say, 'These people made me, and that's why I do what I do.'"