The premiere of “8 Mile,” the story of Jimmy Smith Jr.’s (Eminem) escape from a dead-end life in Detroit, attempts to deliver a performance Michigan natives Jeff Daniels (Chelsea), Michael Moore (Flint) and - to a lesser extent - Steven Seagal (Lansing) have attempted in the past.
Mo Nasor, manager of Celebration Cinema, 200 E. Edgewood Blvd. in Lansing, said the film’s potential draw will require the theater to show it on two screens.
“This has been anticipated for a while,” he said. “It was supposed to be released earlier than November, and we’ve had a lot of phone calls about it.
“He is a local name and has been pretty popular in the last year as a rapper. It will be a big draw.”
But Ron Van Timmeran, public relations director for the cinema, said “8 Mile” isn’t nearly as anticipated as “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” or “Die Another Day,” despite the buzz created by Eminem’s fans. The films are slated for release on Nov. 15 and Nov. 22, respectively.
“The tracking numbers are similar to ‘I Spy,’” Timmeran said. “It should play like ‘Jackass,’ and that is what everyone is anticipating.
“He has a fan base, which being a rapper, might parlay into box-office dollars, not unlike Howard Stern did. Because he is from Michigan, it will be even better for Michigan theaters than say ‘(Sweet Home) Alabama.’”
Movie mavens can purchase tickets for Friday’s premiere in advance at www.celebrationcinema.com.
A good indicator of the crowds expected to see “8 Mile” was the film’s advance screening at the Auditorium on Oct. 11.
Only 1,695 seats were available.
No-preference freshman Kelly Hoover was among those fortunate enough to see Eminem’s movie debut and free concert.
“I thought it was realistic and interesting how it showed Detroit and Michigan,” she said.
“His performance was really good and surprising. He really got the audience involved.”
Hoover said based on the screening and because of the Michigan connection, “8 Mile” will do well when it’s released.
“I don’t know if it was because it was about his life and that’s why it worked, but I thought he did a good job,” she said.
“8 Mile” producer Curtis Hanson’s attempts to recruit young people for extras in the club scenes of the film got the attention of MSU graduate Matt Welz, who danced next to the film’s co-star, Brittany Murphy.
“It was pretty crazy because they recorded the exact same thing over 25 times,” he said. “There were a few times the director was like ‘That was perfect, let’s do it 10 more times.’”
Although Welz realized that his appearance behind Murphy was digitally removed from the film during a special screening for actors, he said “8 Mile” was still entertaining.
“I actually liked it, and I don’t like Eminem,” he said. “I know all the rap movies like ‘Krush Groove’ and ‘Beat Street’, and it can easily be compared to these movies.
“It was a lot like ‘Purple Rain.’”
General business management junior Tyler Barrett said he is looking forward to the film’s release.
“I will be interested to see how he can perform as an actor,” he said. “A lot of musicians like Vanilla Ice have tried acting, and it doesn’t work out.
“But who knows, he could be as good an actor as Ice Cube.”
