Donald Trump is putting pressure on Paramount to make Rush Hour 4. This means that the controversial director Brett Ratner is returning to the big screen again with a project.
Whatever Donald Trump wants, he seems to get – at least when it comes to films. The US President wants a fourth part of the controversial blockbuster “Rush Hour,” and Paramount is following suit: According to media reports, the film production company is close to concluding a distribution deal for “Rush Hour 4.”
Befriended the new Paramount owner
The Semafor platform reports that Trump personally put pressure on Paramount to revive the comedy-action film. The US President is friends with Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison. The latter is an enthusiastic Trump supporter and also the head of Skydance – a company that now owns Paramount.
According to Variety, Paramount will receive a fixed distribution fee for the theatrical release of the fourth part and will not have to take on any marketing or financing.
The problem
Critics say a revival of “Rush Hour” is problematic in several ways. The film, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, was widely criticized for its racist jokes. Plus: Ten years after the last installment in the film series, “Rush Hour 3” in 2007, director Brett Ratner was dropped by Hollywood amid sexual harassment allegations. Since then, no studio has wanted to hire him or produce the next “Rush Hour” film.
Editorial recommendations
Ratner back in the spotlight
Under Trump, Ratner found his way back into the spotlight: He made the documentary about First Lady Melania Trump, for which Amazon paid $40 million.
As a reminder, that’s what the first part of the series is about: The dedicated Hong Kong police officer Lee travels to Los Angeles to locate the kidnapped daughter of a diplomat. The FBI gets wind of the scheme and in turn uses the cocky police officer James Carter to follow Lee and monitor his actions. After initial difficulties, the two unlikely police officers realize that they can only solve the case together.
It is currently unknown who will be part of the cast of the new edition.