Home Alone 2: Lost in New York star Donald Trump is reportedly leaning on one of his billionaire buddies to get his Hollywood studio to resurrect one of his movie favorites.
Trump, 79, is close to Paramount’s owner Larry Ellison, the world’s third-richest man, who has also donated heavily to the president’s campaigns.
As well as owning a large stake in software giant Oracle, Ellison has been named as one of the Trump allies who could potentially take over ownership of TikTok.
Ellison’s studio Paramount, which is run by his son David, is set to take over the Warner movie catalogue and production company. A new report in Semafor claims that Trump is already making suggestions about future Paramount projects—and one franchise in particular.
The publication cites someone directly familiar with the conversations saying that Trump “personally pressed” Ellison to revive the Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker buddy-cop franchise Rush Hour.
The first Rush Hour was released in 1998 and grossed $245.3 million worldwide. It was followed by Rush Hour 2 in 2001 and Rush Hour 3 in 2007.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Paramount for comment.
Warner severed their relationship with Rush Hour director Brett Ratner in 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct, including from Juno star Elliot Page. He has denied the claims. Ratner previously had a production deal with the company worth $450 million.
Semafor suggests that while other studios potentially did not want to touch a Rush Hour reboot if Ratner was involved, it may not be an issue for Paramount as the director of Trump’s beloved franchise has strong MAGA links.
Ratner’s first project since the misconduct claims is a $40 million documentary on Melania Trump due to be released in January through Amazon.
It follows the first lady for the 20 days before the 2025 inauguration of her husband, which was attended by a line-up to tech titans including. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Arthur Sarkissian, who produced the Rush Hour franchise, steered the production company behind last year’s The Man You Don’t Know, a fawning Trump documentary which has a 4 out of 10 rating on movie site IMDB.
Jackie Chan, who is now 71, was diplomatic when asked about Trump’s looming presidency in 2016, saying, “Just give him a chance to try to change America and change the world. He’s a businessman… I think he knows how to handle these types of things.”
Whether Trump greenlights the casting of Tucker’s return is less clear. Tucker is friendly with Democratic former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and in July 2024 was pictured holding a Kamala Harris sign while attending a campaign rally for the Democratic presidential candidate in Georgia.
Trump is also fond of the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie Bloodsport, telling The New Yorker the action film was “an incredible, fantastic movie.”
The president’s other favorite movies include Goodfellas, Gone With the Wind, Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
Trump received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007 for his role as the host of the reality television show The Apprentice.
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