It's a 'Mile'stone for local actress who debuts as Eminem's kid sis Chloe Greenfield's role is loosely based on Haile, Eminem's daughter, and brings a tender side to the tough exterior of his character.

-- Seven-year-old Chloe Greenfield is lounging in an oversized chair in the corner of her family's living room, singing a song a friend of hers wrote. "Say goodbye, say goodbye to Hollywood," she sings playfully.
It's funny for a number of reasons. Chiefly, it's funny because the angel-faced Chloe is singing along to modern music's devil incarnate, Eminem, whom Chloe refers to and knows as "Marshall." As she sings, her tongue pokes out through the large gaps between her teeth when she smiles. "Say goodbye, say goodbye to Hollywood ..."
   It's also funny because if anything, Chloe is saying "hello" to Hollywood. She makes her big screen debut -- her any screen debut, actually -- playing Lily, the kid sister of Eminem's character, Jimmy Smith Jr., in "8 Mile," which opens Friday.
   "We have two magazines of him," Chloe says proudly, holding up the November issue of Vibe magazine, which has Eminem plastered on the cover.
   She's wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and her hair is a tattered mess, typical of a tomboy-ish little girl who'd rather be out climbing trees and catching frogs than talking to a reporter about her experiences on one of the year's most anticipated film projects.
   "Isn't the premiere the sixth?" she asks her mom, brimming with Hollywood wherewithal. It is, and she'll take off for Los Angeles to attend the film's premiere in a matter of days. When she comes back, she'll be a star.
   When she comes back, she'll be a star.
   Just over a year ago, there was no hint Chloe Greenfield would be boarding cross-country jets to attend glitzy movie premieres or playing a key role in the most important hip-hop film of the last 10 years. No clue her sister Erica, 17, would be bombarded by classmates wanting to know about Chloe. No suggestion her mom, Kimberly, wouldn't be unable to teach a class without kids asking about Eminem.
   On a whim, Chloe's mother took her to an open casting call for the film in September 2001; long story short, the "Spongebob Squarepants"-loving little girl ended up making more money than her mother last year. They don't like to talk specifics; let's just say college is already paid for.
   The story mirrors the opening salvo of Eminem's "8 Mile" theme song "Lose Yourself," where a deadpan Eminem asks, "If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, one moment, would you capture it, or just let it slip?"
   "That's, like, our song right now," says Kimberly, a substitute teacher who used to dream of being in the movies herself.
   Neither Chloe nor Kimberly knew much about Eminem at the time of the audition. "I knew of him, but that was about it," says Kimberly.
   Fifteen-year-old neighbor Richie Sieg filled them in on the details, which, considering his Em's rap sheet (battles with interest groups, run-ins with the law, his turbulent relationship with his ex-wife), could scare some parents off. Kimberly, however, was confident that Eminem was a professional, and his music's often violent, misogynistic and homophobic content was a product of his musical altar-ego, Slim Shady, and not indicative of Marshall Mathers the person.
   Still, she was a little rattled when she received a phone call from Mathers, inviting her and her daughter to his house for a play date with his daughter, Hailie Jade. The visit would allow Mathers to observe how Chloe and Hailie got along, and to get a feel for how he would interact with Chloe before they went in front of cameras where she would play his kid sis.
   Chloe's character, loosely based on Hailie, brings a tender side to the tough exterior of Eminem's character. It is with her that he shares the film's most heartfelt moments.
   The visit at Eminem's house was surreal for Kimberly. "It was a bit weird," she says. "I didn't know what to expect."
   To her surprise, it was totally normal -- Mathers was polite, respectful, playful and kind. They played video games; they ate tacos. Chloe and Hailie, who are the same age, got along famously.
   At one point, they took a ride up to the Dairy Queen, where in the car Mathers played an early demo of "Say Goodbye to Hollywood." When they returned to Mathers' home, Kimberly received a phone call offering Chloe the part in the movie.
   Kimberly trusted the production. Yes, it was R-rated, but at the same time, it was the chance of a lifetime. Besides, it's not like she was starring in "Jackass."
   It's something Kimberly catches a lot of flack for. "I get mothers coming up to me in the grocery store, decrying me, saying, 'There's no way I would ever let my daughter work with Eminem,' " she says. "But they just don't get it, and they don't know him. They only see one side."
   Chloe, however, saw a side that many who've heard his flow and attended his concerts haven't seen. The forgetful side. "I remember always having to tell Marshall his lines," Chloe says of filming the movie.
   Chloe also bonded with "8 Mile" co-star Brittany Murphy during the film; within minutes of their first meeting, the two were doing cartwheels together down the hallways of Detroit's Omni Hotel.
   The Greenfields saw raw footage of the film while looping dialogue in Los Angeles, but it wasn't until they were watching this year's MTV Video Music Awards that they saw the film's trailer for the first time.
   "You know, we're watching the VMAs, and there's an ad for M&Ms, an ad for Pert Plus, and the next thing I know, my daughter's face is filling the TV screen," Kimberly says. "I was like, 'Oh my God!' I started screaming and jumping up and down on the bed. I just couldn't believe it."
   Chloe was giddy too. "It was really exciting," she says.
   Since then, the Greenfields have caught up with Eminem backstage at September's Anger Management tour stop at the Palace, where they watched only selected acts. "I think my daughter's a little young for Ludacris," Kimberly says of the southern rap star.
   As for most days, Chloe's the same level-headed first-grader she was when this whole process began. Well, almost.
   "She did get a little bit of a big head one time on the set," Kimberly says. However, that's within reason; Chloe was given her own on-set trailer, complete with "heated everything," says Kimberly.
   Chloe has received other offers for roles, but the Greenfields are waiting until the right ones come along. (They turned down a role on "CSI: Miami" because of the show's gruesome content.) "8 Mile" director Curtis Hanson has even helped advise Kimberly on Chloe's career. "He told us not to get up and move to L.A., that roles will come to us," she says.
   Meanwhile, Chloe's sitting on the couch, working her way through "Me & You: A Book for Two to Do!" The page she's on asks, "If you were a star, what name would you pick?"
   She points to the question and says to her mom, "I don't need to wish this one," and flips the page.