TORONTO -- Despite assurances that Eminem would not be attending his own movie premiere, fans mobbed Yonge St. last night outside the Elgin Theatre, nevertheless.

The star-studded crowd, for the first-ever showing of 8 Mile, included the usual list of suspects from Jake Gyllenhaal to Sharon Stone.

The director, Curtis Hanson, who directed L.A. Confidential, addressed the audience prior to the screening and mentioned that he had a superstitious good-feeling about the restored and renovated Elgin Theatre. As he pointed out, one crucial scene in the movie is set in the shell of the formerly beautiful Michigan Theatre, which is now a parking lot. 8 Mile is the name of the street that divides Detroit from its suburbs. Eminem acquits himself nicely in this debut and for a newcomer he gets a hell of a great love scene with Brittany Murphy. Kim Basinger is also in 8 Mile in the role of Eminem's mother. His fans are going to love it.