Amazon told employees they were not allowed to opt out of working on production for the new documentary about First Lady Melania Trump for political reasons, according to a report.
Some employees in Amazon’s entertainment division were unhappy about work related to the rollout of “Melania,” the newly released documentary for which Amazon paid $40 million to acquire the rights, according to the New York Times.
The workers were reportedly told the project had been mandated by senior executives and that refusal to participate for political reasons would not be accommodated.
On top of the cost of the rights, Jeff Bezos-founded Amazon paid a whopping $35 million on a marketing campaign including commercials during NFL games and an ad splashed across the Las Vegas Sphere’s exosphere.
The eye-popping sums are way above the typical costs around a doc on the scale of “Melania,” which follow the subject for a short length of time, the Times noted. The price tag for a project of that scale is usually around $5 million to produce and $3 million to market, the paper said.
While the deal is widely viewed as legal, critics in Hollywood and beyond have wondered whether it marked an effort to get in good with the White House.
“This has to be the most expensive documentary ever made that didn’t involve music licensing,” Ted Hope, who worked at Amazon’s entertainment division from 2015 to 2020, told the Times. “How can it not be equated with currying favor or an outright bribe? How can that not be the case?”
Asked for comment on the movie’s promotion, Amazon told the Times: “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it.”
Amazon employees took to calling the project “Unicorn” among themselves, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The choice of Brett Ratner to direct “Melania” reportedly drew some dissent. One production employee told Rolling Stone: “There was more talk about Brett being slimy than there was about Melania.”
As many as two-thirds of crew members for the New York-based production reportedly asked to have their names removed from the credits.
In 2017, six women including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge accused Ratner of sexual assault and harassment. The director strongly denied the allegations.
Warner Bros. immediately cut ties with his production company and he was effectively exiled from Hollywood.
“Melania” is the first film he has directed since then.
The Post has sought comment from Amazon, Ratner and the White House.
