Amazon is stepping into enterprise with Melania Trump. And Brett Ratner.
The studio has confirmed that its Prime Video has completely licensed an upcoming documentary movie on the previous and incoming first girl that will likely be directed by Ratner. A studio spokesperson calls the movie “an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look” on the first girl and third spouse of Donald Trump.
The movie will obtain each a theatrical and streaming launch and will likely be participatory in each sense provided that Melania Trump will govt produce alongside New Ingredient Media’s Fernando Sulichin. Filming started in December 2024, one month after former President Donald Trump gained a decisive victory to return to the White Home.
Amazon is planning a launch within the second half of 2025.
Maybe essentially the most controversial ingredient of the brand new mission entails Ratner, who hasn’t labored on main Hollywood productions since 2017, when the “Rush Hour” helmer was accused of sexual misconduct by six ladies in a Los Angeles Times expose. Warner Bros., the place he had a first-look deal, severed ties with him. (He denied the claims.) Individually, a former assistant at a serious expertise company accused him of rape in a Fb put up, which Ratner denied. (He sued the accuser for defamation, and either side finally dropped their claims.) On the time, he stated: “In mild of the allegations being made, I’m selecting to personally step away from all Warner Bros.-related actions. I don’t need to have any doable unfavorable impression to the studio till these private points are resolved.”
He additionally was deeply involved in a sprawling sex scandal that led to Kevin Tsujihara stepping down from his CEO put up at Warner Bros. in 2019 In that case, text messages between Ratner and a young, autistic actress named Charlotte Kirk revealed that she felt she had been “used because the icing on the cake in your finance take care of Warner Bros.” (Ratner was previously partnered with Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a $450 million slate financing deal between their RatPac-Dune Leisure and Warners.)
However mates of Ratner have instructed Selection that he noticed a pathway again by directing a documentary, which requires little capital and no distributor till a lot later within the course of. Usually, main studios like Amazon don’t become involved in documentaries on the filming stage and as an alternative purchase a completed movie when it bows at a serious movie competition. Ratner had flirted with directing a documentary about two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins.
It’s unclear how Ratner satisfied the primary girl to belief him together with her life story. Ratner directed the Common thriller “Tower Heist,” which used Trump Worldwide Lodge & Tower because the movie’s main location. The previous and future president visited the set not less than as soon as. Ratner is alleged to have been residing a part of the time in his native Miami since his profession was upended by scandal and travels in the identical social circles because the Mar-a-Lago set.
An Amazon spokesperson says: “Prime Video will likely be sharing extra particulars on the mission as filming progresses and launch plans are finalized. We’re excited to share this really distinctive story with our thousands and thousands of consumers around the globe.”
As a producer, Sulichin has labored repeatedly with Sean Penn on movies like “Flag Day” and “Superpower” in addition to Oliver Stone on documentaries about Edward Snowden and Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva.
