Although you’d expect him to be tired of explaining himself by now, Eminem is apparently set to star in a big-screen version of his life story.
Movie producer Brian Grazer told “Access Hollywood” that he has cast the controversial rapper in a semi-autobiographical movie that will begin with his rocky childhood in the trailer parks of Detroit.
“It’s a ‘Purple Rain’ kind of movie,” he told the syndicated television show Monday, referring to Prince’s 1984 film. “It’s a hip movie, loosely based on Eminem’s life, growing up in Detroit – an edgy story of his life. … I think he’ll be a really good actor,” said Grazer, whose credits include “The Nutty Professor” and the television series “Felicity.”
Eminem’s publicist confirmed that Em and Grazer have discussed such a project but could not confirm that the rapper had committed to it. Eminem recently told BBC Radio that he was considering taking on an action movie co-starring DMX.
Meanwhile, a New York toy company is perfecting three dolls in the rapper’s likeness, including a chainsaw-wielding figure representing Em’s evil alter-ego, Slim Shady. The other two dolls are Eminem, the rapper, and Marshall Mathers, the “regular guy.”
The dolls will be offered in two sizes and sold through record stores and specialty shops starting in July. The stand-alone figures will be about $10 each, while those including stands will be about $13, said Carlos Espada of Art Asylum, the dolls’ designer.
Art Asylum, which is based in Brooklyn, also made Kiss figures and designed the “Scuba Steve” doll for Adam Sandler’s “Big Daddy” movie.
Eminem has had input into the design of each of his dolls and is most pleased with the Slim Shady figure, Espada said.
Per Em’s request, changes are still being made the Eminem doll. That figure currently is clad in the rapper’s typical stage apparel of a white T-shirt and blue jeans, with his hands up as if in mid-rap. The Marshall Mathers doll is a casually posed figure wearing a puffy white coat, tan pants and a white hat.
Asked why the world needs a chainsaw-wielding Slim Shady doll, Espada said it’s simply for entertainment.
“To, me it’s funny that … it’s okay for [Arnold] Schwarzenegger to kill people in his movies, but when Eminem puts it in a song, it’s wrong,” he said. “The same people who hate Eminem are the same people who take their kids to see ‘Terminator.’ They say, ‘Well, movies are only fantasy.’ [Eminem’s music] is the same thing.”