Eminem has remain relatively quiet in the past couple of months and with good reason. The Detroit rhyme-slinger is back in the studio working on his eighth album. His last effort, 'Recovery', dropped in 2010 and has sold 5.7 million copies worldwide.

Now that Eminem is recording again, production on his much-talked about boxing movie 'Southpaw' has been delayed. The Grammy-winning rapper has signed on to play the lead character in the gritty drama about a boxer trying to make a comeback against insurmountable odds. The movie will mark Em's first lead role in a movie since his 2002 performance in '8 Mile.'

"He's focusing on his music right now, so while he’s doing that, while he's in that space, he wanted to put [the film] on hold for the time being," Eminem's rep Dennis Dennehy told the Detroit Free Press.

The 'Southpaw' project is not necessarily dead and there's hope that the film will eventually get made. Eminem has applied for film permits in the metro-Detroit area but withdrew them citing "talent issues."

Relocating the project out of Detroit would financially hurt the already cash-strapped city, but Dennehy insists that's not the case. "What I'm told is when the film does get made, the plan is that the bulk of it will be shot in Michigan. That was always the understanding," he says.

It's good to hear that Eminem is back in the studio recording new music. Let's hope his 'Southpaw' movie gets off the ground, as well.

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