Brett Ratner, the director behind the Rush Hour franchise and the Melania documentary, has traveled to China with Donald Trump. He is reportedly using the trip to scout locations for the next installment of the Rush Hour series, which the US President is said to be a fan of. Trump is in China for a summit with Xi Jinping, aiming to discuss geopolitical and economic issues, including the Iran crisis.
Air Force One Travels with CEOs
Air Force One departed with CEOs such as Apple's Tim Cook, Elon Musk, and the X-Men: The Last Stand director on board. According to Ratner's spokesperson, Victoria Palmer-Moore, he hopes to film 'a lot' of Rush Hour 4 in China, with shooting rumored to begin in the next few months. The franchise, which last released an installment in 2007, follows detectives James Carter and Yan Naing Lee, played by Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, respectively.
Trump's Role in Reviving the Franchise
US outlet Semafor reported that Trump stepped in to help revive the franchise, suggesting to Larry Ellison that Rush Hour 4 should be made after the Paramount purchase of Warner Bros. The original Rush Hour was a hit in 1998, followed by the second in 2001, which was another commercial success. Rumors of a fourth film have been persistent, despite the third film being critically panned and struggling at the box office.
Ratner's Career Revival
Much like his franchise, Ratner's career has been revived thanks to Trump's intervention after the #MeToo movement effectively ended it. In 2017, he was accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by six women, which he denied. Melania marked the first film he had been involved with since 2014's Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson. With a meager 8% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the critical response puts Melania firmly in the 'rotten' category, although the audience score was much higher.
Epstein File Controversy
More recently, the director has had to explain his appearance in photos released in the US Department of Justice's latest Jeffrey Epstein file dump. He was seen embracing a woman, whose identity was redacted, and next to her were Epstein and a second woman, also redacted. During an interview with Fox News Digital, he explained: 'About 20 years ago, I had a girlfriend. I was in love with her. We were engaged. She was my fiancée. We went to an event, and we were sitting on the couch, and the photo was taken at that event.' He went on to insist that he 'didn't have a personal relationship' and 'didn't know' the late convicted sex offender and pedophile Epstein.
