Brett Ratner and Steven Mnuchin are inextricably linked thanks to their RatPac-Dune Entertainment film financing vehicle, which backed such Warner Bros. films as Wonder Woman and Dunkirk. After a four-year public absence from the film world, both are poised to tap industry contacts, even if they will likely receive a cold shoulder from Hollywood.
Mnuchin says it’s premature to comment on his future activities even as he has moved back to Los Angeles. Still, the former Relativity Media co-chairman, who is expected to face industry scorn because of his relationship with former President Donald Trump while serving as treasury secretary, has a financial stake in a high-profile film, Zack Snyder’s upcoming Justice League for HBO Max.
A Warners spokesperson says Dune was a co-financier of 2017’s Justice League and, as such, is entitled to a credit on all versions including the Snyder Cut, which bows as a four-hour film on March 18.
Meanwhile, Mnuchin’s former RatPac-Dune principal Ratner announced on Feb. 4 that he has acquired Jaime Rogozinski’s life rights and is developing a film and podcast about the founder of Reddit’s WallStreetBets. The move raised eyebrows around town given that in November 2017, Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct by six women in a Los Angeles Times story, prompting Warners to sever its relationship with him and WME to drop him as a client.
Separately, a woman accused Ratner of rape in a Facebook post, which he denied (he sued the accuser for defamation, and both sides eventually dropped their claims). He also has been accused of facilitating the sexual abuse of Charlotte Kirk in ongoing litigation involving the actress and a group of Hollywood power brokers.
But Ratner has a new publicist, crisis guru Howard Bragman, and has been quietly funding projects and filmmakers he believes in and is working on several documentaries. “Brett never left. He was working all this time,” says Bragman, who wouldn’t name the projects. “He just chose to be low-profile.”
Though Ratner and Mnuchin’s names are surfacing again in Hollywood at the same time, the two have no plans to team in the future. Adds Bragman: “Ratner and Mnuchin remain friendly, but have no business relationship since their Warners funding deal ended.”
A version of this story first appeared in the Feb. 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
