The Reel Rejects - 8 MILE (2002) MOVIE REVIEW!! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!
Episode Date: June 11, 2024THIS 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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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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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...
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
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.
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
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
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,
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?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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.
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,
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,
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
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,
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
in stuff
and acts from time
to time
and certainly this
you know
is a great
calling card
for that side of
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
No.
Oh, was it music?
Oh, of course.
Of course.
Duh.
All right.
Yeah.
I feel like a dumb dumb.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Wow.
That's wild.
Oh my God.
The amount of different takes on this we could have had.
Okay.
What?
Okay.
Here we go.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You're an amazing guy, Chris.
Thank you for being you, Chris.
Love you.
Stay Chris.