Brett Ratner Lines Up Directing Comeback On Milli Vanilli Biopic With Millennium Launching Sales
EXCLUSIVE: In a surprising turn, we have learned that Brett Ratner is lining up a directing comeback on his long-time passion project about pop duo Milli Vanilli.
Millennium Media is teaming up with Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment on the project and is launching sales ahead of the upcoming virtual EFM.
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This would mark Ratner’s first feature directing job since the 2014 Hercules.
In November 2017, seven women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, accused the filmmaker of sexual harassment and misconduct, causing Warner Bros. to sever all ties with the producer-director with whom they had a lucrative deal.
Ratner, who has denied the claims, had kept a low profile since then until recently joining the ongoing GameStop frenzy by picking up life rights to WallStreetBets founders Jaime and Joel Rogozinski.
The Rush Hour director has been attached to the untitled Milli Vanilli biopic for over a decade. It was originally set up with The Kennedy/Marshall Company.
Life rights were acquired from band member Fab Morvan and the film is due to feature all of the group’s hits including songs written by Diane Warren (Blame It On The Rain) and Kevin Liles (Girl You Know It’s True). Screenplay is by Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour). Liles will be an executive producer.
German-French R&B duo Milli Vanilli had big success in the late 80s and early 90s before a lip-sync scandal caused their careers to spiral and band member Rob Pilatus died at the age of 32.
The Expendables outfit Millennium is in post-production on movies including The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Till Death and Jolt. It was at the EFM two years ago that we revealed the company was shelving its Red Sonja movie which had Bryan Singer attached to direct. That project was ultimately re-imagined with Joey Soloway at the helm. Millennium was unavailable for comment today about their slate.
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