8 MILE
8 Mile is a 2002 American hip-hop drama film written by Scott Silver,directed by Curtis Hanson,
and starring Eminem,Mekhi Phifer,Brittany Murphy,Taryn Manning,and Kim Basinger.
The film is an account of a young white rapper named Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr.
living in inner city Detroit,Michigan set in 1995,and his attempt to launch a rap career
in a genre dominated by African Americans.
Filmed mostly on location in Detroit and its surrounding areas,the film was a critical and
financial success.Eminem won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself,"
the song which was iconic to this film.A decade after its release,Vibe magazine called the film a "hip-hop movie masterpiece.
Short StorylineA 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?
And now the long one....
The film begins with Jimmy Smith (Eminem),a young and unhappy blue-collar worker from a poor family, struggling with different aspects of his life.He has moved back north of 8 Mile Road to the rundown trailer home in Warren, Michigan of his alcoholic mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), his sister Lily (Chloe Greenfield), and Stephanie's abusive live-in boyfriend Greg (Michael Shannon).Jimmy is focused on getting his music career started, but he seems unable to catch a break. Just prior to the events of the film, he ends a relationship with his girlfriend, Janeane (Taryn Manning), and during the film, begins a new relationship with Alex (Brittany Murphy),whom he meets at the factory when she shows up one day looking for her brother.
Jimmy comes to realize that his life has remained largely the same since he graduated high school. At first, he considers himself a victim of his circumstances and blames others for his problems. Over time,though,Jimmy begins to take more responsibility for the direction of his life.
He appears to decide to take his day job more seriously, and this becomes evident to his supervisor at the factory.At the beginning of the film, when Jimmy requests extra shifts, his supervisor laughs at him (because of his tendency to be late to work), but by the end, Jimmy's improved attitude and performance earn him the extra work he had originally asked for.His relationship with Alex ends when Jimmy walks in on his friend Wink (Eugene Byrd) having sex with her.
Jimmy beats up Wink, which later causes Wink to officially join forces with Jimmy's enemies, a gang of rappers known as the Leaders of the Free World. Later, Wink and the Free World gang jump him outside of his mother's trailer, but when one member pulls a gun on Jimmy, Wink stops him and they leave.Jimmy's friends have hailed him throughout the film as an incredible rapper, and his friend Future (Mekhi Phifer) puts pressure on Jimmy to get his revenge by competing against the Leaders of the Free World at the next rap battle. However, Jimmy's late-night shift conflicts with the next battle tournament. But a visit from Alex changes his mind about
As Jimmy leaves the venue, Future suggests that he stay and celebrate his victory while also offering a position that would allow him to host battles at The Shelter. Jimmy turns him down, claiming he has to get back to work and to find success his own way. He then starts walking back to work, feeling more confident about his future.
Cast
Eminem - James (Jimmy) ,"B-Rabbit" Smith, Jr.
Mekhi Phifer - David "Future" Porter
Brittany Murphy - Alex Latorno
Kim Basinger - Stephanie
Taryn Manning - Janeane
Michael Shannon - Greg Buehl
De'Angelo Wilson - DJ IZ
Evan Jones - "Cheddar Bob"
Omar Benson Miller - "Sol George"
Eugene Byrd - "Wink"
Anthony Mackie - "Papa Doc" (Clarence)
Xzibit - Mike (Male Lunch Truck Rapper)
Proof - "Lil' Tic"
Craig Chandler - Paul
Obie Trice - Male parking lot rapper
Chloe Greenfield - Lily
John Singleton - Bouncer
Miz-Korona - Vanessa (Female Lunch Truck Rapper)
Brandon T. Jackson - a Chin Tiki club-goer
Music
Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture 8 Mile is the official music soundtrack to 8 Mile.
Eminem features on five tracks from the album. It was released under the Shady/Interscope label
and spawned the massive hit single "Lose Yourself". The album debuted at number one on the U.S.
Billboard 200 Albums Chart that year with over 702,000 copies sold and 507,000 sold in the secondweek also finishing the year as the fifth best-selling album of 2002 with US sales of 3.2 million,despite only two months of release. It also reached #1 on the UK Compilations Charhe Australian ARIAnet Albums Chart.
It featured Eminem's worldwide chart-topping single, "Lose Yourself". It also spawned a follow up soundtrack, More Music from 8 Mile, consisting of songs that appear in 8 Mile that were current singles during the film's time setting of 1995.The album was also made in aclean edition removing most of the strong profanity and violent content
Soundtrack list
1Eminem -"Lose Yourself" [5:20]
2.Eminem/Obie Trice/50 Cent - "Love Me" [4:30]
3.Eminem - "8 Mile" (Eminem) [6:00]
4.Obie Trice - "Adrenaline Rush" [3:48]
5.50 Cent - "Places to Go" [4:15]
6.D12/50 Cent - "Rap Game" [5:53]
7.Jay-Z featuring Freeway - "8 Miles and Runnin'" [4:08]
8.Xzibit - "Spit Shine" [3:39]
9. Macy Gray - "Time of My Life" [4:21]
10.Nas - "U Wanna Be Me" [3:50]
11.50 Cent - "Wanksta" (mixed by Dr. Dre) [3:38]
12. Taryn Manning - "Wasting My Time" [3:37]
13.Rakim - "R.A.K.I.M." [4:23]
14.Young Zee - "That's My Nigga fo' Real" [4:45]
15.Gang Starr - "Battle" [2:56]
16.Eminem - - "Rabbit Run" [3:10]
