8 Mile

Title: 8 Mile-named after the street in Detroit because it splits Detroit into black and white neighborhoods

Release Date: Pushed back to November 8

Movie Trailer Release Date: December 21-shown on Ali, How High?, A Beautiful Mind, and BlackHawk Down

Filming Wrapped Up: January 19, 2002 in Detroit *Hailie was a frequent visitor to the set*

Starring: *Eminem-plays Jimmy Smith Jr. aka. B-Rabbit
*Kim Basinger-plays Stephanie, Jimmy's mom
*Mekhi Phifer-plays Jimmy's best friend David Porter aka. The Future
*Brittany Murphy-plays Alex, Jimmy's girlfriend
*Chloe Greenfield-plays Jimmy's half sister, Lily

EM's Preparation 4 His Role: EM had 2 lose weight, dye his hair brown (Curtis Hanson didn't want tha Slim Shady look), and go 2 6 weeks of rehearsals

Cameos: Proof (Lil' Tic), Xzibit (Mike), Obie Trice

Plot: A young rapper struggles to gain fame-It's basically a movie loosely based on his life

EM On Hanson Directing Him: "When I look back on it, he was good to work with because he was real. Curtis didn't sugar-coat anything. If something sucked, he would say that it sucked. At first, I would take it to heart-like 'Damn! How could he say that to me?'-and then I would take it in. Like, 'Okay, I know what he's trying to do.'"

Taryn Manning (plays a minor character as EM's ex) on EM: "He's the lead. He's in every single scene. He just knows he has the power to create something that could have a lot of longevity. He can feel it inside. He's focused. He's intense, but he's also really goofy. A couple of days I was there, any downtime, he was writing. You could just see him formulating stuff in his head. I thought it was the coolest thing."

Brian Grazer (the film producer) On EM's Acting: "I liked him." "I thought he was charismatic and could act, so I built a story that is, you know, in the world in which he came from--it's not his story. The guy is a workaholic. He did six weeks of rehearsal 'cause Curtis Hanson insisted on it--'cause Curtis Hanson's life's betting on this guy's going to be good--and at night he's trying to make an album. I was very surprised. I think you'll be very surprised because the quality that's the most pronounced is innocence."

Brain Grazer On The EM and Kim Basinger Rumors: "These rumors are probably a good thing for the movie, but they're not having an affair."

Curtis Hanson (the director) on EM: "The Eminem we're putting on screen is so not the Eminem the public thinks they know. I don't want to jinx him by comparing him to icons like (Marlon) Brando and (Montgomery) Clift, but the best version of this movie would have the same emotional power as something like 'East of Eden' or 'Splendor in the Grass."

Check Out The Official 8 Mile Site 4 More