The Reel Rejects - 8 MILE (2002) MOVIE REVIEW!! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!

Episode Date: June 11, 2024

THIS OPPORTUNITY COMES ONCE IN A LIFETIME!! 8 Mile Full Movie Reaction Watch Along: https://www.patreon.com/thereelrejects  With Eminem reprising his Slim Shady persona on his new single, "Houdini,"... Aaron Alexander & John Humphrey give their First Time Reaction, Commentary, Breakdown, & Spoiler Review for the film staring Eminem aka Marshall Mathers as B-Rabbit, loosely based on his own life & directed by Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle); Co-Starring Mekhi Phifer (Dawn of the Dead, ER), Brittany Murphy (Clueless, Sin City), Anthony Mackey (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers Endgame), Kim Basinger (Batman, The Nice Guys, Never Say Never Again), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, The Shape of Water) + appearances from XZibit, Proof, Obie Trice, Njeri Earth, Brandon T. Jackson, & MORE! Aaron & John REACT To all the Best Scenes & Rap Battles including the Rabbit Battles Lil' Tic Scene, The Lunch Truck Scene, Rabbit Battles Papa Doc Scene, Cheddar Pulls a Gun Scene, Rabbit is Betrayed Scene, Rabbit Battles Lyckety-Splyt Scene, & Beyond!! Follow Aaron On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealaaronalexander/?hl=en Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Music Used In Manscaped Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:01:17 What is going on, Citizens of the Reject Nation? Hello, it's your boy Aaron here alongside Mr. It's Johnald. It is I. Johnald, he is here with me today. You guys, I am so excited for today's movie, and I have a confession to make. I am a poet. I am a artist of the musical variety, and I have never seen Eight Miles. I know. Blasphemy. I know.
Starting point is 00:01:42 Sin. It's crazy. I know. I've grown up with people making references to the movie, and like, yeah, you know, mom spaghetti, all that jazz, and I've never seen it. It's all about mom's spaghetti. What Cherry Seinfeld did for Pop-Tarts, this is going to do for mom's. Spaghetti.
Starting point is 00:01:58 Exactly. Or M&M's candy. Pick your punchline. Or Eminem's candy. And you know, in the midst of all this rat beef going on in the hip hop community, I thought it'd be appropriate to finally do eight miles. So I'm happy I get to do it with you guys today. Johnny, are you ready for this movie?
Starting point is 00:02:12 I'm so ready. Yeah. Hell yeah. I got a little emotional at the end right now. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, like, sorry to do it. Sorry to do it, but we can, we can, we can, we can, we can chitty a little bit while the classics play.
Starting point is 00:02:33 Oh, man. Yeah. Oh, goodness. Yeah, no, I, I definitely got, you know, just like caught up in the, the spirit of everything. And, and they do such a good job of building the stakes of his life and the circumstances. Like, yeah, you absolutely, like, your heart gets into it. Yeah, yeah, your heart gets into it. And I think the, just off the top, the first thing that walks away from me is like, I love that this.
Starting point is 00:02:57 movie was able to portray him and his character in such an authentic way like not like granite rabbit's character but i feel like this because it's so true to his life at least you know based off of everything i've heard about this movie you really get to see his character as a person you know his his his integrity his uh his willingness to do right or his desire to stick up for for people you know whether it be someone in the parking lot or whether it be his sister or or his mom, you know, and... And the dimensions on those relationships because, like, there are definitely times
Starting point is 00:03:33 where he and his mom especially are, like, well at odds. But the times in which, yeah, they do have to come together and they do have to kind of... They do have those moments where they're, like, traumas they got to work through together or ways in which they got to watch each other's back because as much as they can be at their...
Starting point is 00:03:49 at each other's throats, you know, for their own isolated reasons. Like, yeah, there's so many ways in which, like, they're probably two of the only people who could get each other's back in certain scenarios anyway yeah yeah they're the only two who can get each other's back in certain scenarios and you and there's just this level of authenticity to the movie where you know in real life or unless you have the emotional training or been through therapy like the conflict resolution all these dudes are in therapy all these every single one of them have great conflict resolution skills yeah
Starting point is 00:04:21 when they're not at the shelter they're on betterhelp dot com But yeah, like even when it goes between future and Rabbit, you know, they had their little spat, but there's no need for like formal apologies. Yeah, you just get it. And same thing with the, with the mom and rabbit's relationship. Same thing with the girl and rabbit's relationship. Is she supposed to be a Kim? I wasn't sure who was supposed to be who or how close those parallels are. No, I will say overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
Starting point is 00:04:52 I think there had certain elements of it. I'll get to my pauses. I get to any, like, criticisms or not, but... Before you dis... Before I destroy it now. No, no, I really, really, really liked it. But what I will say is that I really like somebody's hunger in the face of fear. You know, he does have doubts, and he does have anger issues, but he does also have
Starting point is 00:05:15 integrity, and he does have that desire to work, and he isn't willing to take the fast route out, even though he sees these opportunities, he learns that he has to trust in himself and trust in his own path to carve a bit of responsibility too exactly take a bit of responsibility you know he he does some maturing and seeing him go from on location in the 313 down nice nice that's awesome good touch but yeah seeing him go from being afraid and nervous in the beginning to being able to to step into that and and own his right to be on that stage was was really powerful and i really really liked it um and then just seeing the authenticity of where he grew up you know the just the environment of growing up in a trailer park
Starting point is 00:05:59 and then having to work in the steel meal and, you know, just the different natures of what you've got to do to survive, especially coming from a place like that, you know? And I just- With a place that has as much rough history economically as Detroit, like for sure. Which I don't know, like, even the full extent of,
Starting point is 00:06:18 but I know that it is one of those places in America that seems like, you know, we have all these resources and means here. Yet, you know, cities like that seem to be or have been forgotten, you know, in large part, and it's horrible, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Well, so what about you, man? What do you think overall of the movie?
Starting point is 00:06:38 Yeah. I mean, like, I got really swept up in this, obviously. I mean, it's, I really appreciated that, yeah, it, I think you think like a semi-biographical story about Eminem, obviously, you know, there's going to be rapping and battling and stuff like that. But I like that this did seem to be kind of a. legit character piece and yes he is the center of it yes he is your protagonist but i feel like we got a good portrait of the little community he was in right um i don't know how sanitized this is and that's one of those things that you know i would apprehensive or not apprehensively but that's one of those things that i would keep as an apprehension in terms of like maybe criticism
Starting point is 00:07:16 in that like you know we know certain things about m&m struggles over time you know i'm sure he's had his fair share of situations where he wasn't necessarily spiritually in the right or whatever. But thinking about just what the movie gave us, like, yeah, I really enjoyed the portrait of his, I mean, it's a harsh portrait, but the way they realized his life and the complexity of his various relationships
Starting point is 00:07:39 and the way in which they let you breathe in, yes, the parts that are harsh and that we know about as he's, you know, as territory that he's tread well in song and, you know, just out in the world and interviews and stuff too. But yeah, seeing those things, come to life with both the bright sides and the dark sides, you know, watching him out
Starting point is 00:08:01 with his friends, watching him with his little sister, even watching as he gets to know the Alex character, like there are more bright spots and there are more humorous moments or moments of levity. Like, it's one of those movies that's like definitely a drama. I don't know why this movie I'm about to reference comes to mind. I think it's just because like part of it is a portrait of someone's life and then, I mean, Fruevale's is about a tragedy and this is more about a struggle and the overcoming of a struggle
Starting point is 00:08:31 but one thing about these two movies that I guess I'm thinking about in unison is that like both of them on the outside seem like they would be kind of heavy experiences and both of them have a surprising amount of brightness and life and levity and that makes the harsh stuff hurt more and obviously way different
Starting point is 00:08:51 context and scenarios for both those stories but yeah that was the nicest surprise about this for me was like oh wow you know I really enjoy that this is a bit of a slice of life that we are just kind of hanging out with these guys and we get a sense for again who all his friends are I wish we knew a little bit more about
Starting point is 00:09:07 like who Cheddar Bob actually is I really I feel like there's just a lot kind of unsaid and unexplored about that character and not that it's the point or anything like that but you know like their core group with him and future and you know the other two guys the guy who's always you know
Starting point is 00:09:23 talking about the social issues and the other guy who's you know, the big fun guy, basically. Even though we don't really get to know them super well either, we at least like kind of learn what's on all their minds, whereas, you know, Cheddar Bob is a very surface and kind of very of the moment character. But even he had an interesting presence, and I like that, yeah, there were these moments
Starting point is 00:09:44 that, you know, Eminem has such a, obviously, I don't know, his image is certainly one of power. And it just, I don't know, it's not something that, associate with tenderness or like or even his sense of humor there's like an edge to it so like i liked that he was and for the most part i think his performance was really in tune and and really uh complementary to all the flavors you know i really bought him in pretty in most every scene there maybe a couple dramatic beats or something where i'm like okay i can tell this guy you know is not uh maybe the most developed actor but he's i think quite a developed actor for at least again
Starting point is 00:10:23 having done the life's worth of homework that had to go into this. Yeah, no, I agree with you. I thought he was really good. Like, I never didn't think that he was capable of carrying the movie. Like, I was thoroughly invested in him and his journey through the entire story. I think this movie is very interesting in the fact that it is a slice of life movie kind of going through the experiences. You don't really get to spend a ton of time with the other characters outside of Rabbit's, you know,
Starting point is 00:10:50 point of view, but I think it's interesting because I don't want to say like, I feel like set dressing is not the right word, but you have these people in his life that we only see through his lens to inform his journey of the different archetypes that exist within his life that inform the path in which he wants to take, you know, because we get somebody like his mom who, you know, she's going through her certain struggles and way of life. And, you know, he knows he doesn't want to be like his mom and he also has his friend group you know we have the dude who's with the social issues like we have a future who's always with the battle rap and he just he's kind of like in that lane and then you have the dude who's always trying to like get with the chicks
Starting point is 00:11:29 and he's like yeah like all these people and i've grown i've grown up around all of you guys but all we do is just to talk the same crap all the time we don't really get anything done and he and you see him in his moments of solitude working on his craft working on his music because see the hunger and i mean like you see the hunger and i mean like you see that he's good at the battle rap but that's not where his lane is he wants to be like a recording artist and i think it's interesting we have these these little moments that tease that that's where his path is going and i think that it's interesting in the sense that you know we this is a movie about his life but it's about more so his his journey into coming into his own than it is about
Starting point is 00:12:12 like battle rapping i think that's just like a a form in which he is able to to use to further his path in his in his purpose you know yeah it's like it's not quite about battle rapping and it's certainly not about like the rise of the pop and hip hop sensation you know as m and m you know it's yeah it is very much like i think it it rides a nice line actually because it can also be kind of an interesting prospect and sometimes maybe even a treacherous prospect when you're making a semi autobiographical about somebody who is younger or you know i mean this movie has been out for a good amount of time now and Eminem was certainly more
Starting point is 00:12:52 I can't remember exactly where he would have been in his career but this would have been pretty damn near the height I would imagine of his like you know kind of omnipresence 2002 yeah definitely probably like really yeah this is the height of his career because what didn't he like get big like the late 90s through like the early 2000 yeah and then I mean lose yourself was like I feel like the moment that clinched it because no matter who you were even if you didn't care about like that was a song that even if you weren't
Starting point is 00:13:16 a hip hop person at all you would probably entertain listening to lose yourself. It's just one of those songs that brings everyone together. Right. But yeah, it's like you don't really... I like that that stuff, even though like the songs that were composed for the movie, certainly are utilized here and are part of it.
Starting point is 00:13:33 In a lot of ways, I wasn't even thinking about Eminem, Eminem, Eminem. You know, it's like he talks about this stuff in a lot of his music, so it makes a lot of sense, but it also, the music business and recording music is like on the fringes. It's funny because you guys watched... straight out of Compton, which is much more about like, we're in the studio,
Starting point is 00:13:51 we're recording stuff, because this album got made. And certainly that was at a different point long after, you know, NWA's heyday. But yeah, I feel like they could have done that with a movie like this,
Starting point is 00:14:02 but I feel like, yeah, at least the true interesting thing probably is to tell that tale of where does this guy come from and where does he find the resolve to, yeah, stop making excuses for himself, to face some of his fears, to take some knocks on the chin
Starting point is 00:14:15 and just accept kind of the circle, of life here and really carve a path forward. And the fact, yeah, that he goes to war, like he finds an arrangement for the battle and then goes back to work right after is like, I think a beautiful little tie up. And I love too the way you start in the battle and he completely chokes like I, yeah,
Starting point is 00:14:36 and then to bring it back around and to have so much rap throughout and to have rap and battling, you know, be sort of this thing that appears in multi-forms because sometimes it's just a leisure activity. Sometimes people really are, you know, saying what they mean and getting into conflict. Sometimes someone's just being a bully, you know. And yeah, it's like there's a rich history.
Starting point is 00:14:56 And, you know, certainly I would imagine, if I'm not speaking out of turn, like, especially in black history, I would imagine, like, the use of music as a social interaction, but also as just like a tool and as so many things as carrying and telling stories. I mean, throughout human history, kind of, there's a function to music that we do. don't often acknowledge because music is so accessible and oftentimes like a leisure thing or an accoutrement, at least in terms of popular music. But there's like, yeah, there's so much to music just as a human interactionary form, you know, and I feel like that was kind of present all throughout until you get to the end and then you're back in the battle. And then, yeah, like that flight of, you know, of battles back and forth, you know, has such great build and momentum. And, yeah, then you get, like, the true catharsis after all this trouble.
Starting point is 00:15:50 And even that, like, you know, that flips the script, like Future says. And, like, pretty soon he owns the crowd. And free world has been laughed out of the building pretty much. Like, you know, and that is social currency. And it's fascinating. Yeah, I think I agree. Yeah, I think it is fascinating. So that kind of brings me back to what I wanted to say earlier about, like, my cortiques of the movie.
Starting point is 00:16:12 Sure. is that this movie is so rich and it's world that it builds around Rabbit I feel like it almost doesn't get the chance to let the entirety of that breathe like the whole stuff with this ex-girlfriend
Starting point is 00:16:26 we started with that like yeah I broke up with her she said she's pregnant and then we see her in two scenes but we never really engaged with that ever again and they talk about like gentrification and then they burn the building and we don't really engage with that in like a meaningful way towards the end of the movie
Starting point is 00:16:40 so like there are these things that he wants to talk about and that he wants to like bring light to within the film but I feel like this movie didn't really give the chance to fully explore those things also New World, New World Order not NWA but the group that Anthony Mackey was a part of. I feel like there was just
Starting point is 00:16:58 we got to see them peek in and out of the story and I feel like there's a lot more interesting stuff we could have told with them because we only see them really through Rabbit's lens and I feel like there's just like a lot more to that story that I've been interested in and kind of exploring but again That's not the focal point or the focus of the story.
Starting point is 00:17:16 And something else, or I guess in addition to what I was saying, is that this movie very much felt like the introduction to, you know, him on this path. And I love the fact that it ends on, he wins the battle, has this triumph of a moment. Everyone wants to go celebrate, get drunk, get high, or whatever. But he's like, no, I'm going back to work. It's about the discipline, the integrity for this guy. Even though he does, he's not perfect. He has his issues.
Starting point is 00:17:39 He does have a good head in his shoulders, which will lead him to success. but this definitely felt like okay we want to make this movie and then I would like to see the movie that is like straight out of Compton like his next steps like how he grows to get to success you know maybe the stuff with the girlfriend will become more prevalent in that maybe the stuff with gentrification will become more prevalent or more relevant within the story but I will say those are like the minor quartiques that I had like I feel like he wanted he wanted to include so much of his authentic experience not all of it was was poignant and extremely relevant to like the molding of his story and maybe you know maybe there's some context i missed and maybe there's some mnm fans out there that know a lot more about his story and if you guys do please just like sound off in the comments because i'm always looking to educate myself and i i grew up casually as an mnm fan but i don't know like his entire discography and this has definitely inspired me to want to go and listen to more of his older stuff so you know if you guys have some some thoughts some opinions well and that is the thing too is i feel like certainly there are
Starting point is 00:18:43 tons of bars across this movie but you know like the more horror core elements of his sound and the more shocking outlandish elements of his lyricism and stuff aren't as fully on display here so like uh not kind of tame a little bit like as far as like the subject matter we know him to explore it's pointed certainly and and and you know obviously there are dis is thrown back and forth and there are you know humorous bars and everything but you know there's not as much of like the murderous slim shady stuff like you know there's not really a slim shady to his Marshall Mathers here or things like that. And again, like, yeah, it's not really the point necessarily, but it is just something, I guess I appreciate that this is something that
Starting point is 00:19:22 allows you to kind of take what it's giving you and then you can, yeah, kind of extrapolate all kinds of other interesting threads that you could grow out of this. And yeah, it's like you could make a companion piece where this is the, who were you just before you became who we know you to be now or who we know you as as the public. And then, you know, the before the money movie, and then you make the after the money movie. And what are those? And, you know, different struggles and maybe some people would argue less interesting
Starting point is 00:19:49 and certainly in music, you know, people, depending on how you articulate it, you know, people can roll their eyes at the sort of like, the struggle of being successful and, you know, famous, you know, is different than the struggle of trying to make it and just trying to get by, certainly. But there's not to say that that wouldn't be interesting, too. No, I think this movie really get a good job
Starting point is 00:20:11 of getting us invested. and him as a character and I would have loved to have seen where his journey goes you're like do in the evolution of you focusing
Starting point is 00:20:19 and hunkering down as an artist do you still hang around those same guys you know like I don't know how much of these people how much of the crew
Starting point is 00:20:26 here is based off of people that he really hung out with I gotta imagine some of them are D12 like yeah was there a riff in your friendship when you got success and like hey
Starting point is 00:20:35 they want to come around do the party thing but you're in your lane and then you start meeting more successful people they feel left behind because obviously there was
Starting point is 00:20:42 that conflict too with D12 with them feeling like they were stepping stone for him or at least talk surrounding that conversation. I don't know exactly what every member has said on the record. Yeah. And, you know, he even said as not as said as much, but, you know, he pointed out the fact that like all these guys do is talk shit and he really wants to make something of himself. And like, again, he's someone who is who without trying to be the big bad, he could. clearly seemed like when they were fighting like hey guys cut this out like we don't we don't have time for this like what do you guys squabbling over so there was the sense of of leadership and integrity within his character in the story and I think that it's I don't know it just leads
Starting point is 00:21:26 to something that could later down the line organically unfold into natural conflicts within the people within his life also could could enhance some things you know like if if that girlfriend actually is pregnant what does that mean for him and like his journey as a father I just It just made me more, that's the, that's the sign of a good movie. It makes you more interested and want to know more about what's happening beyond the story itself. Yeah, yeah. Because there's a larger world here at play, even though this is based on the true story. I don't know how many liberties were taken, but still, on some base level, this is based off of something organic, something natural, something that is very real.
Starting point is 00:22:05 And I would like to know more about that. Granted, I know there's documentaries at this point. But I wouldn't, I wouldn't be mad through like an eight mile, too. Granted, he's like a lot older now. Or a series? Do you like a series? Did they say they're going to make an eight-mile series? A bee rabbit series or something like that?
Starting point is 00:22:19 A bee rabbit series? I mean, again, flying close to the sun and all that. But I mean, it would be interesting. Certainly they're like, and I mean, Atlanta has the surrealist kind of semi-view on to like, what is it like trying to make it as a rapper? But, you know, I feel like an Eminem-scoped version of that would definitely feel and move differently.
Starting point is 00:22:39 Yeah. Yeah, it would be fascinating. I'd be curious to know some facts about this movie. Yeah, absolutely. We can pull some up. But yeah, I guess to close the main review bit, I guess what I appreciated a lot about this was that I was able to get real swept up in just it as a movie. Yeah, definitely. And, you know, again, I thought I had a good sense of pace and build and kind of the ebb and flow of how, you know, you get some of the lighter moments up at the top and then things start to turn for the darker.
Starting point is 00:23:08 and, you know, it, for the most part, didn't feel too ham-fisted or too writ large or too much like a vanity project. It never felt like it was reaching. Oh, this is the same director who did L.A. Confidential? Never seen that one? Oh, my goodness. I was like, I know I know Curtis Hanson's name for sure. And, yeah, L.A. Confidential is a great sort of modern or 90s modern film noir movie. Very much worth a watch.
Starting point is 00:23:33 Okay. But, yeah, like, I really appreciated that the acting was compelling across the board, both from Eminem, but as well as the entire ensemble I thought was really well chosen and everybody had a lot of presence. And I like any time you can kind of sit and go like, damn, are they really battling each other? It seems like most of the rapping, or at least a lot of it, felt like probably what you would want on a set like this is to have people really kind of riffing off each other and in that moment and in that spirit.
Starting point is 00:24:00 And it felt like it had that energy. And then in the more, you know, cinematic acting scenes and whatnot, just like the different, of both Janine and Alex, I think those are their names, you know, Britney Murphy and the other girl in his life. Like they have, they do appear as kind of like fantasy characters in a way. Like they do feel sort of separated in tone
Starting point is 00:24:23 from the rest of the movie a little bit. Yeah. That said, I really liked the flourishes and I liked especially what Brittany Murphy brought in terms of just like she was saying so much with her body language and her eyes and her expressions. And this is the kind of movie where like that was, was a neat surprise, like there was so much in little postures and things, again, unspoken but
Starting point is 00:24:45 communicated. And again, there was just like a lot more to the cinematic experience, to the cinema. I feel like cinema has become a meme word lately. But yeah, I feel like there's a lot of, and like I love the way it was shot. And again, they had all these like really tight, claustrophobic like arguing scenes in the car where people are talking over each other and that stuff. You have to block and you have to rehearse and you have to really build trust. Like the, the, the, the, way he played off Kim Basinger. Like I thought
Starting point is 00:25:10 they must have had to have done a lot of work with all these people to really build these reports and have them feel as natural as they do
Starting point is 00:25:17 and to again give Eminem who at the time didn't have not that he's like out here straight up acting but he shows up
Starting point is 00:25:24 in stuff and acts from time to time and certainly this you know is a great calling card for that side of
Starting point is 00:25:33 his ability even though you don't get the sense that he's been trying to make that transition as you know a full time
Starting point is 00:25:37 thing ever So yeah. Something I will say before going to the fax is I liked the fact that that's her name, Taryn Manning. I thought I recognized the actress. Something I'll say before we're going to the facts is that I liked that this, the girl Alex, didn't have the, wasn't the traditional love interest in the sense that we'd see in normal movies like this. Because they don't end up together and she chees on them.
Starting point is 00:26:01 She does. But they're in a similar boat. And I like that they acknowledge the fact that even though she's trying to be a model and he's trying to be a rapper and oftentimes, especially things like modeling, people will sort of like cast that off or whatever. But they are doing kind of the same exact thing. I got to put together a portfolio of my work and hope one of these dudes promising an opportunity is going to give it me. And even when she's cheating on him in that scene, like it's in the, or at least in my reading of the performance and stuff, it's in there. Like, especially when they're talking about what their
Starting point is 00:26:33 arrangements are with Wink, I'm like, ah, this is just one extra feature that unfortunately, Unfortunately, you probably have to think about and engage with probably to elevate your opportunity, you know, efficacy, whereas Rabbit obviously can't do that under these circumstances. But like, so I think she was sleeping for him for the opportunity, but she was actually into Rabbit? That's the vibe I got. Oh, that's the vibe I got. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:26:58 And, yeah. And again, it's that thin line. And there, again, as much as the movie doesn't focus on things like that, there are, I don't. do appreciate that they at least incorporate, yeah, the gentrification and this rundown building and the history that it has and then with her, you know, the way in which, again, we're all trying to, we're all out here trying to, you know, get an opportunity, get the bag, whatever it is, and we are all kind of using whatever means necessary, whatever we have at our disposal. And, and yeah, like there's not actually that much different between what
Starting point is 00:27:32 the two of them are doing. And she follows her, ostensibly follows her path toward her. you know craft and goal and so does he you know yeah i was going to say that i feel that her purpose in the movie wasn't to be his love interest wasn't for them to fall in love but to to push him inspire him because they're in the same boat and like a freaking siren yeah yeah and then muse i guess kind of yeah and he wasn't going to show up to the to the battle and then she came in that in that last moment and like yeah you push him to go over there and i thought that was very cool that it's not about them as a couple it's about them falling through with their individual dreams which that was very, I don't, there's something you don't see often in movies.
Starting point is 00:28:11 I commend it for that. I thought across the board, they made a lot of choices that didn't feel altogether too cliched or, again, they just, they made little nuanced decisions throughout that, again, kept elevating the quality beyond just the general accessibility of like, oh, yeah, I'm an MNM movie, like, cool, I'm down, let's go. I wonder if she's a real person or who she's based on. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, I'm very excited to see what people have to comment, because I'm sure a lot of
Starting point is 00:28:37 people out here know a lot about this subject. But I'll read a couple of facts before we hop off. And thank you if you've made it this far into the video. Thank you. First up, the sheet of paper that Jimmy writes on on the bus is the real sheet that Evan M. Rowe
Starting point is 00:28:53 Lose Yourself on. The sheet of paper sold for $10,000 on an eBay auction. That's crazy. Damn. When did he write that? Holy shit. Did he write, lose yourself like during that time and just recorded later or like i gotta imagine that was recorded
Starting point is 00:29:09 as released in 2002 i don't know when did you write the song yeah official demo version was released in 2014 okay alright fine you wrote it 2014 he traveled back in time unless unless i don't know people people can fill us in on that too but uh yeah m&M improvised his okay there we go improvised his lyrics and changed the lyrics in the battle rap
Starting point is 00:29:34 scenes they threw uh this threw Off the other rappers. Yeah, man. I was hoping it was authentic. I was hoping that wasn't rehearsed. And I'm happy that that turned out to be true. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I wonder if Exhibit brought his own bars.
Starting point is 00:29:48 Eminem was unable, oh, this is fun, to accept his Academy Award in person. He felt so sure another nominee would win that he did not bother to attend the ceremony. Instead, he was sleeping while his daughter watched cartoons. What did he win for? Did he win like a best actor? It must have been.
Starting point is 00:30:05 No. Oh, was it music? Oh, of course. Of course. Duh. All right. Yeah. I feel like a dumb dumb.
Starting point is 00:30:12 Yeah, of course, best original song. Because again, you lose yourself is one of those songs that even the Oscars is like, well, how, like, yeah. It's iconic. This is the moment. And also, anybody can tap into the lyrical content, you know. Lose yourself recorded especially for eight mile was the first rap song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, which it did in 2003. Oh, okay. yeah, of course, 2014, way later.
Starting point is 00:30:38 So, yeah, this was written for the movie. That makes sense. But, yeah, I mean, I would still pay $10,000 than you paid for that. In the movie, Jimmy's mother states that he got his nickname rabbit because as a child, he had big teeth like a bunny rabbit. In real life, Eminem's relatives called him Mickey, in reference to Mickey Mouse for the same reason. He doesn't have teeth, but maybe the big ears. Yeah, yeah, that's fair. Oh, Brittany Murphy admitted in an interview.
Starting point is 00:31:05 with David Letterman, that she and Eminem became romantically involved during the production. Oh, that chemistry was palpable. That absolutely tracks, man. Oh, my goodness gracious. Yeah, totally. That 100% tracks to me. Let's see. The battle rap scenes took days to film and 300 extras were starting to get bored.
Starting point is 00:31:23 Director Curtis Hanson started an improv freestyle rap battle among them. And the three best rappers will be filmed going to head to head with Eminem. Oh. Each of the 134 volunteer. got 15 seconds in front of a judiciary panel. Ultimately, the jury chose four rappers who got a one shot, one take only scene with Eminem, who wanted to mime his responses
Starting point is 00:31:46 to save his voice for these scripted scenes. Eminem couldn't resist the challenge by staying silent, especially with the crowd taunting him and took on his opponents. That's awesome. Oh my God, that's cool. That's, yeah. Oh, my God.
Starting point is 00:32:00 A true mic chance. Screw it, man. The vocal cords are going to do what they're going to do. Can't fake this? I can't imagine him being horse during whatever scene would take away from the movie. Director Curtis Hansen asked Eminem
Starting point is 00:32:13 to dye his hair back to its natural color. That's right. We didn't even mention that. He had the brown hair. Yeah, I noticed that. I noticed that as we were watching it. I was like, oh, maybe he just wasn't blonde back then. But early in that career, part of his career, he was slim shady blonde. Oh, yeah. And so yeah, to die his hair back
Starting point is 00:32:26 to the natural color so the audience would relate to him as Jimmy Rabbit instead of his Eminem persona. And again, I think that's smart. Like, I think there is like just enough. It makes me wonder how get Richard I try. is and how much of like a direct 50 cent rise story it is whereas like this is like just enough Eminem without being it feels more like a Marshall Mathers movie yeah the reason I didn't comments I'm like oh yeah well this makes sense for this time but also he's brown hair now yeah
Starting point is 00:32:51 he hasn't he's got the weird beard weird weird uh during filming Eminem wrote in a notebook between takes it was his only chance to promote uh to compose sorry the film soundtrack damn And he lost 24 pounds for the role. Why? Because you got to get that Marvel body. He's got to join the D12 Avengers. I get that struggle weight. Future is based almost entirely on Eminem's best friend.
Starting point is 00:33:18 Proof, all right, because they called him Mr. Porter at one point. That's another one of the D12 guys. But from hosting battles to the story of how he got his name, Proof, also known as a little tick, the rapper B Rabbit faces in his first battle. Proof manages to sneak his name as an acronym when he raps. I'll punish rabbit or obsolete future. Damn. Well done.
Starting point is 00:33:40 Oh my God. Quentin Tarantino, Alan Parker, Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry were all considered to direct. Tarantino reluctantly declined as he was in the middle of production for Kill Bill volumes one and two.
Starting point is 00:33:53 Wow. That's wild. Oh my God. The amount of different takes on this we could have had. Okay. What? Okay. Here we go.
Starting point is 00:34:03 M&M was keen. quite keen that the film not be an autobiographical piece as he felt that homing in on his own personal history would limit the storytelling and characterization by creating a fictional character he knew that he would be unrestricted in how he performed damn that is a good choice that is absolutely a good choice oh man well the one knows how it has 506 that's an interesting guy 5006 I didn't even realize that I have to go back and watch Eminem is in every single scene of the movie I'm me and I guess so. And it's the film debut of Anthony Mackey. Holy shit. Damn, all right. When Eminem first lived in Detroit, he started performing at the shelter
Starting point is 00:34:42 at Detroit club located in the basement of St. Andrew's Hall. Scenes that take place in the shelter were filmed in an empty warehouse because the actual club looked too nice. That's funny. That's hilarious. Oh, my goodness.
Starting point is 00:34:54 All right. All right. Eight Mile was originally considered to have an unofficial follow-up movie titled Southpaw, which Andrew and I checked out. With Eminem reprising his role, now is a down on his luck, lightweight, left-handed boxer trying to regain custody of his daughter.
Starting point is 00:35:12 The script eventually evolved, and that idea was scrapped. However, the film eventually was made and was released in 2015 with Jake Gyllenhaal, starring in the lead role with Eminem producing the soundtrack, and that song, I am phenomenal! That would have been crazy. Oh, and Eminem was reported, there's so much good trivia on this movie. There are too many to read them all, but Eminem was reportedly romantically linked with Britney Murphy and Kim Basinger during filming.
Starting point is 00:35:36 Oh, Brittany confirmed the reports that she and Eminem dated. He said nothing. Eminem denied the reports that he and Kim dated. She said nothing. All right, all right. So that's just, that's just, that's just, that's the thing. That's crazy. You know, you really got to, got to, you know, do your homework.
Starting point is 00:35:53 Oh, Curtis Hansen called Eminem an extraordinarily gifted artist. I'm sure a lot of people have said that. Yeah. It's the second highest debut for an artist. Michael Shannon, in fact. Michael Shannon, who plays Greg, Rabbit's mother's abusive boyfriend is actually almost two years younger than epa-de-de-da-ma.
Starting point is 00:36:10 That's the other thing, too. I kept wondering about his character. I'm like, how old are you even older than him? Or are you just kind of like lording around because you're slightly in a maybe better position because of your insurance money or whatever? Yeah, yeah, that's what I was thinking. I was like, they, everyone just looks so close in age.
Starting point is 00:36:26 Yeah, that much older than him. So, like, yeah, the hierarchy of like generational authority He's like all out of whack, too. Yeah, I wholly agree on that. Yes. All right. How are you feeling fact-wise? I'm feeling pretty good.
Starting point is 00:36:42 This was, let's land on this. A particularly demanding role for Eminem who's in every scene. At the end of shooting, Curtis Hansen asked his star, how was it for you? Eminem replied, never again. And indeed, apart from a cameo in Judd-Apato's funny people and a cameo in the interview, he has never played a lead role in a film scene. Wow. These are all some great facts, man.
Starting point is 00:37:03 Thank you guys so much for watching. This has been an amazing time. I'm happy that I was able to watch this with you. Yeah. I got to share that, man. I've been waiting years to see this movie. And I just missed the opportunity. But yeah, this has been great.
Starting point is 00:37:15 This opportunity comes once in a lifetime. Any day you want because it's on Blu-ray and it's streaming. You could watch it all day every day if you wanted to. That's not as catchy. That's the long version, the extended alternative version. It's the demo. This opportunity comes with your purchase of the Blu-ray. That's right. That's right. By that blue ray, baby. Okay, guys, you guys are awesome. Tune in for the next video. You guys are beautiful. Thank you so much. And douses.
Starting point is 00:37:45 Chris, this month we are shouting out our patrons and exclaiming which celebrity they instantly remind us of. And Chris, it is so obvious which one comes to mind. It's too obvious. In fact, this might be a real one. Now that I think about it. Ooh. Who are you going to think? I know who mine is. Do you have one? I feel like anything I think is going to be very off.
Starting point is 00:38:16 I do. Do you have two? Oh, fuck. I have one. I have a main one. Choose one. All right. I'm going to say three, two, one.
Starting point is 00:38:24 Keanu Reese. What? Okay. I guess so. Because, you know, Chris is always swooping in here. Like, you know, and through some random turn of events bestows upon us a very generous, you know, donation to the nation. You know, it's like he's building 500 wells in Africa, but it's our Patreon and or live stream, you know? And I assume Chris would make a mean protein bar.
Starting point is 00:38:52 People hate him for some reason for being a good guy. People hate Chris because he's just out here doing good and entertaining stuff. I feel like he's like Keanu because he's a good guy who's always giving and is humble and people like him. That is actually the perfect one for Chris, because, like, Kianu is like Mr. Beast, but of the soul. Yeah. You know, he's always just showing up, and you don't even have to stand for 100 minutes on a square. It's because he doesn't scream, look at me. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:39:17 For how good I have made a hyper-edited video. With a super airbrushed thumbnail. He's, he is just giving in the shadows. Yeah, we're not even exactly sure what he looks like. Yeah, he's just out here doing the Lord's work. as the Lord prescribed it without making it obvious. He's so freaking awesome.
Starting point is 00:39:38 You are the white knight. You are the white knight. You have such honor and chivalry. You are not the hero we deserve. You are not the hero. The one we need. We need. We need you.
Starting point is 00:39:50 We need you, man. We got back there eventually. And the space you... Words defy me when I think of you. The only reason we keep doing live streams is because you. It's because of you. It's expressly because of him.
Starting point is 00:40:02 pays for the hours for the people who are sitting next to either myself or Jones. In fact, next live stream, we'll just begin it by saying, you know, Chris Whamoff presents. We might as well. Here from the lovely Chris Whamoff Studios at Reject Nation HQ. Welcome to the live stream. Holding down the fort. Chris Waboff. Brought to you by Chris.
Starting point is 00:40:22 You're an amazing guy, Chris. Thank you for being you, Chris. Love you. Stay Chris.

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