It’s only three days now until the world premiere of Melania and the arithmetic is a bit skewed, to put it mildly. The film itself cost $40 million and an estimated $28 million of that was pocketed by Melania. Additionally, Amazon intends to spend $35 million to hype the release worldwide. And their expectations? That the film could gross $5 million domestically or maybe as little as $1 million. In addition to that, many crew members are hoping that the film flops and some regret putting their name on it. Rolling Stone:
Despite the unfettered access to the first lady — described as extraordinary by people involved — and the exorbitant sums of money that went into the film, viewers shouldn’t expect huge revelations about Trump’s wife, who has largely remained a cipher even after decades in the spotlight. “Some people are boring,” one crew member said. “Some people also never let their guard down.” […]
It’s not clear how Trump and Ratner initially connected, but the director has become close with the president and his wife: He is reportedly living in a villa at Mar-a-Lago and is said to have continued to film the first lady after production of the documentary concluded.
A review of his political contributions indicates Ratner never donated to any of Trump’s three presidential campaigns. (To the contrary, records show multiple contributions to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 race as well as gifts to Kamala Harris, when she was still a California senator.) […]
Actress Natasha Henstridge told the Los Angeles Times Ratner forced her to perform oral sex on him when she was 19, while Olivia Munn recalled Ratner masturbating in front of her when she visited the set of one of his films as a young aspiring actress. Ratner denied the accusations and was never charged. More recently, a photograph of a shirtless Ratner with model scout and Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel appeared in the newly unclassified Epstein files. (On the day the Los Angeles Times’ investigation into Ratner was published, Epstein sent an email to his personal lawyer that reads “brett ratner now. Oy.”) Through an intermediary, Ratner denied ever meeting Epstein to Rolling Stone.
“I feel a little bit uncomfortable with the propaganda element of this,” one member of the production team said, “But Brett Ratner was the worst part of working on this project.” That person said they weren’t aware Ratner’s involvement until just days before filming began, and they would not have accepted the job if they’d known.
Another confirmed: “There was more talk about Brett being slimy than there was about Melania.”
The article goes on to say how Dennis Quaid’s Reagan was pilloried by critics but went on to make $30 million so maybe Melania will pull a rabbit out of the hat. But here’s what one crew member said, after the chaos and abuse by Ratner during filming: “Unfortunately, if it does flop,” one member of the Melania production team said, “I would really feel great about it.” Not a good sign. Definitely not a good sign.
And in all fairness to the subject matter at hand, how much of a silk purse can you make out of the basic material of Melania’s life? She concentrated on being a model as a young person. She met Trump, a rich guy, when she was 26 and basically that’s the story. Now if there was some truth to the fluency in five languages, and if she was a cultural and diplomatic marvel, then that might be something different. And maybe that’s exactly the fantasy that we are about to be spoonfed.
“The article goes on to say how Dennis Quaid’s Reagan was pilloried by critics but went on to make $30 million . . . .”
According to the Wiki article on the film, its budget was just over $25 million. And roughly 1/3 of the film’s box office take came in its Labor Day weekend opening.
I guess that Amazon is looking for this weekend to be the biggy. We’ll see. Right now the Trump administration is at an all time low approval ratings wise because of the two fatal shootings in Minnesota. So Trump may end up dragging Melania down — which is probably how she views it.
Bottom line, Amazon is currying favor and Bezos can afford to lose the money. Let’s see if the movie is a big hit and we’re on to TV series time (which frankly I can’t imagine — unless it’s Ed Wood time.) Melania might be entertaining like Meghan Markle’s Netflix show is entertaining. It’s impossible that the show is as bad as it is and so you watch in amazement, at least for a few episodes until a little voice tells you you’re wasting your life.
We all saw stills from Melania’s previous film work, the ones where she’s naked, all oiled up and sliding around in bed with another slippery lady. I suspect those films were way more compelling than this new one.
Well well what a coinkeydink! The trumps chose a director they knew from Epstein Island! trump met mel because Mel was a high end ho.