Brett Ratner in Vanity Fair Magazine

[narrows101]

http://www.brettratner.com/content/press/vanityfair2/vf_01.htm

The whole article is online on Brett's site.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Thanks.

 

[_BB_]

"Now he wants respect"

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

I think Ratner has the right attitude, he just doesn't have all the talent.

 

[Farren]

"Now he wants respect"

yeah...

Respect is nice and all, but it needs to be earned, and I don't think Brett has earned it yet. Profits don't equal talent.

 

[Phoenix342]

yeah...

Respect is nice and all, but it needs to be earned, and I don't think Brett has earned it yet. Profits don't equal talent.

now now dont forget that wonderful jessica simpson video he made !! who doesnt love synchronized roller disco

 

[Retroman]

Thanks narrows.

 

[Prognosticator]

...hear I am still reading 20 minutes later, does this article ever end??

 

[LastSunrise1981]

Ratner's attitude is what exactly makes me despise him as a filmmaker. It seems as if he takes nothing seriously and his ADD doesn't allow him to concentrate on detail.

When he admitted to having ADD and hates working on one scene for too long, I knew immediately that he is wrong for big epic films that have an important story.

Respect is earned, not given. What has he done in order to earn respect? Rush Hour? Family Man? Red Dragon? X3? Money Talks? Yeah, so what? Mind telling me why he feels he deserves respect? Respect is admitting you make mistakes as a director and not feel as if everyone film you've done is perfect.

Directors like Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, James Cameron, Guillermo Del Toro, John Carpenter, Tim Burton, Bryan Singer, Sam Raimi, Christopher Nolan, Spike Lee, Mel Gibson(Before his tirade), and so on have earned respect as being great directors who create great stories that have a very deep emotional message.

Ratner's style of filmmaking is good for Rush Hour and other films that don't require a lot of thought, however, as a whole he's one of those guys who is a studio yes man and will get the job done in a certain amount of time. A story like X3 shouldn't have been rushed and he shouldn't have been anywhere near the project.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[Prognosticator]

So I'm confused...everyone here thinks he's a hack, and I think he's a director with no distinct vision, yet everyone in Hollywood including the directoral royalty like Spielberg eat him up??

It has to be his "infectuous" personality. He must be the most charming half jew/quarter Cuban of all time!

And another thing I picked up from the article, he soaks everything up like a sponge...it's like he's around these talented, TALENTED, and super-rich people for his own enjoyment, not for the sake of improving his movies.

 

[LastSunrise1981]

So I'm confused...everyone here thinks he's a hack, and I think he's a director with no distinct vision, yet everyone in Hollywood including the directoral royalty like Spielberg eat him up??

It has to be his "infectuous" personality. He must be the most charming half jew/quarter Cuban of all time!

And another thing I picked up from the article, he soaks everything up like a sponge...it's like he's around these talented, TALENTED, and super-rich people for his own enjoyment, not for the sake of improving his movies.

I think Spielberg, Singer, and others are just being polite and putting on a front when they compliment him. However, that's just my take on the situation. They may really like him and his films, but I find it hard to believe that Spielberg or Singer find Ratner's films to have any kind of substance.

 

[Theweepeople]

Ratner's attitude is what exactly makes me despise him as a filmmaker. It seems as if he takes nothing seriously and his ADD doesn't allow him to concentrate on detail.

When he admitted to having ADD and hates working on one scene for too long, I knew immediately that he is wrong for big epic films that have an important story.

Respect is earned, not given. What has he done in order to earn respect? Rush Hour? Family Man? Red Dragon? X3? Money Talks? Yeah, so what? Mind telling me why he feels he deserves respect? Respect is admitting you make mistakes as a director and not feel as if everyone film you've done is perfect.

Directors like Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, James Cameron, Guillermo Del Toro, John Carpenter, Tim Burton, Bryan Singer, Sam Raimi, Christopher Nolan, Spike Lee, Mel Gibson(Before his tirade), and so on have earned respect as being great directors who create great stories that have a very deep emotional message.

Ratner's style of filmmaking is good for Rush Hour and other films that don't require a lot of thought, however, as a whole he's one of those guys who is a studio yes man and will get the job done in a certain amount of time. A story like X3 shouldn't have been rushed and he shouldn't have been anywhere near the project.

But that's just my opinion.

That's interesting. The hollywood saloon talked about Ratner being notorious for having 35 takes for each scene he films. They suggested the reason Brett does this is to make it look like he is working hard.

 

[Theweepeople]

I think Spielberg, Singer, and others are just being polite and putting on a front when they compliment him. However, that's just my take on the situation. They may really like him and his films, but I find it hard to believe that Spielberg or Singer find Ratner's films to have any kind of substance.

There's nothing unusual about this. Hollywood bigshot's constantly say positive things about other people in this industry who don't deserve praise. I remember quite a few people in Hollywood saying that David Caruso would turn into a superstar actor after he left NYPD Blue.

 

[Prognosticator]

^ That was Caruso's publicist that said that

 

[Theweepeople]

^ That was Caruso's publicist that said that

Caruso's publicist wasn't the only one who said that. Some of his buddies from NYPD Blue said he would become a great actor. Dennis Franz praised Caruso during an interview 14 years ago after hearing his decision to leave the show.

Another example of what I'm talking about can be seen in the special features of Blue Streak. Some people probably think Martin Lawrence is a classy guy after seeing Luke Wilson talk about how wonderful it was to work with him during an interview. I did some research on the show that made him popular and found out that this is hogwash. Tisha Cambell admitted in an interview after "Martin" was cancelled that Martin sexually harassed her.

 

[Hugh'sMrs]

I didn't bother reading the entire article because I'm fairly sure it's the same old bull****. Ratner is a bore who's totally in love with himself.

 

[LastSunrise1981]

Caruso's publicist wasn't the only one who said that. Some of his buddies from NYPD Blue said he would become a great actor. Dennis Franz praised Caruso during an interview 14 years ago after hearing his decision to leave the show.

Another example of what I'm talking about can be seen in the special features of Blue Streak. Some people probably think Martin Lawrence is a classy guy after seeing Luke Wilson talk about how wonderful it was to work with him during an interview. I did some research on the show that made him popular and found out that this is hogwash. Tisha Cambell admitted in an interview after "Martin" was cancelled that Martin sexually harassed her.

In Martin's defense, many of the cast who worked with him or are close to him believe Tisha lied about the whole thing. The scene they were filming that contained "sexual harrassment" showed both of them joking around under the covers(during outtakes/bloopers).

So as I said, in his defense, he has more people defending him than anything else.

He even had the woman who starred as Pam co-star with him in Wild Hogs as his wife. So really, you have to wonder if what Tisha said about him is even true.

 

[Theweepeople]

In Martin's defense, many of the cast who worked with him or are close to him believe Tisha lied about the whole thing. The scene they were filming that contained "sexual harrassment" showed both of them joking around under the covers(during outtakes/bloopers).

So as I said, in his defense, he has more people defending him than anything else.

He even had the woman who starred as Pam co-star with him in Wild Hogs as his wife. So really, you have to wonder if what Tisha said about him is even true.

In Martin's defense, many of the cast who worked with him or are close to him believe Tisha lied about the whole thing. The scene they were filming that contained "sexual harrassment" showed both of them joking around under the covers(during outtakes/bloopers).

So as I said, in his defense, he has more people defending him than anything else.

He even had the woman who starred as Pam co-star with him in Wild Hogs as his wife. So really, you have to wonder if what Tisha said about him is even true.

What I always wondered was what were Tisha's motives if she was lying about this? The result of her suing Martin and Fox was getting kicked off the show, the show being canceled, and her career going nowhere. You made an interesting point about Pam but, Martin being nice to one co-star doesn't negate those accusations made against him. It's obvious that Martin did something wrong to Tisha.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

So I'm confused...everyone here thinks he's a hack, and I think he's a director with no distinct vision, yet everyone in Hollywood including the directoral royalty like Spielberg eat him up??

Did it ever occur to you that internet fanboys who must absolutley find anything and everything to ***** about because they are never satisfied aren't really the be all, end all of determining what is and isn't good filmmaking?

 

[LastSunrise1981]

What I always wondered was what were Tisha's motives if she was lying about this? The result of her suing Martin and Fox was getting kicked off the show, the show being canceled, and her career going nowhere. You made an interesting point about Pam but, Martin being nice to one co-star doesn't negate those accusations made against him. It's obvious that Martin did something wrong to Tisha.

What would Tisha have to gain from it? Money. Plain and simple. Martin, at the time, was hitting its stride as a very popular show with a lot of viewers and it still remains as one of the funniest shows in history.

Here's some information about the situation you speak of.

During the last two seasons of the show, Lawrence began abusing drugs, the effects of which very obviously affected his performance on the show, and he suffered numerous psychological effects as a result. Campbell sued Lawrence for sexual harassment, alleging that Lawrence acted inappropriately while he and Campbell taped scenes of Martin and Gina sharing a bed.

The episode in which the alleged harassment took place was 'Back in Trouble Again' (Season 5, Episode 2). It was the last bed scene between Campbell and Lawrence. During the end of the episode, there was a gag reel of outtakes of the two under the covers and they both seem to be joking around. This supports some of the doubts of the allegations.

Other allegations were that Lawrence threatenend the cast with a firearm. Campbell also alleged that Lawrence would have outbursts during tapings. Campbell claimed that she feared for her life and that she began to install locks on her dressing room. She also claims she had spoken with the shows producers about installing a 'panic' button in her dressing room. None of the other cast members have made claims about how their work enviornment was.

Campbell's appearenaces in the show dwindled, oftening sharing screentime only with co-star, Tichina Arnold, or in a split-screen with Martin, or not at all. She did not (and would not) appear in any scenes with Lawrence, save for a split-screen scene taped on separate sets. Campbell's disappearance from the show caused Martin to "jump the shark". In the eyes of many viewers: the show's ratings and popularity dropped. Despite Lawrence's problems, FOX showed interest in bringing back the show for a sixth season but Lawrence skipped out on a meeting to discuss (reported in the Hollywood blurb on the Atlanta-Journal Constitution in 1997.) As result, Living Single was brought back as a midseason replacement. Meanwhile, FOX waited until things settled between Lawrence and Campbell. Lawrence even had suggested who would take over the role of Gina. Lawrence then made the decision to end the show and FOX agreed. To this day, Lawrence and Campbell are still personally feuding, although Campbell stated in a radio interview that she is still very grateful to Lawrence for giving her an opportunity to be a part of his show.

Some speculate that there had been a rift between Lawrence and Campbell due to Lawrence ignoring her ideas for the show. Others believe it was a ploy for Campbell to get out of her contract with the show.