Did Trump’s Influence Work? … Brett Ratner Rides an Air Force One to Visit China

‘Brett Ratner’, aboard ‘Air Force One’, kicks off ‘Rush Hour 4’ production

Director ‘Brett Ratner’, who will helm the fourth installment of the global mega-hit action franchise ‘Rush Hour’, has joined ‘Donald Trump’, the President of the United States, on his trip to China. On the 12th (local time), major international outlets including The Washington Post reported that White House press corps members confirmed images of ‘Brett Ratner’ boarding the U.S. presidential aircraft ‘Air Force One’ together with key figures such as U.S. Secretary of State ‘Marco Rubio’.

‘Brett Ratner’’s spokesperson, Victoria Palmer Moore, said, “The director plans to explore potential filming locations for ‘Rush Hour 4’ on location in China,” adding an official statement. This strongly suggests that the film’s core setting for the next installment will be mainland China.

Overcoming the crisis of being pushed out of Hollywood—and the full backing of ‘Donald Trump’

‘Rush Hour’, which debuted in 1998, is a comedic action film that sparked a worldwide sensation thanks to the explosive chemistry between ‘Jackie Chan’ and ‘Chris Tucker’. ‘Brett Ratner’, who successfully led the series from the first to the third films (2007), was effectively pushed out of Hollywood after a sexual misconduct scandal that surfaced in 2017. However, this January, he returned to the film industry by directing a documentary film centered on ‘Melania’, the wife of President Trump. That project recorded disappointing returns of $16.7 million against a production budget of $40 million.

Behind the long-stalled ‘Rush Hour 4’ project suddenly gaining momentum were the powerful political strings pulled by ‘Donald Trump’. According to a report by the U.S. outlet Semafor late last year, President Trump actively encouraged ‘Larry Ellison’—the father of David Ellison, the CEO of ‘Paramount Skydance’, who is a key political funding backer. With the intentions of the highest-ranking power reflected in ‘Paramount Skydance’, which holds the rights, the production finally received the green light.

A momentous China trip—Hollywood director standing shoulder to shoulder with business titans

‘Donald Trump’ will visit China from the 13th to the 15th and hold a major summit with ‘Xi Jinping’, the President of China. The delegation includes top executives of global companies representing the United States, such as ‘Tim Cook’, CEO of Apple, ‘Jensen Huang’, CEO of Nvidia, and ‘Elon Musk’, CEO of Tesla. That a Hollywood film director traveled alongside such a weighty diplomatic stage is highly unusual, and attention around the world is focused on the impact it may have on future U.S.-China cultural exchanges and the ‘Rush Hour 4’ project.