Brett Ratner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brett Ratner
Ratner in 2012
Born	(1969-03-28) March 28, 1969 (age 56) Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Education	New York University
Occupation	Film director producer
Years active	1987–present
Known for	RatPac Entertainment Rush Hour Red Dragon X-Men: The Last Stand The Family Man Tower Heist Hercules

Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing popular movies like the Rush Hour series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, Tower Heist, and Hercules.

He has also produced many films, including the Horrible Bosses series. He was an executive producer for films like The Revenant and War Dogs. He also worked on the TV show Prison Break.

Brett Ratner started his career directing music videos in the 1990s. His first movie, Money Talks, came out in 1997. The movies he has directed have earned over $2 billion worldwide. He also co-founded RatPac Entertainment, a film production company. This company helped finance many movies, which have won important awards like Academy Awards. In 2017, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early Life and Education

Brett Ratner was born and grew up in Miami Beach, Florida. His mother was Marsha Presman. He considers Alvin Malnik, a family friend, to be the father who raised him. Brett's biological father later became homeless. This inspired Brett to join the board of Chrysalis, a group that helps homeless people find jobs.

He went to Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy and Alexander Muss High School in Israel. He graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School in 1986. As a teenager, he was an extra in the movie Scarface. He also watched Miami Vice being filmed in his hometown.

Brett Ratner graduated from New York University in 1990. He has said that the 1980 film Raging Bull inspired him to work in movies.

Career in Film

Directing Movies

Brett Ratner began directing music videos in the 1990s. While studying at NYU, he made a short film called Whatever Happened to Mason Reese?. The rap group Public Enemy saw his film and asked him to direct their music videos. He then worked with many famous artists like Redman, LL Cool J, Mariah Carey, and Madonna.

His first full-length movie was Money Talks in 1997. It was an action-comedy starring Chris Tucker. In 1998, he directed Rush Hour, an action-comedy with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. This movie became very successful.

He directed The Family Man in 2000, a drama with Nicolas Cage. In 2001, he directed Rush Hour 2. The next year, he directed Red Dragon, a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs.

In 2004, Ratner directed After the Sunset, an action-comedy with Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek. He then directed X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006. In 2007, he directed Rush Hour 3.

In 2011, Ratner directed Tower Heist, a comedy starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy. The film was based on an idea about employees planning to rob a tower.

In 2025, Amazon confirmed that Prime Video will show a documentary film about incoming First Lady Melania Trump. Brett Ratner will direct this film. Melania Trump will also be an executive producer.

Producing Movies and TV

Ratner was an executive producer for the TV series Prison Break from 2005 to 2009. He also directed its first episode.

In 2011, he produced Horrible Bosses, a comedy about employees who want to get rid of their bosses. He also produced Mirror Mirror (2012), a remake of Snow White. In 2014, he produced Horrible Bosses 2.

He was an executive producer for Black Mass (2015), a movie about a gangster. The same year, he was an executive producer for The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2016, he was an executive producer for War Dogs.

RatPac Entertainment

In 2012, Brett Ratner and James Packer started a company called RatPac Entertainment. This company produces independent films and helps finance big-budget movies. By 2017, RatPac had helped finance over 50 films. These films received many Oscar nominations and earned over $10 billion at the box office.

RatPac teamed up with Dune Entertainment in 2013. They partnered with Warner Bros. to co-produce 75 films. One of their first investments was the movie Gravity, which was very successful.

In 2018, Warner Bros. decided to end its partnership with RatPac. Rampage was the last film they co-financed together.

Other Projects

In 2009, Ratner started Rat Press, a publishing company. He also created Rat TV with 20th Century Fox Television in 2011.

In 2011, he was chosen to produce the 84th Academy Awards ceremony. However, he later resigned from this role.

Ratner also created The Hilhaven Lodge, a type of blended whiskey. It is named after his home in Beverly Hills.

In 2017, Ratner spoke at the Cannes Film Festival. He talked about how television is becoming very important in film production. He also shared his thoughts on film review websites like Rotten Tomatoes, saying they simplify film criticism too much.

Brett Ratner has served on the boards of several organizations. These include the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Chrysalis (which helps the homeless), and the Los Angeles Police Foundation. He has also donated to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Filmography

Film

Director

Short film

Director

Executive producer

• Velocity Rules (2001)
• Me and Daphne (2002)
• Kill Them Mommy! (2015)

Producer

Documentary film

Television

TV movies

TV series

Music video

See also

In Spanish: Brett Ratner para niños