‘Rush Hour 4’ in the Works at Paramount at Trump’s Request

This must be the single funniest turn of events you will likely find in recent Hollywood memory.

via: Variety

“Rush Hour 4” is in the works, with Paramount on board to distribute the newest installment in the buddy-cop series. The long-gestating sequel is reportedly the beneficiary of some Oval Office intervention: President Donald Trump had personally requested that the studio revive the franchise, as first reported by Semafor.

Brett Ratner, who directed the first three installments before his career was derailed in 2017 by #MeToo allegations, is returning to direct the fourth film. The filmmaker has gotten close to the first family while directing the “Melania” documentary, which Amazon paid $40 million to release. “Rush Hour 4,” which will see the return of original stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, will mark Ratner’s first feature film since 2014’s Dwayne Johnson-led “Hercules.”

Paramount will be paid a flat distribution fee to release “Rush Hour 4” theatrically, sources say, and won’t be on the hook to market or finance the film. Meanwhile Warner Bros. — whose New Line label backed the original 1998 “Rush Hour” and the sequels in 2001 and 2007 — will get first-dollar gross, meaning the studio receives a percentage of box office revenues before the financiers recoup any costs. Multiple distributors were approached after Warner Bros. let the director and producers shop the new “Rush Hour” around town, but none wanted to be attached due to Ratner’s involvement.

The original “Rush Hour,” which follows two police officers who are forced to work together to rescue a Chinese diplomat’s abducted daughter, was a huge hit with $244 million globally. The two follow-up films, “Rush Hour 2” and “Rush Hour 3,” were even bigger commercial successes with $347 million and $258 million, respectively, despite mixed reviews. In the time since those films dominated in theaters, comedies have mostly fallen out of favor at the box office. It’s unclear the timeline of “Rush Hour 4,” though Chan, whose martial artistry was central to the hijinks of the plot, is 71, while Tucker hasn’t headlined a movie since the 2007 “Rush Hour” threequel.

Paramount, which was recently acquired by Skydance, needs new films to populate its slate — the company has a goal of moving from its current eight annual releases to 15 by 2026, 17 by 2027 and 18 by 2028. Paramount’s new chairman and CEO David Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, one of Trump’s most prominent financial supporters. Trump has publicly praised Ellison’s leadership of the media company.