Amazon, not Disney, will acquire the rights to a new documentary about Melania Trump.
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A documentary about former and future First Lady Melania Trump is moving forward at Amazon, with the massive production company edging out other studios to produce the project. The $40 million deal grants Amazon the ability to license a documentary on Melania, presumably sharing intimate details about her and her husband’s lives.
The documentary will be helmed by longtime Hollywood director and producer Brett Ratner, who previously worked on films like Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand.
What makes this news more interesting is that The Walt Disney Company also made a bid to license the documentary. The massive entertainment conglomerate reportedly offered $14 million, which was blown out of the water by Amazon’s $40 million bid.
The quite large price tag was first divulged by Puck News and grants rights to projects involving Melania over the next four years, falling in line with her husband’s second term as president.
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It’s not known what Disney intended to do with the documentary had the company managed to grab a hold of it, though it’s likely users would have seen it debut on Disney+ at some point.
Disney is known for highlighting a variety of individuals in its real-life stories and grounded documentaries, although company CEO Bob Iger has remained steadfast in his position that Disney should remain politically neutral going forward.
This mindset can be seen in Disney’s recent decisions regarding its films and other content, with the news of Pixar cutting a transgender character out of one of its upcoming projects sparking backlash and criticism from both sides. Whether or not Bob Iger’s politically neutral approach directly affected this decision is unknown.
The upcoming Amazon documentary will provide a look into the first lady’s life, which is expected to garner interest due to Melania historically being somewhat reserved and private.
“Melania has carefully limited and controlled both her image and access to her –– which has driven public interest,” according to a New York Post source. “By being removed from constant public exposure and being mysterious, she’s driven up both interest in her everyday life, and this has driven up her price.
“She’s private to the core but willing to put to use what she learned from her days as a model and as the wife of a master marketer. President Trump fully supports all of her projects.”
The 54-year-old first lady will serve as executive producer on the documentary.
“I’m also told her deal also gives her a piece of the backend, and that her husband helped structure the project,” one source said, indicating the deal may turn out lucrative for Melania.
Reportedly, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took a personal interest in the project, shown by the massive bid the company sent out. The bid was also speculated as a way for Bezos and Trump to make amends following criticisms hurled at the billionaire by the other billionaire.
“She’s been very savvy about what she says … Melania has gotten more comfortable speaking in front of people and on TV,” said the source. “She is more confident and has taken full control of her public image which she knows is worth millions and she’s ready to be paid for the work she puts into the doc and revealing more about herself.”
Will you be tuning into this documentary?
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