Warner Bros. Is Splitting With Brett Ratner for Good
Back in November of last year, when Brett Ratner was accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct, Warner Bros. announced they would be severing ties with the producer and his production company Ratpac-Dune Entertainment and the co-financing contract he had with the studio. Five months later, it looks like the breakup is almost complete.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Warners and Ratpac-Dune have reached the end of their contract: “Warner Bros. will not renew its $450-million co-financing agreement with Brett Ratner’s film funding company, cutting its remaining ties with the embattled director, who has been accused of sexual misconduct or assault by several women.” This weekend’s Rampage was the final film financed by Ratner’s deal.
The string of accusations against Ratner began in November, with a number of actresses, many of them X-Men stars, accusing him of sexual harassment and misconduct. Olivia Munn told her story along with a group of actresses in a joint LA Times piece, and later Ellen Page accused him of outing her to her Last Stand co-stars before she had publicly come out. Gal Gadot reportedly threatened not to return for Wonder Woman 2 if Ratner was involved in any capacity.
When the accusations broke, both Warner Bros. and Ratner issued statements to try to get ahead of the news cycle. They were in the middle of a huge, 75-picture co-financing deal and Ratner had just started planning a Hugh Hefner biopic, which Playboy put on hold, and an adaptation of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. The deal was first struck in 2013 and was scheduled to expire this spring, unless Warners agreed to renew.