Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner | |
|---|---|
 Ratner at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival | |
| Born | March 28, 1969 |
| Occupation(s) | Director, Producer, Music Video Director |
| Years active | 1990–present |
Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.
Early life
Ratner was born in Miami Beach, Florida. His mother, Marcia Presman, was the daughter of Eastern European Jews who lived in Cuba before moving to Florida in the 1960s.[1] His father was Ronald Ratner, the son of a wealthy Miami businessman. Ratner's parents married when he was in his senior year of high school, and his father died in 2006.[2] Ratner told Aventura Business Monthly in a May, 2011, cover story interview that he "really didn't know" his biological father, and that he considers Alvin Malnik, who opened the famous Forge restaurant in Miami Beach, to be his dad, "the one who raised" him.[3]
Ratner attended high school in Israel[2] and graduated in 1986 from Miami Beach Senior High School. He is a 1990 graduate of New York University.[4] He cites the 1980 film Raging Bull as his inspiration to enter the world of film.[5]
Career
Directing
Ratner had directed several music videos and one film, the 1997 action comedy Money Talks, before reaching commercial success with the action-comedy Rush Hour (1998), starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, both of whom reunited with Ratner for two sequels, Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007). Ratner was under consideration to direct X-Men (2000) and Superman Returns (2006), although both were eventually directed by Bryan Singer. After Singer left the X-Men franchise to direct Superman Returns, Ratner became director of X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).
In May 2008, it was announced that Ratner would be directing the upcoming long in-development Beverly Hills Cop IV.[6] He also edited the English version of the Indian film Kites, starring Indian superstar Hrithik Roshan and Mexican actress Bárbara Mori.
Ratner directed and served as an executive producer on the 2011 CBS comedy-drama television series CHAOS. In the same year, Ratner also directed Tower Heist.
In May 2011, it was announced that Ratner signed on to direct The 39 Clues, the live-action adaptation of the young-adult book series.[7]
Screen appearances
Ratner was seen on MTV series Punk'd when Hugh Jackman, who portrays Wolverine in the X-Men films, was the subject of a practical joke that made it appear Ratner's $3.6 million home in Beverly Hills was destroyed by a BBQ grill explosion. Ashton Kutcher later arrived at his home and hugged him after Jackman was punk'd.[8]
On April 25, 2007, Fox Broadcasting announced that he, Carrie Fisher, Garry Marshall and Jon Avnet would be the judges for the network's filmmaking-competition, reality TV series, On the Lot, which premiered to low ratings in May 2007.
He also appeared as himself in Entourage, in an episode that was shot at his actual Beverly Hills home, according to an interview he did in Aventura Business Monthly,[9] and in the film Black and White.
Publishing
His publishing company, Rat Press, is re-releasing out of print books about Hollywood. The first three books, released on March 25, 2009, are about Marlon Brando, Robert Evans and Jim Brown.[10] Brett Ratner also created his own magazine titled "Ratmag" through celebrity magazine publisher MYMAG.[11]
Academy Awards
On August 4, 2011, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Ratner would be producing the 84th Academy Awards with Don Mischer.[12] However, on November 8, 2011, Ratner resigned as producer of the 84th Academy Awards, after he made sexual references during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, claiming to be "the best in the world at [oral sex]", as well as making a derogatory reference towards gays.[13][14]
Producing
Ratner will produce the Gothic tale of Snow White, which is based on the screenplay The Brothers Grimm: Snow White by Melisa Wallack.[15]
Ratner has produced feature films, TV series, and documentaries. He executive produced the 2010 documentary film, Catfish as well as the 2011 TV documentary, American Masters: WoodyAllen – A Documentary. Ratner also produced Horrible Bosses (2011).
Works
Film and television
| Year | Film | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Whatever Happened to Mason Reese | Short film | Director/Producer/Writer |
| 1997 | Money Talks | Feature film | Director |
| 1998 | Rush Hour | ||
| 2000 | The Family Man | ||
| 2001 | Rush Hour 2 | ||
| 2002 | Red Dragon | ||
| 2004 | After the Sunset | ||
| 2005 | Prison Break (Pilot episode) | TV series | |
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Feature film | |
| Becker Hargrove, Inc. | Short film | Producer | |
| 2007 | Rush Hour 3 | Feature film | Director |
| 2009 | New York, I Love You | ||
| 2010 | Kites: The Remix | Producer/Editor | |
| 2011 | Tower Heist | Director | |
| Mother's Day | Producer | ||
| 2012 | Movie 43 | Director |
Music videos
References
- ^ Ratner, Brett (2007-07-27). "Beach boy nurtures his roots – Entertainment News, Billion-Dollar Director: Brett Ratner, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ a b "Nancy Jo Sales, "Hollywood Loves Brett Ratner", Vanity Fair, March 2007" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ 20 Good Questions with Brett Ratner
- ^ NYU's Tisch School of the Arts to Celebrate Broadway and the Performing Arts at Benefit Gala. (October 24, 2006) NYU. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ Jessica Hopkins. "The film that changed my life: Brett Ratner". Guardian.co.uk.
- ^ Alex Billington. "Brett Ratner directing Beverly Hills Cop IV with Eddie Murphy".
- ^ Mike Fleming. "Brett Ratner Signs To Direct 'The 39 Clues'".
- ^ Hall of Shame, Punk'd.
- ^ Brett Ratner Interview
- ^ Brett Ratner Takes on Publishing Yahoo News, March 23, 2009
- ^ "MYMAG". mymag.com. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ Cieply, Michael (August 4, 2011). "Brett Ratner Takes Producing Role at the Oscars". New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ^ "Academy Statement Regarding Brett Ratner". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
- ^ "Oscars producer Brett Ratner resigns after 'gay slur'". BBC News. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
- ^ "RSS EXCLUSIVE: Brett Ratner Confirms 'The Brothers Grimm: Snow White' To Be Shot In 3-D". Moviesblog.mtv.com. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- ^ "Jamie Foxx Offers Behind-The-Scenes Look at "Just Like Me" Video Shoot".