Eminem 'to star in boxing movie'

Eminem 'to star in boxing movie'
by Matt Glazebrook, Posted Dec 14, 2010Eminem's debut film role -- that of would-be rapper Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith in the semi-autobiographical '8 Mile' -- had more than a hint of 'Rocky' about it: a working-class white kid from a crumbling industrial city, battling against the odds to succeed in an African-American-dominated field.

His second major thespian turn, according to AllHipHop.com, will have even more in common with Sylvester Stallone's 1976 breakthrough movie.

'Southpaw' will apparently star Marshall Mathers as a welterweight boxer whose success in the ring is tempered by troubles in his private life. The script -- which will be written early next year -- will again loosely reflect the hip-hop star's own experiences, including his struggle to win approval from his daughter.

The screenplay will be the work of Kurt Sutter, the writer of US motorcycle-club set drama 'Sons Of Anarchy'. "I took meetings with Marshall's producing partners over the past 7 years, looking for something to do together," Sutter explains. "I know he's very selective and doesn't do a lot... He is very interested in the boxing genre, and it seemed like an apt metaphor, because his own life has been a brawl."

The screenwriter says that 'Southpaw' be "a retelling of [Eminem's] struggles over the last five years of his life, using the boxing analogy."