Rush Hour 4 said to have a $100m budget, disgraced director denies Melania Trump’s involved

For some reason, Rush Hour 4 seems to be pressing ahead at Paramount, with a reported budget of $100m coming from Saudi investors. Fresh details appear to have come to light regarding Rush Hour 4 – the martial arts buddy cop comedy sequel seemingly being ushered into existence by one Donald J Trump. The belated ... Rush Hour 4 said to have a $100m budget, disgraced director denies Melania Trump’s involved

For some reason, Rush Hour 4 seems to be pressing ahead at Paramount, with a reported budget of $100m coming from Saudi investors.

Fresh details appear to have come to light regarding Rush Hour 4 – the martial arts buddy cop comedy sequel seemingly being ushered into existence by one Donald J Trump.

The belated follow-up to 2007’s Rush Hour 3 is said to be in the works at Paramount, and according to Puck – via Coming Soon – the budget is said to be in the $100m range, with a chunk of that money coming from Saudi investors.

It’s thought that director Brett Ratner – his career effectively ended following multiple accusations of rape, harassment and sexual assault, which he’s denied – has gotten into Trump’s good books, having made a documentary about his wife, Melania. That documentary is due out next year via Amazon, and is thought to have cost about $40m to make.

When Puck’s Kim Masters sent Ratner a text message, asking whether Melania Trump’s production company Muse Films might be involved in Rush Hour 4, the disgraced filmmaker replied that it wasn’t, but did confirm that the projected budget is “over $100m”.

The burden of making and distributing the sequel will be shared between Paramount and Warner Bros, with the latter, which owns the rights, receiving a hefty fee for allowing the former to make it. Original stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are said to be returning, as you might expect.

It’s a bizarre situation. Few seemed thrilled about the prospect of a fourth Rush Hour, and even fewer appear to have anything nice to say about Ratner. Will the director manage to find anyone willing to work with him on the movie? Is there a significant audience for a lightweight franchise with a less than savoury name attached to it?

Assuming all concerned keep pressing ahead with it, Warner and Paramount could find out the answer to that question over the next year or two. And that answer could prove rather costly.