Although he was widely praised for 8 Mile, Eminem has shown little sign of trying to build a movie career, although that appears it may be changing. Just last month we reported he was attached to a pitch called Southpaw, which is planned as another semi-autobiographical flick, but turning the singers struggles into a movie about a fast-rising welterweight boxer who brawls his way to the title, only to see his world crash down around him due to tragedy.
Now it appears he’s got another movie up his sleeve too, as Vulture reports that he intends to star in a crime thriller called Random Acts Of Violence, which is set up at 20th Century Fox. The film originated a couple of years ago as a script that Vulture describes as ‘essentially a poor mans version of video game Grand Theft Auto’. However Rockstar Games refused to release the film rights for GTA, not least because the deal didn’t make it worth it for them.
However after attempts to make it GTA-esque but not GTA failed, Fox brought in TV director David Von Ancken, who has apparently thrown out most of the original idea, scrapped the car thievery and gone for something more gritty, in the vein of The Town or The Departed. ‘An ex-con smarter than his past is fresh out of prison and trying to stay legit but his efforts are complicated by his old gang who wants him back on the job. So, too, does the FBI, which hopes hell wear a wire and bring down the crime syndicate. The ex-con, meanwhile, tries to play both sides against each other long enough to exact revenge against those on both sides of the law who sent him to prison in the first place.’
A new writer will now be brought in to give the script one last polish, as Von Ancken can’t do it as he’s got TV directing gigs, although he is expected to helm the actual movie, with Eminen in the lead role.