The disgraced director behind the first lady’s movie, Melania, will join President Donald Trump in China as part of the U.S. delegation.
Brett Ratner will accompany Trump administration officials as they meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the New York Post reporting that he is flying aboard Air Force One with the president.
More than a dozen American executives will also be on the trip, including Trump’s friend-turned-foe Elon Musk and outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook. Several business deals are expected to be announced between the U.S. and China, including one currently being negotiated with Boeing.
On the trip, Ratner is said to be scouting filming locations for Rush Hour 4, which is supposed to take place in China, Saudi Arabia, and Africa, but has seen a host of production problems.
Ratner, 57, directed Melania after Amazon acquired the rights to the film for $40 million to license the documentary and promoted the film with a $35 million marketing campaign.
Before Melania, he had left Hollywood in shame after he was accused by multiple women of sexual assault, including by actress Olivia Munn.
Ratner had denied the allegations, but Warner Bros. cut ties with him, and he moved to Israel in 2023.
He described being hired to direct Melania as “divine intervention.”
“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,” he said.
“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 added.
He was also one of several high-profile men who were photographed in the Epstein files. One image shows Ratner hugging Jean-Luc Brunel, one of Epstein’s associates.
Ratner had been hoping Melania would be his big break back into Hollywood, but the documentary bombed at the box office, bringing in over $16 million. Several crew members of Melania even requested their names be removed from the credits.
He is now working on the next Rush Hour movie after Trump demanded that Paramount CEO David Ellison, son of multibillionaire Trump donor Larry Ellison, reboot his favorite franchise two decades after the last installment.
But the movie has been plagued with problems as filming locations have not been confirmed, and the movie’s two stars have yet to sign a contract to work on the film.
Jackie Chan, 72, and Chris Tucker, 54, have both rejected Ratner’s initial offer of just $8 million, less than half of the $20 million each made for Rush Hour 3 in 2007.
Production for the movie had been planned for early 2026, but the timeline has been pushed back to begin later this year.
