“BMF” used “the same technology” that Martin Scorsese used in “The Irishman” in order to turn Marshall Mathers aka Eminem back in time for the seventh episode of the upcoming Starz drama.
Executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson revealed that tidbit during the series’ Television Critics Assn. press tour panel on Aug. 19. Mathers was previously reported to be joining the show as infamous rapper Richard Wershe Jr. aka White Boy Rick.
The technology comes into play, Jackson said, in order to “get him back to his teenage years” for performances Mathers will be delivering as Rick at age 16. It is an episode Jackson directed — the second time he got behind the camera in that way — and it was something he knew would give the show “a little splash.”
Jackson admitted he “wasn’t sure I could make it happen” at first, but he was game to try and in the end it worked out, much to showrunner Randy Huggins’ delight.
“Really, it was Randy’s idea to get Marshall to come out to play White Boy Rick,” Jackson noted.
“BMF” centers on the Black Mafia Family (hence the title) in southwest Detroit in the late 1980s, following brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory (Demetrius Flenory Jr.) and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (Da’Vinchi). Flenory Jr. noted that he thinks his dad, who is currently incarcerated, would “love” the show and that his “family is grateful” for the opportunity to tell their story.
The show will explore their influential crime family, as well as how they moved beyond drugs and into the world of hip-hop. That’s where Mathers’ guest spot comes in. Snoop Dogg is also on deck to guest star in the first season, though he will be playing the family’s spiritual advisor, Pastor Swift.
Russell Hornsby also reunites with Jackson on this series; he plays Charles Flenory.
“He assured me that this is a family drama,” Hornsby said about collaborating with Jackson on “BMF.” “These projects are telling our stories with a higher sense of craft [and] a high sense of purpose.”
Watch a trailer for “BMF,” which premieres on Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. on Starz, below.