Melania Trump documentary: James Packer’s RatPac Entertainment goes behind-the-scenes with elusive first lady

Australian media mogul James Packer is set to make a big splash when his production company RatPac Entertainment returns to Hollywood later this year.

RatPac Entertainment has been grantted unprecedented access to the Trump family, including at their Mar-a-Lago mansion and the White House, to produce a documentary about one of its most elusive figures: Melania Trump.

Donald Trump’s third wife, and former (and now returning) First Lady, is set to be the subject of the Amazon Prime Video documentary, slated for streaming and theatrical release later this year.

Filming for the documentary, directed by Packer’s RatPac co-founder Brett Ratner, is already under way, and promises a “truly unique story”, giving viewers an “unprecedented behind-the-scenes look” at Melania Trump.

Although she is one-half of one of the most famous couples of the last decade — and the subject of countless conspiracy theories — the notoriously private former model and her husband have kept the details of their relationship to themselves.

She had sought to maintain her privacy even as she served as first lady since 2016, focusing on raising their son, Barron, and promoting her “Be Best” initiative to support the “social, emotional, and physical health of children”.

While she appeared at her husband’s campaign launch event for 2024 and attended the closing night of the Republican National Convention this summer, she has otherwise stayed off the campaign trail, though the demands of again being first lady may dictate a higher public profile after Inauguration Day.

She gave the first controlled glimpse into her private life with the release of her self-titled memoir late last year.

But this documentary is set to crack the lid on the enigmatic Mrs Trump further, with RatPac reportedly given access to the 54-year-old in the Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion, the White House, and even their private plane dubbed “Trump Force One”.

The documentary comes amid what Packer himself said was his “third act” of his life, after retreating from the business world to focus on his health.

Packer founded RatPac entertainment with producer-director Ratner in 2013. The company went on to co-finance some of the biggest blockbusters of the 2000s and 2010s, including Oscar-winning Gravity, Avatar, X-Men, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Night at the Museum franchise.

The Australian billionaire sold his stake in RatPac Entertainment in 2017 amid a string of asset sales to reduce debt in his business empire and refocus his priorities to health.

According to tThe Daily Telegraph, though, Packer quietly bought back the company two years ago in a move reminiscent of his late father Kerry’s possibly most famous deals.

Kerry Packer sold the Nine Network to Alan Bond for more than $1 billion in 1987, but bought it back three years later for a quarter of the cost three years later as the Bond empire crumbled.

Now it appears Packer and Ratner have teamed up again — despite the billionaire telling The Nightly he was done with Hollywood in an exclusive interview last year.

“I tried my arm and I wasn’t successful,” he said.

“The movie business is a very tough business.”

He also said at the time that he had “picked the wrong partner” in Ratner and “paid the price”.

Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including actor Olivia Munn, in the early days of the #MeToo reckoning in November 2017. His lawyer denied the allegations.

This documentary will be the first Ratner has directed since the allegations.

— with AAP