Hanson, who also wrote the Oscar-winning script for L.A. Confidential, died on Tuesday (September 20) at his Hollywood Hills home.

Eminem has paid tribute to Curtis Hanson, the director of 8 Mile, who died on Tuesday at the age of 71.

“Curtis Hanson believed in me and our crazy idea to make a rap battle movie set in Detroit,” Eminem said in a statement to Billboard today. “He basically made me into an actor for 8 Mile. I’m lucky I got to know him.”

Hanson, who won a screenwriting Oscar for L.A. Confidential, also directed the psychological thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. He had continuously praised Eminem, calling him “an extraordinarily gifted artist” in an interview with Rolling Stone just last January.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Hanson died of “natural causes.”

Remind yourself of 8 Mile’s final battle scene.