Last time we checked, Brett Ratner’s “Rush Hour 4” was happening, under the good graces of President Trump, who nudged the Ellisons into greenlighting the film, which then led to approval from rights-holder Warner Bros.
Yet, Puck’s Matt Belloni is reporting that the planned summer shoot in China, Africa, and Saudi Arabia has been delayed to September at the earliest, per multiple sources.
The main issue causing the delays might have to do with the planned $$120M budget, and the fact that producers Arthur Sarkissian and Tarak Ben Ammar still do not have deals with stars Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, who both rejected offers of $8M each to return. And that’s the problem: both made around $20M for “Rush Hour 3” in 2007.
It’s preposterous to believe that Chan and Tucker, aged two decades and barely marquee names anymore, would actually be demanding the same $20M salary they received 20 years ago, but that might very well be what’s holding the project back. If they do get paid that amount, or close to it, the budget would likely fall more in the $140M range.
Ironically, Chan is the same guy who, just last year, said “Rush Hour 3” sucked because producers spent “too much money” on the budget. The budget on that third instalment was also $140M.
It certainly doesn’t help that much of the money amassed to finance “Rush Hour 4” comes from the Middle East, which, if you haven’t been following the news, is currently a shitshow, raising the question: is Ratner’s comeback vehicle in danger of not happening?
Chan, now 71, and Tucker, whose last leading movie role was in, you guessed it, “Rush Hour 3,” will be directed by Ratner, a man shunned by Hollywood whose feature film career was proclaimed dead a decade ago due to #MeToo allegations. He recently attempted a non-fiction comeback, directing a $40M-costing documentary about Melania Trump for Amazon/MGM.
Whether there’s real demand for “Rush Hour 4” is debatable, but the main question that should be asked is whether spending $140M+ on it will be worth the investment.