Brett Ratner: 'On an average day I get about 50 phone calls'
Brett Ratner, 36, is the director of a string of box-office hits, including the $500-million-grossing 'Rush Hour' movies and 'Red Dragon', and is currently making 'X-Men: The Last Stand'. He lives in Hillhaven Lodge, a mansion in Beverly Hills formerly owned by Ingrid Bergman
8am I'm incredibly busy at the moment, so I get up early despite having had a bunch of people - Paul Allen, Quincy Jones, Salma Hayek - over for dinner last night. My housekeeper prepares my breakfast and, while I eat, my assistant, Mike, goes through my call sheet - all the people I have to call today and all the people who've called me. On an average day I receive about 50 phone calls. Normally there are about ten things happening simultaneously.
9am I get into my Bentley and drive to Fox Studios, where I'm currently editing X-Men. The movie stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry and Kelsey Grammer and is going to be awesome. Editing is done on state-of-the-art digital equipment in three different bungalows, and I move constantly between them.
11am Conference call with Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo. I'm a photographer as well as a movie director and shot the company's latest ad campaign, starring Nicole Richie.
We brainstorm ideas for the next campaign - what the parameters will be, the type of shoes Tamara wants to feature and so on.
1pm Lunch at Mr Chow on Camden Drive with Roger Birnbaum, who is producing the next Rush Hour movie. I'm friends with Mr Chow and normally go there for dinner - when it's more of a scene - but it's nice for lunch as well. While I'm there I catch up with Oliver Stone, who's sitting two tables down from us. He's made a documentary on Fidel Castro that hasn't been released yet. I'm dying to see it - I love documentaries - and he says he'll send me a copy. Courtney Love, who's a good friend of mine, is also there. She's sitting at the table next to me with Mike De Luca, the former head of New Line and DreamWorks.
3pm Back at Fox, I watch the new trailer for the film with the president of marketing. Take a call from June Newton, with whom I'm making a documentary about her late husband, Helmut.
5pm Drive home to shower and change for American Cosmopolitan magazine's Fun Fearless Male awards. I'm one of 12 men being honoured, including Pharrell Williams and Matt Dillon. Take delivery of two sets of china - Herend Chinese Bouquet and Royal Copenhagen - which I bought at Gearys in Beverly Hills, and a set of vintage silverware. They are recommendations from Mr Chow's wife. She has exquisite taste.
6.30pm Take a limo to the Cosmo party with my grandparents (who live in my guest house) and my girlfriend, the model Alina Puscau. The party is fun. I catch up with Matt Dillon. We were friendly at NYU film school, but I haven't seen him for a long, long time.
10pm Carry on to Penélope Cruz's house. She is throwing a party for Paul Haggis, the director of Crash. All the cast are there: Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Thandie Newton and Don Cheadle.
1am Back home. Watch a scene from Nikita. I watch a scene from a movie every night before I go to bed. That's where I get most of my ideas and inspiration.
FinkPish
03-15-06, 02:03 AM
I don't think he dropped nearly enough names. What an ass.
Matthew Chmiel
03-15-06, 02:06 AM
Goddamnit. X3 is going to suck. :(
Joe Molotov
03-15-06, 02:10 AM
Not as interesting as a day in the life of Natalie Portman.
PopcornTreeCt
03-15-06, 02:26 AM
Well, that wasn't interesting.
MASAMUNE2
03-15-06, 04:44 AM
what the hell does everyone have against brett ratner????!!! i don't get it
Fincher Fan
03-15-06, 04:51 AM
I didn't think it was possible but I think I hate Ratner even more. At least he's living proof that any fuck-up can make a film.
Lucky bastard!...
MWB
03-15-06, 08:01 AM
I've hated Ratner ever since I first became aware of him through the Rush Hour DVD.
This only further galvanizes those feelings.
FantasticVSDoom
03-15-06, 08:17 AM
This cant be real...Can it?
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 09:39 AM
Uhh...i don't get it. What's the problem with what's written?
tonymontana313
03-15-06, 09:46 AM
Uhh...i don't get it. What's the problem with what's written?
You don't see anything wrong with his shameless namedropping?
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 09:47 AM
You don't see anything wrong with his shameless namedropping?
As someone who works in the entertainment industry, that's pretty typical. That's the way it goes. He's no different from anyone else.
I think it's pretty unfair to shit on the guy when everyone in Hollywood does it. At this point, you're just picking to pick.
ytrez
03-15-06, 10:02 AM
Rattner may very well be the luckiest man in the world. Really. He's a hack who struck gold by having Jackie Chan help him direct an action movie and by Chris Tucker being funny. Now he lives in a mansion. Dates a model. Get's paid mad money. Hangs out with cool celebrities.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 10:08 AM
Rattner may very well be the luckiest man in the world. Really. He's a hack who struck gold by having Jackie Chan help him direct an action movie and by Chris Tucker being funny. Now he lives in a mansion. Dates a model. Get's paid mad money. Hangs out with cool celebrities.
Again...i don't get what the deal is?
Wesley Snipes is a SHIT actor...and look what he has? Courtney Love is a nutjob and look what she has? You could substitute anyone for Rattner and get the same end result. There are a ton of famous people who "we" believe shouldn't have what they have and yet they do. Obviously they're doing SOMETHING right or they're just playing the game properly because they're still working and still getting high profile jobs. Lord knows if Hollywood doesn't like you, they give you the boot before you could even see it coming.
I just don't understand what's so special about Brett that everyone feels the need to rip him apart. Whose childhood did HE rape???
mikewendt
03-15-06, 10:25 AM
Every interview I've ever read/seen on him as left the same impression... He's the biggest arrogant ass out there. Name dropping, constantly showing off how great his life is, Bentley, models, A-List friends, red carpet parties, and blah blah blah...
But on the flip side, he's also come off as being very open about the craft of filmmaking & how he's gotten to where he is...
So I kinda have to take a "good with the bad" type of scenario when it comes to Brett.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 10:47 AM
Every interview I've ever read/seen on him as left the same impression... He's the biggest arrogant ass out there. Name dropping, constantly showing off how great his life is, Bentley, models, A-List friends, red carpet parties, and blah blah blah...
But on the flip side, he's also come off as being very open about the craft of filmmaking & how he's gotten to where he is...
So I kinda have to take a "good with the bad" type of scenario when it comes to Brett.
Well...again...your first part is very typical of the entertainment industry. That's just the way it is.
And re: the second part, well, I have to say I think it's damn cool that he watches something inspiring every night. Hell, movies and movie music inspire the hell out of me and if I had the drive like that, I'd probably be further along in my career than I am now. It'd be nice if more directors caught their inspiration nowadays from movies of the past. Now, I can't speak about him because I don't think I've seen a damn movie he's directed so I don't know if it works but regardless, I think it's a good practice.
Dean Kousoulas
03-15-06, 10:50 AM
That's great. I usually average 50 phone calls a day too...although most of them are from telemarketers :(
mikewendt
03-15-06, 11:06 AM
That's great. I usually average 50 phone calls a day too...although most of them are from telemarketers :(
Double that for me... Love my friends at the Credit Associations...
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 11:08 AM
Double that for me... Love my friends at the Credit Associations...
I get none. ;)
Get rid of your home phone and you won't have that problem.
FantasticVSDoom
03-15-06, 12:46 PM
I still think it has to be a joke, and hes just playing around...If not, again doesnt really affect me in the least so I dont care. As long as Xmen 3 is enjoyable Im happy, and if not then I wont watch any more of his films, even though Ive never really watched any of his films.
Duh Vuh Duh
03-15-06, 01:06 PM
I read the entire article, not just the part on Ratner, good comparison of the have and have not's in Hollywood.
Meh on Ratner, haven't seen any of his stuff, I just hope x3 is good.
What the article did do is just reaffirmed to me how superficial and shallow the entertainment industry is with the name dropping and telling me what brand of clothes you are wearing to your meeting and what kind of car you will be driving. Hilarious.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 01:15 PM
In the entertainment industry, people are always questioning credibility. Because it changes from day to day, it always matters who you are and who you know. Someone who wasn't famous yesterday could be famous today because they were cast as the next Superman. Then, by process of association, all of the people who know him begin to move up the ladder. You don't matter until people know what you can do for them, if anything.
I have a friend who is the head of casting for a major cable station. He's my age (27) and pretty much every time I talk to him, he drops a name. It's impossible for him not to, sometimes, because most of the people he deals with are famous. At first, it really annoyed me but after a while, you just begin to let it go in one ear and out the other. It's the way they speak. It's what they do. And this is how the game is played.
Yeah...and can you imagine that I voluntarily wanted to be a part of this industry?
Numanoid
03-15-06, 01:23 PM
Uhh...i don't get it. What's the problem with what's written?Truly cool people have what is called "quiet confidence". They don't need to mention the luxury brand of car they got in, they just say they got in the car. They don't need to wear designer clothes with the labels on the outside, they just wear things they like and no one else needs to know how much they paid for it. It's entirely superficial and pathetic. It's the career equivalent of short-man syndrome. And it makes you sound like a huge tool.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 01:27 PM
Truly cool people have what is called "quiet confidence". They don't need to mention the luxury brand of car they got in, they just say they got in the car. They don't need to wear designer clothes with the labels on the outside, they just wear things they like and no one else needs to know how much they paid for it. It's entirely superficial and pathetic. It's the career equivalent of short-man syndrome. And it makes you sound like a huge tool.
Well...that's all good and nice...but that only works for the people big enough that you dont' have ask who they are....the Lucas' and Spielbergs. There aren't many of those out there. Obviously Ratner isn't one of them.
Superficial IS the entertainment industry...or are you just joining us, already in progress.
FinkPish
03-15-06, 01:42 PM
Now, I can't speak about him because I don't think I've seen a damn movie he's directed so I don't know if it works but regardless, I think it's a good practice.
This disqualifies any points you make in this thread.
FinkPish
03-15-06, 01:46 PM
Well...that's all good and nice...but that only works for the people big enough that you dont' have ask who they are....the Lucas' and Spielbergs. There aren't many of those out there. Obviously Ratner isn't one of them.
Superficial IS the entertainment industry...or are you just joining us, already in progress.
That's bullshit. That doesn't only work for those highest on the ladder; that works for everyone. I work in "the industry" here in LA, and all of the celebrities I've met, large and small, the ones who were the nicest and coolest weren't the ones obsessed with what they wore, what they drove, and who they knew. Ratner represents, in this article at least, the worst kind of superficial bullshit you can find, but not everyone is like that.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 01:53 PM
That's bullshit. That doesn't only work for those highest on the ladder; that works for everyone. I work in "the industry" here in LA, and all of the celebrities I've met, large and small, the ones who were the nicest and coolest weren't the ones obsessed with what they wore, what they drove, and who they knew. Ratner represents, in this article at least, the worst kind of superficial bullshit you can find, but not everyone is like that.
I never said everyone.
Obviously your experience is different from mine.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 01:53 PM
This disqualifies any points you make in this thread.
No it doesn't. I wasn't talking about Brett. I'm judging him off of what I just read. And honestly, i don't see anything that's a big deal in that article.
FinkPish
03-15-06, 01:58 PM
I never said everyone.
Obviously your experience is different from mine.
You said it only works for the people big enough that you dont' have ask who they are To me that indicates everyone else not on that list.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 02:00 PM
You said it To me that indicates everyone else not on that list.
OK...except for the people that FinkPish has worked with. ;)
Cygnet74
03-15-06, 02:03 PM
gotta agree with pink here. as a producer/editor of trailers, i've had the pleasure to work closely with quite a few directors (allow me to name-drop for a moment. ;)) including paul thomas anderson, tarantino, robert rodriguez, and most recently mel gibson. these guys, and all the other "lesser knowns" were very cool, very down to earth. i'd say i've worked with about 20 or so, and none of them displayed the exorbitant superficiality you claim is so prevalent in our "industry". the closest to that would have been m. night shyamalan, but i'd say he's just very confident in his ideas. it's not like he came in talking about his bentley. i mean, who "name drops" there own car? people like ratner are the exception, not the rule.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 02:15 PM
gotta agree with pink here. as a producer/editor of trailers, i've had the pleasure to work closely with quite a few directors (allow me to name-drop for a moment. ;)) including paul thomas anderson, tarantino, robert rodriguez, and most recently mel gibson. these guys, and all the other "lesser knowns" were very cool, very down to earth. i'd say i've worked with about 20 or so, and none of them displayed the exorbitant superficiality you claim is so prevalent in our "industry". the closest to that would have been m. night shyamalan, but i'd say he's just very confident in his ideas. it's not like he came in talking about his bentley. i mean, who "name drops" there own car? people like ratner are the exception, not the rule.
Very different situation. You're hired to work with them. They have no reason to "impress" you.
Oh...and my condolences for having to work with Mr Gibson. He's not quite as looney as Mr Cruise but still... ;)
Cygnet74
03-15-06, 02:20 PM
Very different situation. You're hired to work with them. They have no reason to "impress" you.
Oh...and my condolences for having to work with Mr Gibson. He's not quite as looney as Mr Cruise but still... ;)
we had a good time. slipping in the flash frame of him wasn't his idea but he got big kick out of it and insisted we keep it.
btw, who is ratner trying to impress with these journal entries? himself? God, maybe?
maingon
03-15-06, 02:26 PM
i dont have a problem with him, his movies are pretty good, x3 looks good, and i have no problem with the guy.
FinkPish
03-15-06, 02:36 PM
we had a good time. slipping in the flash frame of him wasn't his idea but he got big kick out of it and insisted we keep it.
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/6094/gibson3zw.jpg
OK, that is hilarious.
PopcornTreeCt
03-15-06, 02:40 PM
Why we hate Brett Ratner is very simple. We all believe we are more intelligent, more humble, and can make much better movies than his rich ass. We have to slave away at our measly salary jobs while this guy gets paid millions of dollars to make shitty movies and then has the audacity to brag about it all.
I almost laughed when I read the part about watching a scene every night. It's just a scene. Try watching an entire film for once, Ratner, one directed by Bergman or Hitchcock preferably.
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 03:55 PM
I almost laughed when I read the part about watching a scene every night. It's just a scene. Try watching an entire film for once, Ratner, one directed by Bergman or Hitchcock preferably.
In his defense...he's got 50 phone calls to deal with. He probably doesn't have time. ;)
ytrez
03-15-06, 04:59 PM
Again...i don't get what the deal is?
Wesley Snipes is a SHIT actor...and look what he has? Courtney Love is a nutjob and look what she has? You could substitute anyone for Rattner and get the same end result. There are a ton of famous people who "we" believe shouldn't have what they have and yet they do. Obviously they're doing SOMETHING right or they're just playing the game properly because they're still working and still getting high profile jobs. Lord knows if Hollywood doesn't like you, they give you the boot before you could even see it coming.
I just don't understand what's so special about Brett that everyone feels the need to rip him apart. Whose childhood did HE rape???
It's all a matter of taste & opinion. I personally wouldn't call Snipes a "shit actor". I enjoyed his performances in Major League, Demolition Man, New Jack City & other movies. I do feel that Ratner is a HACK director (again, just my opinion) who doesn't deserve the success that he has. If that article were written exactly the same, except "Ratner" was replaced by "Scorsese" or "Carpenter" or many other names, I wouldn't have a problem with it at all.
purplechoe
03-15-06, 06:08 PM
I hate this guy with a passion. I hope he gets put on a rocket and shot towards the sun. We have to make sure that any of his offsrings go in there as well. We don't want to pollute the gene pool with his garbage. While we're at it, I also nominate Uwe Boll for a nice rocket trip to the sun.
Sunday Morning
03-15-06, 09:08 PM
The fact that someone feels they have to defend Brett Ratner makes them pretty sad.
Ratner is the embodiment of what's wrong with the filmmaking process in hollywood. Everyone knows it, including Brett Ratner.
smirnoff
03-15-06, 09:16 PM
what the hell does everyone have against brett ratner????!!! i don't get it
Me either. He's living it up!
digitalfreaknyc
03-15-06, 09:41 PM
The fact that someone feels they have to defend Brett Ratner makes them pretty sad.
Ratner is the embodiment of what's wrong with the filmmaking process in hollywood. Everyone knows it, including Brett Ratner.
Umm...thanks. I guess I'm sad then? What happens now?
Cygnet74
03-16-06, 03:54 AM
The fact that someone feels they have to defend Brett Ratner makes them pretty sad.
Ratner is the embodiment of what's wrong with the filmmaking process in hollywood. Everyone knows it, including Brett Ratner.
rendered most acutely in his "revelation" that his sole source of inspiration is other movies.
DrRingDing
03-16-06, 09:43 AM
Me either. He's living it up!
yeah, with Don Cheadle and his model girlfriend Alina Poopoo in his spectacular Bentley with leather seats, just like the one Matt Dillon has, at the Cosmo awards show where HE was one of 12 people being honored INCLUDING Pharell Williams and *gasp* Matt Dillon! maybe next time he'll go to an award show where's he being honored for his EXCELLENT work for Jimmy Choo!!! :horsepoo:
what exactly makes him a "Fun" and "Fearless" male, anyway?! give me a break.
sorry, d-freaknyc, but i've gotta go with the others on this one. who the hell is he trying to impress with this shit? ME?! it would take something significantly more modest to impress me coming from this tool.
-di doctor-
digitalfreaknyc
03-16-06, 09:54 AM
Raise your hand if you hated him before this article?
Yah...that's what I thought. He could have documented spending time at charities all day and you people would still be pissed over something.
DrRingDing
03-16-06, 10:19 AM
Raise your hand if you hated him before this article?
Yah...that's what I thought. He could have documented spending time at charities all day and you people would still be pissed over something.
which he would document something like this:
I went to this benefit for homeless people with my model girlfriend Alina Poopoo. I caught up with my old pal David Geffen there, who introduced me to that hot artist 50-Cent. The dinner cost $2000 dollars a plate and was lobster quiche with caviar stuffing.
i'm sorry, man, but this guy is a douche. yes, i disliked him before this. but if he had documented going to a charity benefit and only talked about the charity and what cool things it was doing to help people out, then i'd probably respect him. the thing is, he would NEVER EVER do that. that's why i don't like him. well, that, and his perceived lack of an idiosyncratic film style.
after saying all that, i have enjoyed his films, but not because they were <i>his</i> films - hell, i was even charmed by <i>Family Man</i>. the problem, though, is that the person behind the camera on any of his films could've been any of a number of marginally famous, cookie-cutter directors. this is, of course, all just my opinion.
i'm guessing that his x-men film will be okay. competently directed and it will look and feel like a Bryan Singer film. fine. but it won't be a uniquely Brett Ratner film. that is something that doesn't exist. he's too derivative. (being derivative is fine, but there's a line somewhere that distinguishes between being too derivative and paying homage.)
so, suffice it to say, you're right. i hated him to begin with. that doesn't mean i'm not willing to change my opinion. but so far NOTHING this man has done or said has ever made me even vaguely want to change my opinion.
just my $.02.
-di doctor-
digitalfreaknyc
03-16-06, 10:23 AM
ok cool. i'm coming into this knowing nothing about him and having no feelings either way. But everyone seems so fired up about him that I can't imagine this article doing much damage. Enh. I guess it just didn't phase me.
FinkPish
03-16-06, 01:04 PM
ok cool. i'm coming into this knowing nothing about him and having no feelings either way. But everyone seems so fired up about him that I can't imagine this article doing much damage. Enh. I guess it just didn't phase me.
You seem to be defending him every chance you get, but you know nothing about him? I am completely baffled, unless you are Brett Ratner....
digitalfreaknyc
03-16-06, 01:26 PM
You seem to be defending him every chance you get, but you know nothing about him? I am completely baffled, unless you are Brett Ratner....
If you will read through, i'm not defending him. I'm actually looking at this objectively as someone who knows nothing about him. Reading that article, I didn't have this massive coronary that others seem to have had. It's really not a big deal...but obviously my experiences are very different.
FinkPish
03-16-06, 01:31 PM
If you will read through, i'm not defending him. I'm actually looking at this objectively as someone who knows nothing about him. Reading that article, I didn't have this massive coronary that others seem to have had. It's really not a big deal...but obviously my experiences are very different.
I would suggest renting either or both of the Rush Hours, and watching the bonus material so you can see what a complete spaz this guy is. Then you will see what we are all on about.
digitalfreaknyc
03-16-06, 01:38 PM
I would suggest renting either or both of the Rush Hours, and watching the bonus material so you can see what a complete spaz this guy is. Then you will see what we are all on about.
He can't be more of a spaz than Quintin...which is one of the reasons I can't stand him.
Matthew Chmiel
03-16-06, 08:50 PM
He can't be more of a spaz than Quintin...which is one of the reasons I can't stand him.
Tarantino = humble and down-to-earth.
Ratner = arrogant jackass.
And I've hated Ratner since I saw him on an episode of "Making the Video" with Mariah Carey and Puff Daddy (before he was known as P. Diddy and then just Diddy).
Seantn
03-16-06, 08:58 PM
Superficial IS the entertainment industry...or are you just joining us, already in progress
What i'm getting from your posts here is that since YOU work in the industry and YOU see this behavior all the time, we're supposed to just accept it and not look at it as 'silly'. Give me a break. Let us have our fun. The guy is a douche bag, obviously. He's a name dropper and all he can do is talk about his expensive things and expensive friends in every single sentence. Just because LOTS of celebrities do this, doesn't mean we have to accept it. It's weird, and we can laugh at it.
conscience
03-16-06, 10:22 PM
gotta agree with pink here. as a producer/editor of trailers, i've had the pleasure to work closely with quite a few directors (allow me to name-drop for a moment. ;)) including paul thomas anderson, tarantino, robert rodriguez, and most recently mel gibson. these guys, and all the other "lesser knowns" were very cool, very down to earth. i'd say i've worked with about 20 or so, and none of them displayed the exorbitant superficiality you claim is so prevalent in our "industry". the closest to that would have been m. night shyamalan, but i'd say he's just very confident in his ideas. it's not like he came in talking about his bentley. i mean, who "name drops" there own car? people like ratner are the exception, not the rule.
You worked on the Apocalyto trailer? Awesome. Great trailer. Great score pick, to boot.
That C-list Ratner can take his Bentley with Courtney Love in tow along with his phone and drive off a bridge Vanilla Sky style.
Buy: