Just last week it was announced that embattled director Brett Ratner was mounting a comeback with a planned biopic about the lip-synching duo, Milli Vanilli. Well, in just a week, that project has hit a snag because Millennium Media is no longer involved in the selling or production of the planned film. Millennium Media didn't give an exact reason as to why this has all transpired but the backlash from the Time's Up movement is the likely reasoning behind their sudden departure.
Ratner's project was announced on February 19, 2021, and if you looked at most of the headlines, you would see that many of them pointed out that it was to be his comeback to filmmaking following allegations of sexual misconduct. Back in November of 2017, seven women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, accused the director of sexual harassment and misconduct. The end result was Warner Bros. ending their ties with the director and pretty much since then, Ratner has lived a rather low profile life.
A day after the announcement of the Milli Vanilli film, Time's Up released a statement that essentially said Ratner was not deserving of a comeback because the director, according to them, has not appropriately addressed the accusations and instead filled lawsuits against the women that came forward with claims against him. They also made it a point to address Millennium Media in their statement.
"TIME’S UP was born out of the national reckoning on workplace sexual harassment. 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. 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."
Despite Millennium Media dropping out, the project apparently has other bidders and investors who are fully financing the production. Millennium and Ratner's RatPac Entertainment released a joint statement that addressed Millennium's decision to exit the project:
"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. Millennium will not be selling the film at EFM or be involved in the production."
What are YOUR thoughts on Millennium Media dropping out? Do YOU still want to see a Milli Vanilli biopic?