Topline
Once-prolific director Brett Ratner, whose movies have earned billions at the global box office and whose production company financed multiple Oscar-winning films, is back to directing with “Melania,” a documentary on First Lady Melania Trump, his first project since rape allegations made at the height of the Me Too movement halted his career.
Brett Ratner was once a prolific director, with his movies making billions worldwide. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for Jewish National Fund)
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Key Facts
Ratner, 56, directed and produced “Melania,” which opens in theaters worldwide this weekend and is distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, which reportedly paid $40 million for the rights and another $35 million on marketing and distribution.
The director reportedly spent months at Mar-a-Lago to film “Melania,” which documents the weeks leading up to President Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration, and Ratner appeared alongside the first lady at a private White House screening of the movie last weekend.
The documentary marks Ratner’s first theatrical release as a director since “Hercules” in 2014, an action movie that earned middling reviews but grossed nearly $250 million at the box office, one of his biggest hits outside of the “Rush Hour” franchise and “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006).
Ratner’s career crashed to a halt in 2017 when multiple women, including actress Olivia Munn, accused him of sexual harassment or assault, prompting Warner Bros. to cut ties with Ratner and end a major partnership the studio had signed with Ratner’s production company.
Ratner denied the allegations at the time through his attorney Martin Singer, and he was not charged with any crimes.
Despite his fraught past, Ratner was the “first and only choice” to direct “Melania,” Puck News reported, and he has already landed his next gig after Trump reportedly urged the David Ellison-led Paramount to reboot the “Rush Hour” series with Ratner directing a fourth iteration.
How Did Ratner Get Attached To The “melania” Documentary?
Ratner was connected to the documentary through Marc Beckman, an adviser to Melania Trump who also had a previous working relationship with Ratner, the Los Angeles Times reported. Beckman told the Times he felt Ratner was one of the “most talented directors of our lifetime,” praising his box office returns and saying Ratner understands how to “reach the passions and emotions of his audience.” Ratner also reportedly cultivated ties with Trump allies, including former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who was once his film producing partner, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who brought Ratner as his guest to a 2023 United Nations address, the Times reported.
What Was Ratner Accused Of?
In a November 2017 Los Angeles Times report, six women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct or assault against Ratner. Munn accused Ratner of masturbating in front of her while she visited the set of his movie, “After the Sunset,” in 2004, and detailed other alleged incidents of Ratner making explicit comments to or about her, including a comment he made in 2011 that he “banged her a few times,” which he later walked back. Ratner previously said he “vehemently disputes” Munn’s allegations through his lawyer. Model Natasha Henstridge alleged Ratner “physically forced himself on me” in the early 1990s, when she was 19 and he was in his early 20s, accusing him of forcing her to perform oral sex. Singer denied Henstridge’s account to the Times. Actress Jaime Ray Newman accused Ratner of describing sex acts he wanted to perform on her while sitting next to her on an airplane, while actress Katharine Towne accused Ratner of following her into a bathroom at a party in 2005 and making advances. Singer denied both allegations. The same month, Ratner sued a former talent agency employee, Melanie Kohler, for libel after she accused him in a Facebook post of raping her more than a decade earlier after she was drunk at a club. Ratner’s suit, which he dropped a year later, called Kohler’s allegation “deliberately false and malicious.” Allegations against Ratner were made at the height of the Me Too movement, which also saw accusations against producer Harvey Weinstein, CBS chairman Les Moonves and actor Kevin Spacey.
How Successful Was Ratner’s Film Career?
Ratner, as a director and producer, had a hand in many high-grossing, award-winning films. Ratner directed music videos for artists including LL Cool J and Mary J. Blige throughout the 1990s before launching his feature film career with “Money Talks” in 1997. Collectively, Ratner’s films as a director have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. In 2012, Ratner pivoted to producing, founding RatPac Entertainment with Australian billionaire businessman James Packer. By 2017, RatPac had financed dozens of films that racked up more than 50 Oscar nominations, including “Gravity” (2013), “The Revenant” (2015) and “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015). In 2013, Ratner and Packer struck a major, multi-year $450 million deal with Warner Bros. to co-finance up to 75 of the studio’s films. Following the sexual assault allegations made against Ratner, Warner Bros. quickly severed ties with the director, and it did not renew its deal with RatPac, which expired in 2018.
Further Reading
‘Rush Hour 4’ In Development After Trump Reportedly Asked Paramount Leadership For It (Forbes)
Six women accuse filmmaker Brett Ratner of sexual harassment or misconduct (Los Angeles Times)
How Director Brett Ratner Evolved From Party Boy to $450 Million Warner Bros. Mogul (The Hollywood Reporter)