Brett Ratner - a day in the life of

[vasb]

I hated him before, but after reading his diary I'm simply amazed. It reads like an article from The Onion. I don't know where to begin.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/m...nthelife05.xml

The director


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]

I don't think he dropped nearly enough names. What an ass.

[Matthew Chmiel]

Goddamnit. X3 is going to suck.

[Joe Molotov]

Not as interesting as a day in the life of Natalie Portman.

[PopcornTreeCt]

Well, that wasn't interesting.

[MASAMUNE2]

what the hell does everyone have against brett ratner????!!! i don't get it

[Fincher Fan]

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]

I've hated Ratner ever since I first became aware of him through the Rush Hour DVD.

This only further galvanizes those feelings.

[FantasticVSDoom]

This cant be real...Can it?

[digitalfreaknyc]

Uhh...i don't get it. What's the problem with what's written?

[tonymontana313]

Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc

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]

Originally Posted by tonymontana313

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]

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]

Originally Posted by ytrez

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]

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]

Originally Posted by mikewendt

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]

That's great. I usually average 50 phone calls a day too...although most of them are from telemarketers

[mikewendt]

Originally Posted by Dean Kousoulas

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]

Originally Posted by mikewendt

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]

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]

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]

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]

Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc

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]

Originally Posted by Numanoid

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]

Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc

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.