Brett Ratner, the director of the hit Rush Hour series, has accompanied US President Donald Trump on his trip to China, according to a Washington Post report on the 12th (local time).
Victoria Palmer Moore, acting as Ratner’s spokesperson, stated that “Director Ratner will be scouting potential filming locations for Rush Hour 4 in China,” adding that a significant portion of the movie will be filmed there.
White House reporters also spotted Ratner boarding Air Force One alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others. The US government has not officially confirmed his presence.
Rush Hour is a successful action film series that first premiered in 1998.
The series comically follows detectives played by action star Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as they solve cases in cities like Paris, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong.
Ratner directed the first three films through 2007. However, he was ousted from the film industry in 2017 following allegations of sexual harassment.
Ratner made his return to the industry this January with the release of the documentary ‘Melania,’ featuring First Lady Melania Trump.
The film ‘Melania’ is considered a box office failure, earning only $16.7 million against a production cost of $40 million.
It is known that Ratner had been in discussions with the original cast of Rush Hour 1 through 3 regarding a fourth installment, but no progress had been made.
However, the production of the sequel gained sudden momentum after President Trump exerted influence on Paramount SkyDance, the studio that holds the rights to Rush Hour.
Last year, the online media outlet Semafor reported that President Trump suggested the production of Rush Hour 4 to Larry Ellison, father of Paramount SkyDance CEO David Ellison. Larry Ellison is a close friend and major donor to President Trump.
President Trump is scheduled to visit China from the 13th to the 15th for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He is accompanied by several powerful business leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg.
