The rapper - real name Marshall Mathers - is set to play the lead role in `Southpaw` which follows a fast-rising boxer who wins the welterweight world title, only to see his world come crashing down following a tragedy and his subsequent attempts to regain glory. Kurt Sutter will pen the script, partly based on Eminem`s struggles with prescription drug addiction, which he documented in his recent album `Recovery`. He told Deadline.com: "I took meetings with Marshall`s producing partners over the past seven years, looking for something to do together. "I know he`s very selective and doesn`t do a lot. But he shared so much of his personal struggle in this raw and very honest album, one that I connected with on a lot of levels. "He is very interested in the boxing genre, and it seemed like an apt metaphor, because his own life has been a brawl. In a way, this is a continuation of the `8 Mile` story, but rather than a literal biography, we are doing a metaphorical narrative of the second chapter of his life. At its core, this is a retelling of his struggles over the last five years of his life, using the boxing analogy." Explaining the title of the movie, which is slang term for a left handed fighter, Kurt admitted he drew parallels with Eminem`s career as a rap outsider. He said: "I love that the title refers to Marshall being a lefty, which is to boxing what a white rapper is to hip hop; dangerous, unwanted and completely unorthodox. It`s a much harder road for a southpaw than a right handed boxer."