Rush Hour 4 is reportedly a go at Paramount – after Donald Trump intervened on behalf of the movie.
The studio will now release the next sequel by Brett Ratner, the director, who had retreated from Hollywood after numerous allegations of sexual misconduct during the #MeToo movement.
Ratner had shopped the latest franchise entry, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, around Hollywood for years without success, but then Trump lobbied for the film to his friend and backer Larry Ellison, the largest shareholder of the new Paramount Skydance – which, earlier this year, as Paramount Global, settled a lawsuit with Trump over a critical CBS News interview with the president.
According to Puck’s Matthew Belloni, Paramount has secured funding for the film and agreed to a distribution deal with Warner Bros, which previously owned the fast-talking buddy-cop franchise under its New Line banner.
Ratner was accused of numerous instances of sexual assault in 2017, which derailed his career.
[Source: The Guardian]
