Plenty of musicians try their hands at acting. There are also plenty of music biopics. What about when an actor stars in their own (ostensible) biopic? Well, then you have 8 Mile. Eminem stars in a movie largely based on his life, and it could have turned out a real misfire all things considered. Instead, we got one of the most successful music-based movies ever. Sit down with your spaghetti and read these 20 facts you might not know about 8 Mile.

It made use of real locations in the Detroit area

8 Mile derives its name from a main street in the Metro Detroit area that serves as the borderline for the city of Detroit in the north. The film was actually shot in the environs of Detroit. The Shelter, where Jimmy goes to his first (unsuccessful) rap battle, is an actual venue in Detroit

The screenwriter has picked up two Oscar nominations

Fresh off writing and directing The Mod Squad, Scott Silver was given the task of writing the script to 8 Mile. After this film, Silver’s career would stall for a bit, but he’s found real success in recent years. The writer has gotten Oscar nominations for being the cowriter of both The Fighter and Joker.

The director actually had an Oscar

Silver has picked up a couple of screenplay nominations from the Academy Awards. Curtis Hanson, the director of 8 Mile, actually has an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He and co-writer Brian Helgeland won for L.A. Confidential. Hanson also got a Best Director nomination for that movie.

A few other directors were considered

Before Hanson got the role, Stephen Daldry, Danny Boyle, and Quentin Tarantino were also in the mix. Tarantino reportedly would have liked to do it, but was busy working on Kill Bill.

‘8 Mile’ was an ‘L.A. Confidential’ reunion

Hanson isn’t the only one who an Oscar for L.A. Confidential. Kim Basinger secured a breakthrough win in the Best Supporting Actress category for that movie as well. In 8 Mile, Basinger would be cast as Stephanie, the mother of Jimmy.

A rapper lost out on a bigger role