Melania Trump will be the subject of a new documentary directed by Brett Ratner and distributed by Amazon Prime Video. The tech giant’s streaming arm has secured exclusive licensing rights for a streaming and theatrical release later this year, the company announced Sunday.
Filming of the documentary is already underway. The company said in a statement that the film would offer viewers an “unprecedented behind-the-scenes look” at the former and new first ladies of the United States and also promised a “truly unique story.”
She also published a self-titled memoir late last year. Her husband Donald begins a second presidency on January 20 after serving as commander in chief of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
The film is the latest connection between Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump. The company announced plans in December to donate $1 million to help fund the president-elect’s second inauguration — and said it would also stream the event on its Prime Video service, an in-kind donation separate worth an additional million dollars.
The two men had been at odds in the past. During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and spoke out against the political coverage of the Washington Post, which Bezos owns. But he has recently adopted a more conciliatory tone as Amazon and other tech companies seek to improve their relations with the new president.
In December, Bezos expressed excitement about potential regulatory reductions in the coming years and said he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term.
In October, Bezos did not allow the Post to endorse a presidential candidate, a decision that led tens of thousands to cancel their subscriptions and protests from journalists with long histories within the newspaper. This weekend, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist quit her job after an editor rejected her cartoon showing the newspaper’s owner and other media executives bowing to the president-elect.
The film is also the first project Ratner has directed since he was accused of sexual misconduct by several women, including actress Olivia Munn, at the start of the #MeToo process in November 2017. Ratner, whose lawyer has denied the allegations, made the film. Rush Hour, Red Dragon and X-Men: The Last Stand film series.
Fernando Sulichin, an Argentine filmmaker, is executive producer of the film, which began shooting in December.
Melania Trump, Donald Trump’s third wife, has been an enigmatic figure since her husband announced his candidacy for the 2016 election. She had sought to maintain her privacy even while serving as first lady, focusing on raising their son, Barron, and promoting his “Be Best” initiative to support “children’s social, emotional and physical health.”
Although she appeared at her husband’s 2024 campaign kickoff event and attended the closing party of the Republican National Convention in July, she otherwise stayed off the campaign trail, although The demands of being first lady again may dictate greater public visibility following her husband’s victory. second day of inauguration.
theguardian