Who is Brett Ratner? A former Hollywood mogul whose career was derailed by sexual assault allegations, he is making a comeback by directing Melania Trump’s new documentary.
‘Melania’ Trailer – Trump and his wife return to the White House in documentary
Melania Trump is the subject of the documentary “Melania,” which covers the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s inauguration as president in 2025.
The first lady stars in Melania Trump’s documentary, but all eyes are on Hollywood to see who will sit in the director’s chair.
Brett Ratner, once one of the most high-profile figures in film, hasn’t made a movie since 2014’s Hercules after six women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, accused him of sexual harassment in a Los Angeles Times report. He’s currently starring in a very different kind of film, with the hit Rush Hour series and X-Men: The Last Stand and Melania (in theaters January 30th and on Prime Video later this year). Variety and Deadline have also reported that Ratner will be directing the currently-in-progress “Rush Hour 4.”
So could this be the beginning of Ratner’s comeback? “I don’t think so,” said Jeff Bock, senior media analyst for exhibitor relations. “I think that’s the only job he can get.”
Melania, which was purchased by Jeff Bezos’ Amazon MGM Studios for $40 million, depicts the 20 days leading up to Trump’s inauguration as president in 2025 from his wife’s perspective, as she attends meetings and plans for her family’s return to the White House. The 55-year-old first lady also launched her own production company, Muse Films, ahead of the film’s release.
Melania Trump movie ‘unprecedented’ in American history
There are many questions surrounding this movie, not just the timing of its release. Hours after the fatal shooting of Alex Preti by federal immigration agents in Minnesota, the first lady went ahead and hosted a previously announced private screening of “Melania” at the White House for friends, family, celebrities and Amazon executives.
Box office experts aren’t sure how well it will do either. Shawn Robbins, director of film analysis at Fandango and founder and owner of Box Office Theory, says, “This prediction is shaky because documentaries are such unique creatures in the world of tracking.” He added that expectations are high that “Melania” could gross $3 million to $5 million in its opening weekend.
Even $1 million would be a “huge number,” Bock said. “That means a lot of people who don’t normally go to the movies went to this.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Ratner’s representative for comment on “Melania.”
“It’s a political documentary, but it’s not a political figure important enough that you actually have to buy a ticket,” Bock said. “Frankly, she hasn’t done anything controversial or interesting that would make people who are leaning one way or the other say, ‘I want to know more about her.'”
For centuries, presidents and first-generation families have used the media to project a positive image to the public. “Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a daily newspaper column, Jackie Kennedy hosted a TV White House tour, and other recent first ladies wrote memoirs,” says Katherine Jellison, a professor at Ohio University who specializes in first lady studies and gender in politics.
But “this particular arrangement is pretty unprecedented,” added Joel Penny, an associate professor at Montclair State University who focuses on cultural studies and political communication. “The idea of a studio backing this and releasing it in theaters has never been attempted in the history of American presidents.”
Brett Ratner was a box office powerhouse until sexual harassment allegations derailed his career.
Then there’s Ratner’s involvement. Mr. Ratner, 56, once one of Hollywood’s biggest names, earned $40.9 million for his 1997 debut, the Chris Tucker/Charlie Sheen comedy “Money Talks.” But his career really took off with the blockbuster “Rush Hour” trilogy starring Tucker and Jackie Chan.
In 2017, during the #MeToo movement, six women accused a film director of sexual misconduct. Mann described how Ratner, then an aspiring actress, masturbated in front of her on the set of the 2004 film “After the Sunset.” Henstridge claims Ratner forced her to perform oral sex on him when she was a teenage model, and four people who worked on Ratner’s 2001 film Rush Hour 2 recall how the director pursued young women and created a predatory atmosphere on set.
No criminal charges were filed against him, and Ratner denied the allegations in a statement through his attorney: “Brett Ratner vehemently denies the outrageous and derogatory allegations that have been reported and is confident that his name will be cleared once the current media frenzy subsides and people are able to objectively assess the nature of these allegations. He understands the seriousness of this issue and the importance of addressing the concerns of victims of sexual misconduct within and outside of the entertainment industry.”
Still, his production company Rat Pack Entertainment eventually parted ways with Warner Bros. Pictures.
In December, Ratner appeared in a series of photos from the Jeffrey Epstein file released by the Justice Department. It included images of celebrities such as Mr. Tucker, President Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. Ratner is shown posing in an undated photo with a shirtless Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and Epstein’s longtime colleague. In 2022, Brunel committed suicide in his cell in France while facing charges of raping a minor and supplying it to a disgraced financier.
Mark Beckman, a senior adviser to President Melania Trump and a producer on the documentary, told USA TODAY that the first lady “considered several filmmakers and had discussions with people of varying abilities in terms of executing and realizing our creative vision.”
Ratner has made several documentaries, including Night Will Fall and Before the Flood, but has never directed a full-length documentary. Ultimately, he was chosen because he “has a track record of producing really compelling images on the silver screen,” Beckman said. “We believed that he could make a film that had the very rich cinematic experience that we were looking for, that the first lady was looking for. And we further believed that he could assemble a best-in-class team to achieve that very rich cinematic expression. And he did that.”
Is the ‘Melania’ documentary a comeback for Brett Ratner or just a ‘paycheck’?
Ratner’s participation probably won’t make or break whether the average moviegoer sees “Melania.”
“I don’t think a lot of people are paying attention to documentary directors to begin with,” Penny said, noting how comedians like Louis C.K. and Russell Brand have been embraced by the right for their “anti-woke” stance after they were kicked out of Hollywood following sexual misconduct allegations.
“The idea of conservative media bringing back someone who has been ‘cancelled’ is something we’ve seen,” Penny said. “Ratner’s involvement speaks to how this (movie) speaks to a certain type of audience. I think a lot of conservative Trump supporters don’t really care about the #MeToo movement.”
But it’s unclear whether this project will be Ratner’s new rise in Hollywood, or if it will just halt his precipitous decline.
For a filmmaker, Bock says, “Melania” is a “paycheck.” “Honestly, Hollywood still wouldn’t touch him with a 10-foot pole, and hasn’t in 10 years. That means something. Hollywood is a very close-knit circle, but obviously very liberal.
“No studio had ever hired a guy who made millions and billions of dollars in box office revenue for more than 10 years with his movies,” Bock added. “Hollywood is very keen to give second chances to directors who have made a lot of money, and the fact that they don’t give him one means he’s done something very wrong, or at least everyone in Hollywood believes that. So there’s no way that can be ignored.”
If “Melania” is a box office success, Hollywood will likely take notice, but Bock believes that if anything, it will demonstrate that there is a “red state market” for a film like this, rather than a demand for more Ratner roles.
Bock believes “Rush Hour 4” will eventually become a reality. Ratner “may be an executive producer, but I would honestly be shocked if he came back as director,” Bock said. “I’m sure he wants to do that. I’m sure his handlers want him to do that too. That would be a big thing for him and the nostalgia and the ideas are where they are now.”
‘Melania’ documentary could provoke sharply divided reactions
“Melania” has been shunned by non-invited guests. Most journalists won’t be able to see the film before it hits theaters this weekend, perhaps as a way to control the narrative.
“It’s clear that this movie will be panned by most movie critics who aren’t fans of President Trump,” Penny says. “It’s definitely going to be watered down,” but “it’s probably going to get a lot of coverage in conservative media.”
“The timing of the release is not encouraging,” Jellison said, given President Trump’s desire to take over Greenland and the controversy over the federal shooting in Minneapolis. “We’re entering a week of ‘Trump fatigue,’ and the president’s polling numbers (on immigration) are going south. Under these circumstances, I don’t think moviegoers will turn out to see this movie.”
For the Trumps, the outcome of the movie is a big influence.
“If the film is successful, it will be a bright spot for the Trump administration to tout as proof that the Trump ‘brand’ still has power,” Jellison said. “If it fails, the media will report it as further evidence that the Trumps are losing popularity, influence, and perhaps visibility.”
Contributors: Jayme Deerwester and Anthony Robledo
