8 Mile is a 2002 film starring Eminem (Marshall Mathers) as the young white rapper Jimmy Smith Jr. Eight Mile Road is a road which forms the boundary between predominantly African American Detroit, Michigan and the city's mostly "white" northern suburbs. The term "8 Mile" therefore represents a barrier that is difficult to cross. Besides Mathers, the stars of the movie include Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer, Omar Benson Miller, Eugene Byrd, Michael Shannon, Evan Jones, Chloe Greenfield, Taryn Manning and De'Angelo Wilson.