8 Mile (2002)

A young rapper, struggling with every aspect of his life, wants to make the most of what could be his final opportunity but his problems around gives him doubts.

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writer:

Scott Silver

Stars:

Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eminem	...	Jimmy 'B-Rabbit' Smith
Kim Basinger	...	Stephanie Smith
Mekhi Phifer	...	David 'Future' Porter
Brittany Murphy	...	Alex
Evan Jones	...	Cheddar Bob
Omar Benson Miller	...	Sol George
De'Angelo Wilson	...	DJ Iz
Eugene Byrd	...	Wink
Taryn Manning	...	Janeane
Larry Hudson	...	Bouncer
Proof	...	Lil' Tic
Mike Bell	...	Shorty Mike
DJ Head	...	Battle DJ
Michael Shannon	...	Greg Buehl
Chloe Greenfield	...	Lily Smith

Storyline

A rap version of "Saturday Night Fever." B-Rabbit, a wannabe rapper from the wrong side of Detroit's 8 Mile, has problems: he dumps his girlfriend when she tells him she's pregnant; to save money to make a demo tape, he moves into his alcoholic mom's trailer; his job's a dead end, and he's just choked at the local head-to-head rap contest. Things improve when he meets Alex - an aspiring model headed for New York - and a fast-talking pal promises to set up the demo. Then new setbacks: Alex isn't faithful, mom rejects him, rifts surface with his friends, and he's mugged by rivals. Everything hinges on the next rap showdown at the club. Can B-Rabbit pull truth out of his cap?

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Plot Keywords:

contest | friend | model | gun | single mother | 

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Taglines:

If the streets had a voice, this would be the story they'd tell.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, sexuality, some violence and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fight Music

Filming Locations:

Chin Tiki Club - 2121 Cass Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$41,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$635,354 (Japan) (30 May 2003)

Gross:

$5,240,354 (Japan) (4 July 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Entertainment, Mikona Productions GmbH & Co. KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the last battle against Papa Doc, Rabbit says, "...he's shook 'cause ain't such thing as halfway crooks." This is a reference to the instrumental playing in the background which is taken from the rap duo Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones Pt. II", in which the chorus is "There ain't no such thing as half-way crooks, scared to death, they scared to look, they shook..." The same song was playing in the opening scene of the film, where Jimmy is practicing in the bathroom.

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Goofs

When Rabbit and his crew are driving through Detroit at night before they shoot the pintail's, they pass a CVS Pharmacy store. These stores were known as Arbor Drugs in 1995 before they were bought out and turned into CVS.

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Quotes

DJ Iz: That's why brothers need to sign themselves a deal. I'm telling you record labels supply niggas with the kind of benefits they need.
Sol: Dawg. We sign us a deal you can take the motherfucking benefits, we're talking Bentley's and Benjamins not Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Future: Look to tell you all niggas the truth, I don't give a fuck about none of that. I just wanna hit 31 and a 3rd on the box you know what I'm saying? One of them strong songs on JLB.
DJ Iz: No what we need to do is save that shit up and put ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The final credit reads, "Filmed on location in the 313"

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Connections

Spoofed in Scary Movie 3 (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Next Level"
(Nyte Time Mix)
Written by Rodney Lemay and Andre Barnes
Performed by Showbiz & AG
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Dark but interesting

I enjoyed this movie immensely. I thought it was a departure from the typical movies that star Hip-hop artists nowadays, which typically glorify the hip-hop lifestyle. Which is a very material lifestyle. This movie was pretty dark.

I thought Eminem did a good job acting. I mean he's not going to win any Oscars for this role, but he does a very good job acting. If not for who he is, then you wouldn't pay too much attention to his acting because that's how competent he does.

As most of you already have heard, this movie was based on Eminem's life, but none of the events are actually factual. His relationship with his mother (Basinger) is much more amiable than it is in real life, or at least how it comes across in his music.

Brittany Murphy acts as his love interest, but most importantly his muse.

There are some scenes that leave you scratching your head. One of which is the Eminem-Murphy love scene in the plant. It seems out of place and bad for the pacing of the film. Also Taryn Manning's role as the ex-girlfriend is almost unnecessary. The presence of her character is a key plot element that sets up the film, but the appearance of her character in the film by its end seems unnecessary due to the fact that it is underdeveloped. I wonder if there were more scenes involving Manning that were ultimately deleted via editing.

Overall I enjoyed the movie. Some may not enjoy it as much, but that's probably because they go into the movie with different expectations. If you're expecting something other than a hip-hop based film that subtly comments on social/economic/racial issues, and is a pseudo-rags to riches story, then you might be sorely disappointed.