Featured Image Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy
Topics: Eminem, GTA, TV and Film, Gaming
Anish Vij
Witnessing Slim Shady take on the role as a GTA character in a feature length film could have been truly epic.
And it could of nearly happened too, as Rockstar apparently turned down the chance to make a GTA movie starring Eminem, an insider has claimed.
Games industry veteran, Kirk Ewing, claims to be friends with brothers, Sam and Dan Houser, the creators of GTA, BBC reports.
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On an episode of the BBC podcast Bugzy Malone's Grandest Game, Ewing claims that a Hollywood agent approached him with a potential deal.
But sadly, Sam Houser reportedly told the agent that the company was 'not interested'.
In 2002, Eminem's 8 Mile had just dropped, which showcased Shady's ability to act on screen.
He was one of the biggest artists on the planet at the time after the release of Marshall Mathers LP.
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And the year previous, GTA 3's release had quite literally changed the world of gaming forever, receiving critical acclaim and becoming the best-selling game of 2001.
Ewing said that he spoke to Sam Houser at a hotel, where they apparently discussed the possibility of a GTA movie.
He said: "I think at that point it was still in Sam's mind that it might be something that he wanted to do."
The agent then came to them with an offer, as Ewing explains: "He said 'Kirk we've got Eminem to star, and it's a Tony Scott film - $5m on the nose. Are you interested?'
"And I phoned up Sam and I said 'Listen to this. They want Eminem in the Grand Theft Auto movie and Tony Scott to direct'.
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"And he said: 'Not interested'."
He added: "They realised that the media franchise that they had was bigger than any movie that was going on at the time."
LADbible have reached out to Rockstar for comment.
More recently, Rockstar Games gave a response after leaked Grand Theft Auto 6 footage appeared online.
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In a statement issued in September, the company said: "We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way.
"Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, our players, that truly exceeds your expectations.
"We will update everyone again soon and, of course, will properly introduce you to this next game when it is ready. We want to thank everyone for their ongoing support in this situation."