Last February, it was announced that Eminem was producing a documentary about his superfans, fittingly titled Stans after his 2000 hit coining the term for overly enthusiastic admirers of a celebrity. Today, Eminem revealed its premiere date and shared the first teaser trailer, in which he asks, “What’s your first question?” The one-weekend-only screening is scheduled for August 7-10, taking place at 135 AMC Theaters nationwide and 1,600 theaters worldwide.
The film is directed by Steven Leckart and debuted at the inaugural SXSW London Screen Festival in June. Last April, Eminem issued an open call for his biggest fans to appear in the film, offering them a chance to answer questions about their experiences with his music and its impact on their lives.
Em coined the term “Stan” with his 2000 Marshall Mathers LP single of the same name, in which a superfan named Stan writes a series of letters to his hero that grow increasingly unhinged as he receives no response. The lyrics are rapped in first-person from Stan’s point-of-view, until the last verse, when Eminem raps as himself, coming to the realization that Stan has taken extreme measures to show his love for the star.
Since then, the term has come to be applied to clubs of warring fans online, who scour the internet for clues to their faves’ next releases. In the process, they’ve become fiercely protective of their favorite artists, lashing out at any perceived detractors with intense bullying campaigns and occcasionally even using tactics such as “doxxing” or “swatting” — revealing users’ personal information or pranking them with fake police reports.
Stans will screen at AMC theaters from 8/7-10. You can watch the trailer for Stans above.
(Uproxx)
