Eminem starring in "Have Gun Will Travel" remake
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Eminem Goes "Gun" Crazy
by Josh Grossberg
Jun 13, 2006, 2:00 PM PT
Semi-retired from rapping, Eminem is targeting a return to acting.
The hip-hop star, whose film debut in 2002's 8 Mile was a critical and box-office smash, is attached to star in Paramount's contemporary update of CBS' classic TV series Have Gun Will Travel, Daily Variety reports.
The artist otherwise known as Marshall Mathers III will play a modern version of the show's hero, Paladin, a professional gunslinger and West Point graduate in the original series, who, after the Civil War, lends his deadly talents out as a mercenary for hire.
The original TV western, starring Richard Boone, ran from 1957 to 1963 and was hugely popular. His black-clad bounty hunting hero carried a business card featuring the figure of a white chess knight--and bearing the transcription: "Have Gun Will Travel...Wire Paladin, San Francisco." The big-screen version will reportedly incorporate some elements from the show but will be revamped as a present-day action-adventure.
In a nod to Eminem's rabid fan base Variety reports that filmmakers might tweak the story to take place in the rapper's hometown of Detroit. An Oscar winner for Best Song for 8 Mile's "Lose Yourself," Eminem is also expected to contribute several original songs to the Have Gun Will Travel soundtrack.
The studio will develop the property via Interscope/Shady/Aftermath Films with Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg, music producer Jimmy Iovine, and the rapper likely sharing producer credit.
Paramount is putting Have Gun Will Travel on the fast track and hopes to roll cameras within the coming months.
The film finds the hip-hop legend at a crossroads, both personally and professionally.
After spending a month in rehab last year to kick an addiction to prescription sleep medication, Eminem remarried and then filed for divorce yet again from on-off partner Kim Mathers.
And while he is taking time off from his own recording, Eminem has been keeping himself busy in the studio producing protégé Obie Trice's sophomore album.