Hollywood is in trouble. It’s no secret: production has stalled, and big blockbusters that used to be sure bets for box office returns are not performing anymore. President Donald Trump knows exactly how to remedy this issue — Rush Hour 4. No seriously, he’s reportedly been pushing Paramount to make another installment of the classic franchise in a bid to make movies great again with “male driven movies.”
Trump, above all else, loves a good show. Even since he transitioned into politics, he still takes time out of his day to call out Arnold Schwarzenegger and, more recently, Jimmy Kimmel to have a spirited back and forth about where he thinks their TV show ratings should be. Never mind the many other pressing issues in his docket, like his ongoing campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize by way of stopping wars, whether true or otherwise.
Trump isn’t just complaining on Truth Social, however. When he appointed Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone as Special Ambassadors to Hollywood, there was a clear direction that that particular move suggested. Albeit, we can never truly know who turned him down behind the scenes — Trump is not exactly popular in Tinseltown. But the message remained: Trump wanted to return Hollywood back to its 1980s glory of male-led action comedies.
Few people see that particular period as a particular highlight of movie history, but there’s nothing wrong with action comedies if that’s what is going to bring people back to the theatre. After all, for the film industry, if you have to pick one between a president who doesn’t care about the industry and one who champions their bad personal taste — they’d pick the latter every single time. The issue with Trump is how he’s going about it.
First of all, he already has a mini controversy with Paramount where he allegedly strong-armed them for a settlement about a 60 Minutes segment he didn’t like. Semafor reports producer Dallas Sonnier saying people should expect, “A wave of classically male-driven movies with mentally tough, traditional, courageous, confident heroes. Maybe even a tad cocky, but dedicated to honor and duty. Plus, of course, a few explosions, gun battles, helicopters, fistfights, and car chases!”
Trump was reportedly eyeing the original director, Brett Ratner, to come back to direct Rush Hour 4. And just like his other wishes when it comes to Paramount, it was immediately granted, and the movie has been greenlit, which is industry lingo to mean the movie is now going to be made. The only problem here is Ratner has been battling serious sexual assault allegations from Olivia Munn, Elliot Page, and other performers in Hollywood — accusations that have since been corroborated by actors who were on set. But thanks to the Trump family, that has all been forgotten now.
‘RUSH HOUR 4’ has been greenlit at Paramount, after push from Donald Trump.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) November 25, 2025
• Paramount is teaming up with Warner Bros. to distribute
• Brett Ratner, who coincidentally just made a documentary about Melania Trump, will return to direct.
(Source: Deadline) pic.twitter.com/Yn43RGiLmi
Reportedly, Ratner got close to the Trumps thanks to his direction of a Melania Trump documentary for Amazon, which is still in production. I suppose now if a director wants their movie made and Hollywood is stalling, get Trump on the job — as long as you’re also willing to do him a favor. This is the supposed “meritocracy” they always wanted to replace DEI with.
