Yahoo Finance Brett Ratner’s Milli Vanilli Film Dropped by Avi Lerner’s Millennium Media
Millennium Media is no longer involved in the selling or production of Brett Ratner’s Milli Vanilli film, Variety has confirmed.
However, the project has other bidders and investors who are fully financing production, according to RatPac. Millennium and Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment released a joint statement on Wednesday regarding the decision.
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“On the heels of the announcement of the long gestating Milli Vanilli movie, the project fielded multiple competitive bids and a group of private equity investors have emerged that are fully financing the movie to begin production shortly,” the statement reads. “Millennium will not be selling the film at EFM or be involved in the production.”
Ratner’s biopic of the ’80s and ’90s lip-synching musicians was announced on Feb. 19 ahead of the Berlin Film Festival’s market, and is set to be the director’s return to filmmaking following allegations of sexual misconduct. In November 2017, seven women, including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, accused the director of sexual harassment and misconduct, leading Warner Bros to cut ties with Ratner.
In a statement on Feb. 20, Time’s Up said that Ratner should not be granted a comeback in the industry.
“TIME’S UP was born out of the national reckoning on workplace sexual harassment,” said Tina Tchen, president and CEO of the Time’s Up Foundation in response to the news. “Our movement is a product of countless courageous acts by many survivors, including those who spoke out about what they endured at the hands of Brett Ratner.”
Tchen continued, adding that Ratner has not appropriately addressed the accusations and has instead filed lawsuits against the women who came forward.
“Not only did Ratner never acknowledge or apologize for the harm he caused, but he also filed lawsuits in an attempt to silence the voices of survivors who came forward – a tactic right out of the predator’s playbook. You don’t get to go away for a couple years and then resurface and act like nothing happened. We have not – and will not – forget. And Millennium Media shouldn’t either. There should be no comeback. #wewontforgetbrett.”
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