Why a Jackie Chan Sequel Says a Whole Lot About Trump’s Economy

[Thiệu Ngô]

DONALD TRUMP WANTS another Rush Hour movie, so another Rush Hour movie he shall get.

By Catherine Rampell

No matter that Jackie Chan is now 71 years old. No matter that the buddy-cop franchise leaned on racial stereotypes that might not play as well with even the woke-backlash audiences of today. Forget that the franchise’s director, Brett Ratner, has been virtually unemployable ever since half a dozen women (including several celebrities) accused him of sexual misconduct.

None of this is material. Even if it ends up being a box-office flop, Rush Hour 4 would still be a bargain—because producing this movie is a cheap way to extract something much, much more valuable from the president.

Paramount Skydance will reportedly distribute the film. Not coincidentally, Paramount Skydance is desperate to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s a merger that would normally face ginormous antitrust obstacles, given that the companies collectively control a third of the North American box office. But the administration has shown an inclination to dispense with regulatory hurdles when it comes to its friends. And ponying up the cash for a potential box-office dud will, if nothing else, further ingratiate Paramount to Trump.

After all, let’s say Rush Hour 4 costs a couple hundred million bucks. That’s pocket change compared to a ~$75 billion merger.

Of course, to potentially sweeten the pot, Trump will get a little payday in all of this too. Remember that until-recently-unemployable director, Ratner? He just directed Melania Trump’s soft-focus documentary, for which Amazon MGM paid the Trumps a cool $40 million.

This cinematic saga is a tidy little microcosm of Trumpism: The resurrection of a sex pest, otherwise banished from polite society. The palm-greasing for Trump. The nostalgia for extremely dated and borderline racist cultural references. The president showing more interest in being a kung-fu film producer than leader of the free world. And, perhaps most importantly,