As Amazon MGM Studios releases its Melania movie in theaters today, a new report about the story behind the documentary’s “chaotic production” has been revealed, confirming that there were two Academy Award nominees involved in its filming. The documentary takes place 20 days before Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration a year ago.
Who are the Oscar nominees involved in the Melania Trump movie?
According to Rolling Stone, after Amazon acquired the distribution rights to the Melania movie, the creative team tried to get as much footage as they could of the first lady before the day of the inauguration. Because of this, they’ve organized three separate production crews, who were assigned to shoot in Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Two of these crews involved Oscar-nominated cinematographers Jeff Cronenweth and Dante Spinotti, while the third crew enlisted cinematographer Barry Peterson. The latter previously worked on the controversial Blake Likely movie, It Ends With Us.
Cronenweth was nominated twice for Best Cinematography at the Academy Awards for his work on David Fincher’s The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies. As for Spinotti, the acclaimed director of photography also has two Oscar nominations under his belt for his work on 1997’s L.A. Confidential and 1999’s The Insider. The latter is one of Spinotti’s many collaborations with award-winning director Michael Mann, which also included 1992’s The Last of the Mohicans and 1995’s Heat.
“Melania offers unprecedented access to the 20 days leading up to the 2025 Presidential Inauguration — through the eyes of the First Lady herself,” reads the official synopsis. “Step inside Melania Trump’s world as she orchestrates inauguration plans, navigates the complexities of the White House transition, and moves her family back to the Nation’s Capital.”
The documentary was directed by RatPack Entertainment co-founder Brett Ratner (Rush Hour). This marked the first time he directed a documentary movie after previously producing docufilms like 2014’s Night Will Fall, 2015’s Chuck Norris vs Communism, and 2016’s Before the Flood. The movie features exclusive footage of critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments. It was produced by Ratner, Melania Trump, Fernando Sulichin, and Marc Beckman.
(Source: Rolling Stone)
