NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� After President Donald Trump鈥檚 reported intervention, Paramount Pictures is set to distribute Brett Ratner鈥檚 鈥淩ush Hour 4,鈥� a project that Hollywood had eschewed after against the director.
Paramount Pictures on Tuesday was in closing talks to distribute the film, according to a person close to the negotiations who requested anonymity because they weren鈥檛 authorized to announce a deal. Paramount would be stepping in to take a distribution fee on the film, not finance it.
In 2017, during the #MeToo movement, six women said Ratner sexually harassed them in a Los Angeles Times report. Warner Bros., which had a $450-million co-financing deal with his production company, severed ties with Ratner. Ratner, who denied the allegations, hasn鈥檛 produced a film this decade.
But on Sunday, Semafor reported that personally requested Paramount take on 鈥淩ush Hour 4.鈥� in a $8 billion deal that required regulatory approval from the Trump administration. Trump has praised the studio’s new chairperson and chief executive David Ellison, the son of Oracle executive chairperson and prominent Trump supporter, Larry Ellison.
The White House didn’t immediately comment Wednesday.
Ratner had been shopping 鈥淩ush Hour 4鈥� after Warner Bros., which released the three previous films in the franchise, passed on the project. The movie would reteam Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the action-comedy series launched in 1998, with sequels in 2001 and 2007.
Ratner has managed to get one other film made: Earlier this year, Amazon MGM Studios acquired the film for a reported $40 million. It鈥檚 set to open in theaters Jan. 30.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
