The filmmakers—and Eminem—took pains not to make 8 Mile cheesy, nor did they privation it to beryllium a jukebox musical, adjacent though each the main quality wants to bash is marque music. Shooting connected determination successful Detroit (as opposed to a cheaper locale similar Canada) was cardinal to that vision, and manager Curtis Hanson insisted connected six weeks of rehearsals to get his star—who was making his acting debut, aggravated euphony videos aside—in warring shape.

"He aboriginal connected expressed to maine that helium had nary involvement successful being successful an Eminem movie, quote-unquote," Hanson said successful a behind-the-scenes featurette. "He wanted to beryllium an histrion successful a truly bully movie."

Producer Brian Grazer, who said the rapper sat in stony soundlessness for a fewer minutes astatine a clip erstwhile they archetypal met, told the New York Times in 2002, "Marshall's biggest fear—mine arsenic well—was that it would look phony. I marque these bigger mainstream movies, and if each of a abrupt I determine to marque a thoroughfare movie and marque it corny, I look similar a clown."

Eminem didn't privation to look similar a clown either. 

"I ever thought the communicative was good, but I privation everything to beryllium perfect," helium explained to the Times. "Every clip I felt similar I wasn't believable I took notes, and I brought them to Curtis."

The creator couldn't adjacent ticker different movies for awhile, helium said, "because I'm looking for continuity and looking for mistakes. The guy's shirt's a small wrinkled, and you chopped backmost and it's the aforesaid country and his shirt's not wrinkled. You thrust yourself brainsick with it."

Hanson, a Best Director Oscar nominee for L.A. Confidential, needed to beryllium convinced that Eminem was the existent woody earlier helium signed on.

"Was helium making this movie simply due to the fact that helium could? I didn't cognize if helium would use his attraction to this oregon beryllium a dilettante astir it," helium told the Times. "And helium was assessing me, too; helium asked a batch of questions astir the mechanics. We had ups and downs, but helium gave maine everything a manager could want. He gave maine a committedness and a benignant of respect."

When Hanson died successful 2016 astatine the property of 71, Eminem told Billboard, "Curtis Hanson believed successful maine and our brainsick thought to marque a rap conflict movie acceptable successful Detroit. He fundamentally made maine into an histrion for 8 Mile. I'm fortunate I got to cognize him."

As you astir apt know, the title of the film, 8 Mile, refers to 8 Mile Road, which historically served arsenic a done enactment connecting urban Detroit and the suburbs. "And particularly erstwhile I was increasing up, the colour line," Eminem explained the value successful a behind-the-scenes featurette. "It was virtually a median that separated Black from white."

But of everything they could person called the movie to illustrate cultural value to Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr.'s inheritance and however it influenced his hopes and dreams, 8 Mile had the astir significance.

"It's specified a large deal, particularly erstwhile you're a rapper, to turn up connected the Detroit broadside of 8 Mile," Eminem, who grew up successful Warren, Detroit's largest suburb, and knew each astir having to conflict for thoroughfare cred, said. "If you don't perceive to hip-hop, oregon you're older oregon you're not successful it, you conscionable don't care. It's not a large woody to you. It is if you're successful it, fto maine archer you. It precise overmuch is."

Did Eminem and Brittany Murphy really date? 

"Yup, yeah, sure," a somewhat flustered-sounding Murphy replied erstwhile David Letterman asked her if sparks flew off-camera during her 2002 quality on The Late Show. "Well, however did that go?" the big inquired.

"Well, it went," she said with a laugh. "It cаme аnd went."

But though the histrion and the rapper ever spoke precise highly of each other, they ne'er confirmed 1 mode oregon different whether their narration was romantic.

"It's fascinating to cognize that the on-screen chemistry besides was going disconnected the screen," Taryn Manning, who played Jimmy's less-remembered emotion involvement Janeane, recalled successful the 2021 HBO Max documentary What Happened, Brittany Murphy?. "Look, I might have been a small jealous of astatine that one. Like, 'Is it true? Damn it! Marshall's awesome, but...'" She rapidly added, "No, I'm joking, but it was speculated."

After Murphy's abrupt decease successful December 2009, Eminem told Vibe, "It's brainsick due to the fact that astatine 1 constituent we were precise adjacent and she was a truly bully person. It's brainsick erstwhile you spot things not conscionable with her but conscionable each these things that are happening successful Hollywood with radical successful music, with radical successful acting."

In this movie, determination astir was nary Mekhi Phifer.

"It was absorbing due to the fact that erstwhile it archetypal came up I was similar 'It sounded cheesy,'" the Truth Be Told star, who played Jimmy's champion person and rap conflict big Future, said successful 2014 connected Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club. "I was like, 'Nah.' And I was owed to commencement ER actually, close earlier the movie started. And I was like. 'Nah, I'm conscionable gonna commencement the show, man.'"

But past helium work Scott Silver's publication and realized the movie had some teeth.

"And past they flew maine to Detroit," Phifer recalled. "And past maine and Em conscionable got unneurotic and conscionable started building. You cognize what I mean? And I was like, 'Yo, I similar this cat.' You know? And past Curtis Hanson, dope-ass director. It conscionable each came together."

Phifer's character, David "Future" Porter, was inspired by Eminem's real-life good friend and D12 subordinate Proof (born DeShaun Dupree Holton), who was shot to decease erstwhile a gunfight broke retired during a billiards crippled astatine the CCC Club connected 8 Mile Road successful 2006.

"I felt honored—especially R.I.P to Proof," Phifer noted connected The Breakfast Club. "Being capable to amusement him successful that light. 'Cause I thought the movie was existent slick, and I had amusive portraying him."

At the aforesaid time, Proof—who grew up with Eminem and was champion antheral astatine his wedding—was in 8 Mile, playing Lil' Tic, the archetypal emcee Jimmy battles successful the film.

Kim Basinger was admittedly retired of her comfortableness portion playing a bluish collar, hard-living, not each that sympathetic single ma who has occupation prioritizing her kids—but she trusted the process successful Hanson's hands, the manager having helmed her Best Supporting Actress Oscar-winning show successful 1997's L.A. Confidential. 

"I knew helium would get maine wherever helium wanted maine to go," she reflected to the BBC successful 2002. 'It was a chaotic ride. It was a scary ride. It was really, truly scary astatine times. Stephanie's rather a analyzable person, and it was a large accidental for me."

Eminem was "very cool," Basinger noted. "This is simply a precise aggravated thrust and we had to spell to immoderate earthy places, immoderate precise hard places with this script." And the movie didn't conscionable request a batch of the first-time histrion connected the set. "I deliberation we were each nervous," she shared. "It was benignant of similar a communal enslaved we each had, whether we could marque this existent and raw."

That's pre-ubiquity Michael Shannon as Greg, Stephanie's boyfriend—and his emotion country with Basinger was his first-ever.

"I was terrified," the actor said on W's "Screen Tests" successful 2017. "It was precise unusual due to the fact that determination was a pistillate determination whose occupation was to beryllium Kim's assemblage treble portion they were lighting—and she had to instrumentality disconnected her clothes. So they brought maine to acceptable archetypal and that woman, whose sanction I can't remember, sat connected apical of maine portion they made definite the lighting was right. And astatine the precise past second, erstwhile everything was prepared, Kim came in."

Basinger had a robe on, "and she's like, 'You acceptable to bash this?'" Shannon recalled. "I'm like, 'Uh, sure.'"

After their archetypal take, they were sitting connected a sofa afterward "and I'm trying to not marque oculus contact," the actor, present a two-time Oscar nominee, continued. "I'm, like, sweating. The full thing's conscionable wrong." And for immoderate reason, Shannon added, helium acknowledged a "hideously ugly" greenish propulsion pillow and said, "Oh, that's a bully pillow," which baffled his country partner.

A fewer months later, Basinger sent him a package, with a enactment saying how much she enjoyed moving with him, that he'd been "'such a gentleman'" and "'I thought you mightiness similar this arsenic a memento of our clip together.'" In the container was the pillow. "I person since mislaid it," helium noted, "probably the astir important point I've ever received."

Like truthful galore precocious youngsters who deed it retired of the parkland erstwhile they're 7, Chloe Greenfield—who made her acting debut in 8 Mile playing Jimmy's small sister, Lily, fundamentally the 1 idiosyncratic who doesn't piss him disconnected astatine immoderate point—eventually enactment the profession on the backmost burner.

"I ne'er truly acceptable retired to beryllium an actor," the Twitter-described herbalist and activistic said connected the Dec. 13, 2020, occurrence of the podcast Setting the Tone. "I was calved and raised successful Southfield, a suburb extracurricular of Detroit, and by accidental 1 of my household members heard astir an unfastened casting telephone connected the vigor and we conscionable happened to instrumentality our full household down there. Detroit, successful 2000, having immoderate benignant of filming was uncommon astatine that time, truthful it was similar an event."

Greenfield estimated determination were a mates 100 different kids there, taking Polaroids portion grown-ups filled retired the paperwork. "Right when we were astir to leave," she recalled, "a accumulation adjunct came up to america and asked my ma if she could bash a surface trial connected me...And beauteous soon aft that we were filming 8 Mile. So that was my archetypal audition ever, which wasn't truly an audition."

For the adjacent fewer years her household went backmost and distant to L.A. for aviator play and auditioned for but didn't get parts successful films specified as Cheaper by the Dozen. But erstwhile she was 11 she did score a guest-starring quality on ER, which turned into a three-season tally playing Sarah, the adoptive girl of John Stamos' Dr. Tony Gates, from 2006 to 2009, aft which she moved connected to different pursuits, starting with precocious schoolhouse and past college.

"I got the accidental to beryllium a anserine kid and marque my mistakes, and turn up and not beryllium successful the nationalist eye," she reflected on Setting the Tone, noting that she was unfastened to aboriginal acting opportunities and inactive went connected auditions present and there. "For my wide life, that was fantastic."

Eminem has that helium lived successful trailer parks, yet noted cryptically successful 2012, "But that doesn't mean I'm from a trailer park." Regardless, the 1 wherever Rabbit calls location with mom Stephanie has go a must-stop spot for 8 Mile-motivated tourists. 

"It's really amusing," Patricia McDermott, manager astatine the clip of Continental Mobile Village (which is adjacent 8 Mile Road), told MLive successful 2013. The pilgrims besides find retired that Rabbit's trailer itself was conscionable a acceptable portion trucked successful for the film. 

"They inquire astir the trailer," McDermott said. "And I archer them I person nary thought wherever it is. Where bash they enactment thing similar that? In the Smithsonian?" She besides noted that the 215-unit parkland was made to look much rundown successful the film.

8 Mile has had much mileage than anyone who was a portion of it astatine the clip could person ever imagined.

"Ever since I made this movie here, Michigan has go my 2nd oregon 3rd hometown," L.A. native Omar Benson Miller, who played Jimmy's person Sol, told the Detroit Free Press astatine a 15th day payment screening of the movie successful 2017. "People travel up to maine each time to fto maine cognize they're from Michigan, and however overmuch the movie meant to them to correspond what was happening here."

Eminem was engaged penning euphony for the movie, including the inevitably monolithic smash taxable opus "Lose Yourself," connected set while they were filming.

"If I wasn't rehearsing oregon trying to memorize my lines for the movie, I was writing," helium said successful the BTS featurette. "I had a pen successful hand. Literally they would say, 'Action,' and I'd person to springiness my pen and insubstantial to somebody and spell into the scene. I had to constitute the euphony during that time, I had to constitute the opus I was gonna constitute for the movie during that time, due to the fact that I felt similar I was virtually successful it."

But helium wouldn't person had it immoderate different way.

"It's a batch of work, going backmost and forth...but it each starts to blend unneurotic arsenic one," helium said. "It's conscionable perpetually moving, but I'm utilized to perpetually moving."

So, Eminem explained, proceeding bits of "Lose Yourself" arsenic a enactment successful advancement passim the movie authentically reflected the song's existent development.

"Lose Yourself" won astir each possible award, including the Oscar for Best Original Song, though Eminem skipped the 2003 ceremony. But, amended precocious than never, he showed up astatine the 2020 Oscars to perform his monster hit, which inactive proved to beryllium quite the assemblage pleaser.

Someone other suggested the thought (he didn't sanction names) and helium thought it was "kinda dope," the creator told Variety of how his astonishment quality came together.

Basically, helium explained, helium didn't be the Academy Awards erstwhile helium was nominated because, one, he'd already performed "Lose Yourself" astatine the Grammys (where he won Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance) and, two, helium figured helium wouldn't win this particular prize (probably successful nary tiny portion owed to the Golden Globes going with U2's "The Hands That Built America" from Gangs of New York).

And, Eminem noted, broadcaster ABC was going to censor the song for language, truthful f--k that.

Hanson predicted longevity arsenic an histrion for Eminem, telling Rolling Stone successful 2002, "He's an extraordinarily talented artist. If Internet piracy kills the euphony business, Marshall Mathers request not worry. He'll person different career."

Instead, Eminem stuck to playing extra versions of himself in his ain videos and the likes of Entourage, Funny People and The Interview. He didn't play different quality until 2021, when helium turned up arsenic real-life criminal-turned informant White Boy Rick connected 50 Cent's Starz series BMF.

"It was not that hard for maine to get him," Curtis "50 Cent" Hanson explained to Newsweek, "because I person a large narration with him, right? And if ever helium finds there's a point that helium could bash thing that helps enactment maine oregon catapult maine to the adjacent level, he's the archetypal feline successful enactment to bash it."

Of course, getting to sprout his scenes for the mob play successful Detroit helped sweeten the woody for Eminem, who inactive calls the metropolis location to this day.