For years, everyone in Hollywood has wanted to get their hands on Grand Theft Auto. Big name producers and senior execs at major studios all did their best to convince Rockstar to give up the film rights to their franchise. But the brothers Houser were reluctant, and who can blame them? Grand Theft Auto is a huge cash cow and has a bigger profile in the young male demo than most TV shows and movies. And God knows there have been a lot of awful videogame-based movies that hurt the property more than they helped. So, even amongst those able to navigate the Rockstar bureaucracy and talk to the right people, the answer was always "no."

But last year, something changed. By the spring, a deal was virtually in place with one of the six major studios to start developing a Grand Theft Auto movie. Eminem was quite possibly going to star.