Eminem
8 Mile
|
8 Mile |
Movie poster of 8 Mile |
| Directed by |
Curtis Hanson |
| Produced by |
Brian Grazer
Curtis Hanson
Jimmy Iovine |
| Written by |
Scott Silver |
| Starring |
Eminem (Marshall Mathers)
Kim Basinger
Mekhi Phifer
Brittany Murphy |
| Distributed by |
Universal Pictures |
| Released |
6 November 2002 |
| Running time |
110 min |
| Language |
English |
| Budget |
$41,000,000
USD
(Est.) |
|
IMDb profile |
| |
8 Mile is a movie starring
Eminem
(Marshall Mathers) as the young white rapper Jimmy Smith Jr. Eight Mile Road is
a road which forms the boundary between predominantly African American Detroit,
Michigan, United States and the city's mostly "white" northern suburbs.
The term "8 Mile" therefore represents a barrier that is difficult to cross.
Besides Mathers, the movie stars actors like Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy,
Mekhi Phifer, Omar Benson Miller, Eugene Byrd, Michael Shannon, Evan Jones,
Chloe Greenfield, Taryn Manning and De'Angelo Wilson.
Plot outline
The story of the film is about a young man living in Detroit who is supposed
to be a prodigy of
freestyle rap. The movie starts out with Eminem's character ("B. Rabbit"),
at a locally (And less professionally) organized music event similar to the
Rap Olympics. He
chokes on his first performance (doesn't say a word) and loses the
competition.
Rabbit's best friend "Future" is the
MC of this event and is played by
Mekhi
Phifer.
After the initial scene at the music event, the movie focuses on the life of
B. Rabbit, a young sheet metal factory worker named Jimmy Smith, Jr., who is
struggling with many different aspects of his life: Getting a possible music
career started, ending a relationship with one girlfriend (Janeane, played by Taryn
Manning), starting a relationship with another (Alex, played by
Brittany Murphy), and the constant danger that exists as a result of the
people he hangs around with. He lives at the rundown
8 Mile
Road trailer park home of his alcoholic mother Stephanie (Played by
Kim
Basinger), his much-younger sister Lily (Chloe
Greenfield), and his mother's abusive live-in boyfriend Greg (Michael
Shannon). Over the course of the next few days, Rabbit begins to realize
that his life is spinning out of control and the only way he can get it back
into control is to lose himself in the music he practices rapping to over and
over again.
The final, climactic scene of the movie takes place a week later at a
freestyle competition similar to the one in the movie's opening scenes. At this
point, Rabbit has been hyped up by his friends as a really good
rapper, but
until this point we are only shown snippets of his skills.
Rabbit wins the opening round, and viewers see three progressively more
impressive freestyle raps by Rabbit. In the lyrics of his last round he
ultimately acknowledges with pride his 'white
trash'-roots and compares it with the relatively privileged background of
his antagonist (His antagonist's real name is Clarence, he went to a private
school, which is
Cranbrook, he lives with both parents, which are also married) which is
usually very unfit in a hardcore environment like the 313, where you're supposed
to be someone from "the streets". Not being this, this leaves his opponent
speechless and Rabbit clinches the title. As a sign of his growing maturity
throughout the film, he humbly resists the pleas of his friends to go out and
celebrate his victory, instead quietly walking off into the night to return to
his shift at the sheet metal factory.
Tagline: Every Moment is a Chance to Turn it Around.
Debate about biographical nature
There has been considerable debate, in the mainstream press, amongst
reviewers, and other viewers, on the extent to which 8 Mile is
semi-autobiographical, biographical, or totally fictional. This has been fueled
by the fact that events and characters depicted in the movie appear to parallel
events, and people, in Mathers' own life (as presented in the media and in
various songs).
Some have suggested the character Jimmy Smith mirrors Mathers as a young
adult, with an alter ego of "Bunny Rabbit"/"B-Rabbit"/"Rabbit" mirroring Mathers'
own "Eminem"/"Slim Shady"-alter ego, although Eminem never made any allusion to
this in any of the bonus feature portions of the 8 Mile DVD.
Other suggested parallels include but are not limited to:
- Rabbit's 3-1-3 (Three and One-Third) posse to
D12's
rap group, of which Eminem is a member.
- Rabbit's friend, mentor, and promoter Future to
Dr.
Dre, Eminem's real life friend, producer, and mentor.
- Rabbit's friend and contest
emcee Future to D-12 member
Proof, who was Eminem's childhood friend and a frequent emcee in Detroit
(Proof actually appears in the movie as the first person B-Rabbit is
supposed to battle at the beginning)
- Rabbit's little sister Lilly to Eminem's young daughter
Hailie Jade Scott, noting they even sound similar. Eminem's "Lose
yourself" video explicitly connects 8 Mile's Lilly to Eminem's
daughter. Lilly could also be similar to Eminem's half brother.
- The 3-1-3's nemesis, "The Free World", to rap groups like the
Insane Clown Posse (although they have reportedly never battle-rapped),
or other similar groups with which Eminem has feuded in the past
- Rabbit's mother to Eminem's real-life mother, Debbie.
- Rabbit's ex-girlfriend in 8 Mile to his real-life divorced and
recently re-married (to him) wife, Kim.
- Rabbit's rap battles in "The Shelter" to Eminem's participation in "The
Rap Olympics".
Also note, 313 is Detroit's
Area Code.
The suggestion amongst those holding such a view is that identities and
events were changed in the film, and thus should be considered "biographical",
or "semi-autobiographical" (given Mathers' role in the creative process). Some
people holding such views have suggested changes of names and events were done
to make civil lawsuits against Eminem more difficult. Others have suggested that
names were changed along with a fictionalized, sanitized account of real events,
designed to legitimize Eminem as an artist, and present him in a positive light.
In contrast, Eminem, on numerous occasions, has stated that 8 Mile is
a fictional story. However, he has admitted that he did indeed have a role in
the creative process, and that places and events were indeed based on real
events in his life. However, how far this role extended is still being debated.
Statistics
- Production Budget $41,000,000
- Prints and Advertising Budget $25,000,000
- Worldwide Gross: $215,300,000 (US Gross: $116,700,000)
- US home video revenue: $130,000,000
Soundtracks
The movie spawned two soundtracks, one of which featured several new songs by
Eminem, along with collaborators 50 Cent and
Obie Trice.
The second soundtrack featured songs referred to in the movie. These songs
are all Hip-Hop tracks from 1995 and earlier, as per the setting of the movie.
Some artists on the soundtrack include
Mobb Deep, Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan and The Pharcyde. It doesn't, however,
feature all of the songs from the film, as songs by Cypress Hill and Montell
Jordan amongst others are absent.
The score's most famous track, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" (played over the
closing credits), won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Eminem and
co-writer Jeff Bass did not attend the award ceremony, nor was the song
performed on-air for the awards show. Co-writer Luis Resto
accepted the award on behalf of the other two.
Guest Spots
The movie featured several music performers in small cameo roles, including:
- Rapper
Proof (of D12)
- Rapper
Xzibit
- Disc-jockey
DJ Head
- Singer
Taryn Manning (Of
Boomkat)
- Rapper
Obie
Trice
- Singer
Sara Stokes (formerly of
Da Band)
External links
Home | Up | 8 Mile | Eminem in D12
Eminem Preview, made by MultiMedia | Free content and software
This guide is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
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