Melania Trump prepares controversial documentary with Amazon

At the heart of a documentary broadcast by Amazon this year, of which she is none other than the “executive producer”, the future first lady should receive a tidy sum. Here is the little information that Jeff Bezos’ company and insiders were willing to reveal.

The good thing about Melania Trump is that you’re never safe from a surprise. As soon as his mandate as first lady finished, she enjoyed four years out of the public eye – whether enjoying the spa at Mar-a-Lago, trying to push her husband down the stairs or, conversely, hatching a plan to kill him. help win back the White House. A life in the shadows and under the Florida sun, until Donald Trump’s wife made a thunderous return to the forefront last October, with a memoir with an evocative title. Melania.

Some deliciously floating promo interviews on Fox News later, Melania disappeared again in a cloud of glitter. To reappear only briefly on the evening of her husband’s electoral victory, November 5, 2024, or even on the occasion of the New Year organized in their golden mansion in Palm Beach, surrounded by Elon Musk and their most faithful henchmen .

Behind the scenes

Despite her proven talent for discretion (not to say “evaporation”), the former Slovenian model is back in the spotlight with a new project. And not least: a documentary entirely devoted to the former and future first lady, announced by the giant Amazon this Sunday. A film which, according to an official press release, will offer viewers an “unprecedented behind-the-scenes glimpse” of his life.

Not sure, however, that the project from Jeff Bezos’ company will serve us truly stunning revelations on a platter. After all, Melania’s memoir was a superb demonstration in 184 pages of its author’s ability to dodge all the uncomfortable questions, in favor of platitudes and vaguely soporific anecdotes.

Our review, if you missed it.

In any case, filming of the documentary would have started last December, a month after Donald Trump’s victory, and its release is already scheduled in theaters and on the Amazon Prime platform for the second half of 2025. Furthermore, according to several sources close to the matter to the American media Puck Newsthe project should include no less than two parts: a documentary, but also a series in two or three episodes. The names have not been released.

Bezos and Trump closer than ever

The announcement comes as the relationship between Donald Trump and the all-powerful founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is the subject of all attention. After a difficult start, particularly during the first presidential term, the two men seem determined to make a new start.

As proof, in addition to the required visit to the Mar-a-Lago club to meet the president-elect, Jeff Bezos paid no less than a million dollars to his inauguration fund. Before that, the billionaire also took the pen and the unusual decision of publishing his own editorial on the website of the Washington Post (newspaper that belongs to him), in order to justify his choice not to support one or the other presidential candidate – which did not fail to arouse the ire of several members of the editorial staff.

In any case, the boss of Amazon would have gone all out to afford this project with the wife of the future president of the United States: no less than 40 million dollars, according to Puck Newsto outbid competitors Disney and Paramount, both interested in obtaining the broadcasting rights. Exorbitant fees for only obtaining a limited license.

As for the exact amount Melania should receive… It should be more than fair, according to people briefed on the deal.

Let us point out, however, that the most controversial aspect of this documentary is not so much its cost or its subject… as its director. Known for directing the films Rush Hour and produced The Revenantwinner of several Oscars, Brett Ratner was mainly banned from Hollywood in 2017, in the midst of the #MeToo wave.

The director has remained mostly out of the public eye since being forced out of Hollywood.GC Images

Accused of sexual misconduct and harassment by six women, including actress Olivia Munn, he was also embroiled in a sprawling sex scandal that led to the resignation of the CEO of Warner Bros. in 2019.

Since then released by the company, Brett Ratner has not released any films since. However, friends told Variety that he saw in the documentary genre a solution to return to cinema, because it requires little capital or distributor, before the production process is already well advanced.

However, still according to Puckthe controversial director’s involvement in this film about Melania remains “a mystery”. Neither the head of Amazon Studios nor any other big studio boss would have chosen Brett Ratner for a documentary project. Originally from Miami, the man is said to have ties to a number of figures from Trump’s world.

Enough elements and uncertainties, in any case, to feed our impatience at the idea of ​​discovering this future production entirely devoted to Melania Trump which, definitely, never ceases to intrigue us.