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After years of uncertainty, rush hour 4The film, starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, is officially back in motion, coming back to life at the Paramount. The long-delayed sequel has finally secured studio backing and distribution, reportedly following US President Donald Trump’s intervention on behalf of filmmaker Brett Ratner, who has been attempting to revive the Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker franchise since walking away from Hollywood amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations during the #MeToo era.
Brett recently stepped behind the camera to direct a $40 million documentary on Melania Trump for Amazon’s MGM studios, owned by Jeff Bezos — another person who has maintained cordial relations with Trump. The documentary is scheduled for theatrical release in January next year.
The 56-year-old producer spent years trying to get the project financed and set up, but the studio repeatedly turned it down. However, according to the latest reports, the situation changed when the US President lobbied his friend and political supporter Larry Ellison, the major shareholder of the newly formed Paramount Skydance. The company, formerly known as Paramount Global, settled a lawsuit with Trump earlier this year related to a controversial CBS News interview.
Reports suggest that Paramount has now arranged funding for the film and has worked out a distribution deal with Warner Bros. – which was the home of the franchise under the New Line Cinema banner during its original run.
Original rush hour The trilogy grossed over $850 million globally and was a huge box-office hit, especially in China. The project is now widely seen as being aligned with Donald Trump’s second term effort to reassert traditional masculinity in Hollywood, a campaign that has included appointing Sylvester Stallone, Jon Voight and Mel Gibson as unofficial “special ambassadors” to the entertainment industry.
While promoting earlier this year Karate Kid: LegendsJackie Chan, 71, reflected on his experience making the original trilogy. “Ask the director, ask the studio, ask the writer. Hurry up! Otherwise, Chris Tucker and I [will be] 100 years old. We’ll be the old guys doing rush hour,” he was quoted as saying.
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