Melania Trump, director Brett Ratner defend documentary' $75M budget
What's the story
The cost of the Amazon MGM documentary Melania, which premiered on Friday, was defended by its director Brett Ratner and First Lady Melania Trump at a recent premiere event. The project reportedly cost $40 million to produce and another $35 million for marketing. "I think it's silly because there's a feature film and three episodes," Ratner told Deadline. "An almost two-hour feature film and three more episodes."
Defense
'You put the money on the screen'
Ratner further defended the film's budget, saying, "We spent more money on music in this than I did on Rush Hour. I mean, top of the line, three best cinematographers in the world." "Eighty people on the first day of shooting in my crew. That's not unheard of in a documentary. You put the money on the screen."
Satisfaction
FLOTUS expressed satisfaction with 'Melania'
The US First Lady also defended the film's budget, highlighting its theatrical run and subsequent release as a docuseries on Amazon Prime Video. "We achieved what we wanted to achieve for cinematic viewing, in the theaters, and then we have a doc series coming out," she told Deadline. "And so we are very pleased with it."
Premiere
'Melania' documentary: A unique cinematic experience
The Melania documentary, which chronicles the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump's second inauguration last January, premiered at the Kennedy Center on Thursday. The First Lady, who is a producer on the project, described it as "a creative experience that offers perspectives, insights and moments." The film will be released in theaters on 1,500 screens this weekend.
Film approach
'Melania' documentary: A departure from traditional filmmaking
The Melania documentary marks a departure from traditional filmmaking, with the First Lady serving as an executive producer. This has raised questions about the film's objectivity and whether it is more of a public relations tool than a documentary. Coming back to the cost conversation, $75 million on a documentary is exponentially more than the traditional documentary funding, considering this would need both box office and OTT success to break even.