We’ve confirmed with sources that Paramount is releasing the next Rush Hour sequel from Brett Ratner. They are distributing on behalf of Warner Bros for a double digit percent distribution fee.
Intriguing deal at an intriguing time: The David Ellison owned Paramount is one of the fierce bidders for Warner Bros. Discovery. This is arguably the two studios’ first team-up since Ellison took control of the Melrose Ave lot and following a moment when all WBD bids were due last week (the other suitors being Netflix and Comcast).
Apparently, a number of studios passed on releasing the movie including Warner Bros’ own New Line which is the architect behind the Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker franchise that blasted Ratner’s directing career out of a canon spawned a trilogy grossing $850 million. Ratner was accused of sexual assault back in 2017 by Melanie Kohler. He sued for defamation, and both sides settled in the fall of 2018 agreeing to move on. Ratner, who was a lynchpin of Warner Bros financing entity RatPac, which funded a portion of several slate titles, recently directed a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump for Amazon MGM Studios which will hit theaters on Jan. 30.
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