Amazon Reportedly Pays $40 Million for Documentary on Melania Trump

In another distinctly unfortunate development for the incoming president, Amazon has chosen to produce a documentary on his wife, Melania Trump. Doc, which is Puck mentioned As a “vanity” project, it will give the first lady an “unprecedented behind-the-scenes look,” according to Amazon. To make matters even weirder, the film will be directed by Brett Ratner, a former action movie director whose career was essentially undone. Allegations of sexual misconduct That came up during the #MeToo movement.

Documentary news first Break by SemaforWhich noted that the production has already started shooting and is expected to enjoy a short theatrical run before it hits Amazon’s streaming service Prime. Pak has since reported on the financials of the deal, revealing that Amazon paid Ratner $40 million to license the film, according to multiple sources. Melania will also serve as an executive producer and producer on the project Written by Matthew Belloni“It’s unclear how much the first lady is being paid personally to participate and ‘produce’ the project while her husband is in office, but I’m betting it’s a big chunk of $40 million.” Amazon plans to produce a multi-episode docusery on Melania that will follow the documentary, Belloni wrote.

It could be that Amazon just chose this particular moment to spotlight the sphinx-like figure that is Melania Trump… or, it could be that Amazon—like many other tech companies—is currently doing its best to ascend to the White House for a second term. Suck it up to her husband. Notably, Amazon is also one of several large technology companies Recently donated $1 million At Trump’s inauguration. metaSam Altman of OpenAI, and Apple’s Tim Cook All have donated the same.

By most accounts, Amazon’s new film is expected to be little more than a hagiography of the first lady, with Semaphore referring to it as a “warm embrace” and Pak calling it “quite a payday for Mrs. Trump.” It is also, obviously, an opportunity for him to tell his story. Despite a Recent book deals And her husband is one of the most recognizable people on the planet, Melania has largely avoided the spotlight. At the same time, he zealously guarded his public image. In 2017, Trump Two separate payouts are accepted—one from the Daily Mail, and the other from a Maryland blogger, Webster Tarpley—in a defamation lawsuit involving the publication of rumors that she worked for an escort service before becoming a model. Both defendants later retracted their stories and apologized.

It’s still somewhat unclear how Ratner was involved, though Belloni noted that the director is known to maintain “relationships with figures in Trumpworld,” most notably Steven Mnuchinwho served as Treasury Secretary during Trump’s first term and earlier Working with Ratner on his RatPac-Dune Entertainment. The director hasn’t done a movie since 2017, the year he was accused by several high-profile actresses sexual harassment and, in one case, sexual harassment. Ratner has denied the allegations. He has been Living in Israel since 2023.