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Brett Ratner believes the “validation” from the box office success of his first major documentary directing role is “undeniable.”
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Ratner discussed “Melania”‘s opening weekend triumph and said he felt like he “won” long before he even began production on the documentary.
“I mean, the validation was undeniable, but honestly, I felt like I won just when Melania called me and asked me to direct the film. When I saw the president for the first time, and after I was hired, I said to him, ‘that bullet that missed you, I think was a divine intervention,’” Ratner began. “He said, ‘Yeah, I think you’re right.’”
He went on to explain that his own divine intervention was when the first lady hired him to do the documentary. “That was my divine intervention. So, for me, I got to pinch myself. I mean, the access that they gave me, the opportunity that they gave me was just beyond my wildest imagination. So, I already felt like I won,” Ratner said.
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Split of Brett Ratner and an ad for “Melania” (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Ming Yeung/Getty Images)
The Hollywood director shared how rare it is for documentaries to premiere in theaters around the world. “And that’s exactly why she wanted to hire me,” Ratner began. “Because I said, you know, I wasn’t trying to wiggle my way out of the job, but there were many great documentary filmmakers … And she said, ‘But I don’t want a documentary filmmaker. I want a feature filmmaker who makes movies for the big screen.’ And that’s why I was so excited about this because she was thinking big,” he continued. “She wasn’t just thinking, ‘OK, we’ll do it for streaming, we’ll do it just for the MAGA audience. We’re gonna do it for everyone.’ I was really excited that Melania had this vision for the movie that was bigger than I even imagined,” he continued.
Ratner added that the film would be a “huge case study” because it was widely panned by critics, but audiences loved it.
“What we’re experiencing is people are going and seeing this movie three and four times,” he said, adding that he just got off the phone with the president who told him, “’I have friends whose wives have seen this movie already over the weekend three and four times.’ And I was like ‘Really?’ So, I’m proud. I’m really, really proud.”
“Melania” beat expectations in its opening weekend, earning $7.1 million by galvanizing conservatives over 55, especially women. It placed third domestically, and was also the biggest opening for a documentary in more than a decade.
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Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for the rights to the film and an upcoming docuseries on the first lady also directed by Ratner, and spent $35 million promoting it.
Ratner explained that he was given full access to what the first lady was doing to prepare for the president’s second inauguration and felt that calling the film a documentary wasn’t quite accurate for what he made.
An ad for “Melania” in Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
“We’re not telling history. We’re making history,” he said, explaining no stock footage was used in the film, he stayed away from anything political and just focused on “the role of the first lady. Her idea was so brilliant because she wanted to tell a story about the role of a first lady through her eyes.”
One thing he said amazed him was that while actors go back to their trailers and relax between scenes on a movie, the first lady was “having high level meetings” between shooting.
He even thought they should get a second crew to film her busy scheduling in between filming.
“She serves the people,” he gushed. “She takes this role so seriously because there was no breaks. Because people talk about the president sleeping, you know? I don’t see her sleeping.”
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While filming, including in disaster areas, Ratner said he saw incredible “compassion” and “humanity” from the first lady.
“You can always tell when someone doesn’t want to be there,” adding that he felt the first day was “so present” in those moments.
Brett Ratner at the premiere of “Melania” at the Kennedy Center on Thursday. (Taylor Hill/WireImage)
He called watching the premiere of the film last Thursday with the president and first lady at the Kennedy Center “one of the greatest experiences of” his life despite having made blockbusters like the “Rush Hour” movies. “I will never forget it.”
“I will never have a cinematic experience like that ever again,” he said of getting to see their faces as they watched the film.
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The president didn’t have enough nice things to say about the movie, Ratner explained, telling Fox News Digital that Trump called it “phenomenal,” “elegant,” and “sophisticated.”
“He rolled out the compliments, and it was sincerity. He’s very proud of it,” Ratner said.
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He said Trump even wants Ratner to send the film to some world leaders for them to watch.
Ratner felt “Melania” was the right film to make his comeback with because he had explored nearly every other genre in his career besides documentaries.
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Still, he said it was Melania’s idea to bring him in to direct the film.
“I think she saw something that I didn’t think of myself,” he admitted. “She saw in my work and in me that I was capable of doing this. And that’s why I have to give her full credit, because she’s just — she had the vision for sure.”