Eminem’s latest battle-rap flick is headed to YouTube.
The streaming heavyweight has scored the worldwide rights to the Marshall Mathers-produced “Bodied,” a satirical movie that follows a grad student-turned-battle-rapper.
Calum Worthy (“Austin & Ally” and “American Vandal”) stars as Adam Merkin, a progressive student whose interest in competitive hip-hop for his thesis project ends up breeding success — and anger from his opponents.
“Bodied” was directed by Joseph Kahn, a music video mainstay that’s led projects from Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Eminem, of course. YouTube is hosting a sneak peek of “Bodied” on Sunday, Jan. 21 at the Sundance Film Festival. Attendees can get tickets at a public reception at the YouTube House.
After Sundance, “Bodied” will have a theatrical release, before hitting YouTube Red later in 2018. The movie premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last September, winning the Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award; it also boasts a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8/10 score on IMDb.
Charlamagne Tha God makes a cameo as a battle rapper in the film, alongside other performers like Dizaster and Dumfoundead. Jackie Long (“Idlewild” and “ATL”), Shoniqua Shondai (“Sing It!”), Walter Perez (“The Avengers”), and Rory Uphold (“Hella”) star alongside Worthy. Def Jam Records CEO Paul Rosenberg, along with Adi Shankar and Jil Hardin, join Eminem as producers on the project.