Melania director Brett Ratner once hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton.
But this week, he’s touting the ‘unbelievable’ relationship between the president and first lady that he captured in his first documentary project.
Ratner spoke to the Daily Mail by phone exclusively on Thursday, saying there was ‘no censorship’ from Melania Trump on the film, so he was able to capture tender and real moments between the country’s first couple.
‘I saw a lot of very loving, affectionate warmth coming in both directions,’ he said. ‘And she wasn’t afraid to let me – I said, “I really want to put this stuff in … she said, “alright Brett, if you want to put it in, put it in.”‘
‘So I captured it – and it’s truthful – there was nothing staged or false about it,’ the director added.
Film Portrays Quiet, Genuine Affection Between the Trumps
A source who has seen the movie – which hits theaters Friday – said there’s no over-the-top PDA between the president and his wife.
Rather, Ratner said he captured ‘genuine affection’ as he filmed the Trumps for 20 days before last year’s inauguration.
‘They didn’t see that I wasn’t focusing on their faces. I was focusing on their hands that were below the frame holding each other,’ he said, describing one scene.
The former Democratic donor found himself working for the most famous Republicans in the country after getting a call ‘out of nowhere’ from Marc Beckman, a top adviser to Melania, after Trump won the 2024 presidential campaign.
Beckman told Ratner that Melania would like to talk to him about an idea she had and then divulged that she was interested in doing a documentary.
Ratner, known for the Rush Hour movies and X-Men: The Last Stand, pointed out on the call that he’s known for cinematic films and had never directed a documentary before.
Melania’s Vision for a Theatrical Documentary
‘So I was a little surprised, but he goes no, she has a big idea,’ Ratner recalled.
Shortly after the conversation, Ratner drove from Miami to Palm Beach to meet the former and future first lady at Mar-a-Lago.
‘And she said she had this vision to do a film that was for the theaters. Something that was more cinematic than just talking heads,’ he explained.
‘And I said, “well, would it be about your life?” She said, “no, nothing to do with my life,”‘ he went on.
Melania said she wanted the movie to be about ‘basically how fascinating the role is of the first lady and how most people, the public, don’t generally know what it entails.’
‘So she said she was going to grant me access that was unprecedented, that nobody had ever received and I was going to be able to take that and turn that into a movie that was going to reveal to the world, basically, the role of the first lady,’ he continued.
Twenty Days of Filming Capture a Key Transition Period
Ratner agreed because Melania’s vision was bigger than a ‘MAGA film.’
He was also hoping it could be received as apolitical.
‘Because, of course, me being a Hollywood guy, I didn’t want to be involved in a film that was political in any way,’ Ratner said.
Ratner has largely not worked in Hollywood since a #MeToo scandal in 2017, where he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women – accusations he denied. He also appeared in the Epstein files in a photograph with Jean-Luc Brunnel, a now-deceased French modeling agent and longtime associate of Epstein.
Ratner and the first lady decided to capture the 20 days in January before the president was sworn back in.
‘And then when I started filming her, I realized that she was like a movie star from the glory days of Hollywood, where she understands lighting, she understands movement,’ Ratner said of the former model.
Behind the Scenes, a More Relaxed President Emerges
He said that while Melania is the star, the president-elect was ‘definitely the co-star.’
‘He delivered,’ Ratner said. ‘He knows how important the film was for her, and what I’m most proud of is that, I think the president comes across as real as it comes.’
Trump is known to have a much warmer personality behind-the-scenes than he often puts on display at political events where he’s lampooning his rivals.
‘I think when he’s with his wife, he’s the most relaxed. He’s the most confident,’ Ratner commented. ‘He was just as sincere and real – I think people see his humanity, as well, in the film.’
If talking about Trump’s ‘humanity’ seems like a far cry from someone who Clinton, Ratner explained that his grandmother was a Democrat, while his grandfather was a Republican – and Israel is the top issue he cares about.
‘So any president who supports Israel is my president. And Donald Trump is definitely my president, yeah,’ he said.
He also hinted that he found his new business partners more tolerant.
‘I had a Hillary Clinton fundraiser at my house once. But the cool thing about the Trumps is that they know that and they don’t care,’ Ratner said.
‘On the other hand, if I was with the Democrats and I donated to a Republican, they would banish me from their world,’ the director added.
Trump divulges how Melania has changed since his first term
Donald Trump divulged to the Daily Mail that his wife has ‘stronger opinions’ than she did during his first term.
The President and First Lady on Thursday night flaunted the red carpet – which they turned black– for her Washington, DC premiere of Melania: Twenty Days to History.
As part of her press tour for the Amazon MGM Studios film, Melania Trump appeared on Fox News to promote the movie, and in the process was asked to weigh-in on current events, including the rising tensions between federal immigration enforcement and protesters in Minneapolis.
Melania made a rare political statement as she called for unity and for any protests to be ‘peaceful and without riots.’
A reporter asked Trump on the black carpet at the Trump-Kennedy Center about her recent comments, to which he agreed she’d been more outspoken.
When the Daily Mail asked about this new trait, Trump insisted: ‘Well somebody asked me a question, I didn’t say it.’
‘She’s got stronger opinions now, probably,’ he went on. ‘She’s got experience, it comes with experience. She’s got stronger opinions.’
Trump gushed about his wife’s project, calling it her ‘baby’ and saying it’s a ‘beautiful’ film filled with ‘glamor.’
Asked if Melania tapped the President for his experience in television, Trump told the Daily Mail: ‘Other than the fact that I’m in it… I would say that basically, this was her baby. This was her views, it’s her feel, and she’s done a great job.’
The First Lady donned an all black Dolce & Gabbana skirt suit and black alligator leather Louboutin pumps, sticking on the all-black theme.
Most red carpet walkers, including members of the administration and other political figures, wore black.
And while the night was about the First Lady, Trump couldn’t help but interject himself as he went on to gloat about his White House ballroom project.
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