Playboy officially wants out of the Brett Ratner business. In light of recent events surrounding director and producer Ratner, Playboy Enterprises has officially put the kibosh on a proposed Hugh Hefner biopic that they were developing with RatPac Entertainment.
According to a report by The Wrap, a Playboy spokesperson said, “We are deeply troubled to learn about the accusations against Brett Ratner. We find this kind of behavior completely unacceptable. We are putting all further development of our projects with RatPac Entertainment on hold until we are able to review the situation further.”
The film is one of Ratner’s many projects in development at the moment that are likely in jeopardy after the recent sexual assault and harassment allegations against Ratner. Natasha Hestridge, Olivia Munn, and others have come forward with stories relating to the director. It seems as if any project being developed by Ratner and/or RatPac Entertainment is now up in the air.
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The Hugh Hefner film is of particular interest because of how Ratner had been so vocal about the recently deceased Playboy founder. After Hefner’s passing, Ratner had written about his love of Hefner and his interest in working on the film. Just last month, various reports indicated that actor Jared Leto was attached to star in the film, however, today the actor’s representatives are denying he had anything to do with the film and never signed on to the project.
The Wrap also reports that Ratner was also attached to produce a reboot of the ‘60s variety show “Playboy After Dark.” It seems as if this project is also getting the ax.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros., who had many titles on their slate financed by RatPac, have opted not to renew their production deal with Ratner. A bit more thorny is the $450 million co-financing deal the studio had arranged with RatPac — that’s a lot of money to wave goodbye to — but I’d presume that they’ll try and find that cash elsewhere. As for the director and producer, he’s offering his own spin on the developments.
“In light of the allegations being made, I am choosing to personally step away from all Warner Bros.-related activities,” Ratner said in a statement (via The Los Angeles Times). “I don’t want to have any possible negative impact to the studio until these personal issues are resolved.”
Part of Ratner’s plan to deal with his “personal issues” involves suing one of the women who has accused him of rape for defamation. — with Kevin Jagernauth
