With the advanced screening of the Eminem movie “8 Mile” set for 7 p.m. at the Auditorium, the rumor mills are swirling as to whether the famous rapper will be appearing on campus.
“I’ve heard the rumors, and I don’t think it would be a big surprise if Eminem comes,” political theory senior Stan Beltowski said. “It would be pure chaos, people would go crazy. You can agree or not agree with what he says, but when it all comes down to it, people recognize talent.”
MSU officials say they have no knowledge of a scheduled appearance by the Detroit rapper turned movie actor.
Calls by The State News to the rapper’s publicist were not returned and Universal Pictures would not comment on the event.
The movie “8 Mile,” directed by Curtis Hanson, takes Eminem’s fans through a journey as he tries to make a name for himself as a legitimate rapper in Detroit’s underground hip-hop scene. The movie is loosely based on Eminem’s early career and stars Kim Basinger and Brittany Murphy. The movie hits theaters Nov. 8.
Demand for tickets has been extremely high, Residence Halls Association officials said.
RHA, which is co-sponsoring the event with Universal Pictures, distributed 1,500 free tickets through the Wharton Center Box Office.
Signs posted on Wharton Center doors Thursday said there were only 100 tickets available. Those tickets are going to be given out on a first-come, first-serve basis to students starting at 8:30 a.m. today.
Requests for tickets have exceeded what Wharton Center officials anticipated, forcing them to hand out only one ticket per student, as opposed to two.
Keith Jones, events board director for RHA, said it is because of the movie, not the rumors, that the event is nearly sold out. Adding this is one of the biggest events the organization has ever brought to campus.
Janelle Jacobs, assistant director of the University Activities Board, said sneak previews of movies are nothing new to MSU. University Activities Board commonly holds screenings for the Campus Center in B-108 Wells Hall, which has a capacity of about 600 people. Earlier this month, a sneak preview of “Red Dragon” was shown to a capacity crowd.
Jacobs said the fact that the “8 Mile” premiere is coming to such a large venue, where thousands of people are expected to attend, makes the screening special.
David Ostrowski, a political theory senior, is not attending the event, but said the buzz on campus is causing students to get the tickets by whatever means possible.
“My crazy friend camped out at the Wharton Center to get tickets,” he said. “I would never have that kind of dedication.”
Brad Johnson, program director at WQHH (96.5-FM), an urban music station in Lansing, said since Eminem has become a well-known rapper, whatever venture he is involved in will draw a lot of attention.
“Every generation has an icon they adore or abhor,” he said. “You’re either going to love him or hate him. Previous generations had Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix. This generation’s icon is Eminem.”
Staff writers Aaron Foley and Casey McNenly contributed to this report.
Antonio Planas can be reached at planasan@msu.edu.
