8 Mile High and Rising

Eminem sailed into Barcelona last week for the MTV Europe Music Awards on an updraft of hot reviews and the box office success of his movie debut. 8 Mile , a semi-autobiopic starring the rapper — whose talent is fast rendering his many controversies irrelevant — grossed $54.5 million in its first weekend in the U.S. What's more, 8 Mile and Eminem's performance has been generating serious Oscar buzz (yes, it really has), and the sound track from his movie went straight to the top of the Billboard 200. If there had been a Best Crossover Act at the MTV Awards, he...