Thursday
31Jul2008
Brett Ratner Sets Up Shop at Paramount (So Sell Your Viacom Stock Pronto)
Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 12:10AM 
Paramount just got douched.
The studio, riding high over the past couple of years,
has signed a first-look deal with
Brett Ratner and Rat Entertainment. This is
great news for people who like really dumb but slick popcorn movies and
loudmouths.
"I thought I’d stay at New Line for the rest of my life,
but when Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne left, it was time to make a change," Ratner
told
Variety.
The dealings are not done, however, for the man comic
book geeks the world over revile for
X-Men: The Last Stand. The new major player in
Hollywood is
Reliance Entertainment, which gets its cash
from one of the world's richest men, Anil Ambani (2007 net worth: $42 billion).
Just within the past few months, Reliance has signed development deals with Nic
Cage, Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks, Jay Roach, Chris Columbus, Brad Pitt, and George
Clooney, and now Ratner is part of that stable, as well.
According to Variety, Ratner’s first
responsibilities with Paramount will be the highly-unanticipated Beverly
Hills Cop 4 and the comic adaptation, Harbinger, both of which Ratner
will direct. That's more a bit of fair warning for you than anything else. The
sad thing in all of this is that Ratner has consistently made big-ass hits. As
long as he does, no matter how big a tool he may seem or how average the movies
themselves are, he'll be able to score deals like this.
In other Paramount news, it won't be the studio
distributing Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards;
Universal has agreed to terms with the
Weinsteins and QT on a deal for the upcoming war movie. Elsewhere, in a move
that was widely expected, the company swung the axe at five dozen heads over at
Paramount Vantage, as the big studio will more or less absorb the smaller
boutique brand.
Reader Comments (2)
Heard about Harbinger the movie a while back and im so excited. I dont care if its Ratner that does it, in fact he got cooler in my eyes because of it. It could be a classic!
Not sure anything, not even a sweet pair of Z-Cavaricci's paired with some of those tight British Knights, could make Ratner any cooler than he already isn't.