COLUMN: When Hollywood Sells Its Soul for $75 Million

A Man Facing Allegations Finds Refuge with the Trumps

Brett Ratner. That name should send shivers down your spine. In November 2017, the Los Angeles Times published a detailed investigation in which six women accused the director of sexual harassment, groping, and forced oral sex. Actress Olivia Munn claimed that Ratner had masturbated in front of her on the set of the 2004 film “After the Sunset.” Ratner’s agents at WME dropped him. So did his publicist. Warner Bros. severed ties with him. He was finished, exiled, banished from Hollywood. Until the Trumps reached out to him.

The photos that are hard to look at

Then, on January 31, 2026—one day after the film’s release—the U.S. Department of Justice released a new batch of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. And who appears in the photos? Brett Ratner. He is seen sitting on a couch, his arms around a young woman whose identity is obscured. Next to them are Epstein and another woman, also anonymized. This isn’t the first time Ratner has appeared in the Epstein files. Last December, another photo showed him embracing Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and Epstein associate who was found dead in his cell in 2022 while awaiting trial for the rape of a minor.

I feel like throwing up. Literally. How can anyone give $75 million to a man like that? How can anyone offer him a platform, a second chance, a redemption he doesn’t deserve? And above all, how can anyone pretend that everything is fine, that it’s just a show, just business?

When Amazon’s CEO Bows Down to Trump

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, has never hidden his desire to get close to those in power. But with “Melania,” he’s crossed a red line. This film isn’t a documentary. It’s a propaganda tool, a public relations stunt disguised as a cinematic work. And Amazon paid a hefty price to secure the Trump administration’s favor. Seventy-five million dollars—that’s the cost of allegiance. That’s the price of submission. That’s what it takes to buy a seat at the table of the powerful.

Outrageous timing that insults the victims

The release of “Melania” comes at a time when the Trump administration’s actions have led to violence, shootings of innocent people, fear, and grief across America. To see Melania Trump choosing expensive outfits, spouting platitudes about our shared humanity, and demanding that we sympathize with her own grief—all against this backdrop of national tragedy—is outrageously indecent. It’s a middle finger to the victims, to the bereaved families, to all those suffering from this administration’s policies.

I think of those families mourning their dead while Melania struts around in dresses costing several thousand dollars. I think of this unbearable dissonance between obscene luxury and real suffering. And I wonder how we got to this point. How we could have accepted this.

Even Hollywood Can’t Turn a Blind Eye Anymore

Film critics, though usually careful not to offend, didn’t mince words. David Mouriquand of Euronews Culture wrote that the film was “a superficial vanity project” whose timing was “scandalously ill-chosen.” The Hollywood Reporter called it a “propaganda documentary.” Variety wondered why Amazon would spend $75 million on such a “boring” film. Even ordinary moviegoers shunned the film. On review sites, the ratings are disastrous. Movie theaters were empty. In the United Kingdom, only one person bought a ticket on opening day.

A Commercial Flop Despite the Millions Invested

Despite everything, the film grossed $7.1 million during its opening weekend in the United States, exceeding initial expectations that had predicted a total flop. But let’s not be mistaken: this is not a success. It’s a band-aid on a gaping wound. Amazon lost tens of millions on this venture. But money wasn’t the goal. The goal was to buy its way into the inner circle of power. And from that perspective, mission accomplished.

Seven million dollars. That’s all they managed to scrape together after investing 75 million. And they call that a success? No, it’s a monumental failure. A moral, artistic, and financial failure. A failure across the board.

The Film Industry Sold to the Highest Bidder

This film is not an isolated case. It is a symptom of a deeper disease eating away at the entertainment industry. Streaming platforms like Amazon, Netflix, and Disney+ are no longer content distributors. They are cash machines that buy and sell influence. They don’t care about artistic quality, journalistic integrity, or the truth. They care about their market share, their political connections, and their bank accounts. And if that means funding a propaganda film for a controversial administration, so be it.

The Death of the Documentary as a Genre

“Melania” is not a documentary. A documentary seeks the truth, asks tough questions, and explores gray areas. “Melania” is a 104-minute advertisement for the Trump brand. It’s an infomercial disguised as a movie. And by calling it a “documentary,” Amazon and the Trumps are insulting all the real documentary filmmakers who risk their lives, their careers, and their reputations to tell stories that matter. They’re spitting on the genre, on journalistic ethics, on everything that makes a documentary worth watching.

I think of all those courageous documentary filmmakers who film in war zones, who expose injustices, who give a voice to the voiceless. And then I see this. This farce. This insult. And I feel betrayed.

Why Is No One Saying Anything?

Perhaps the most shocking thing about this whole affair is the silence. Where are the actors, directors, and producers who usually boast about their progressive values? Where are the impassioned speeches about artistic integrity and social responsibility? Nowhere to be found. Because Amazon is too powerful. Because no one wants to cross a platform that can make or break a career. Because money speaks louder than principles. And because, deep down, Hollywood has always been an industry of cowards who would rather look the other way than take a stand.

Complicity Through Inaction

By saying nothing, by not boycotting this film, by not denouncing this farce, the film industry is making itself an accomplice. An accomplice to propaganda. An accomplice to exploitation. An accomplice to a system where money and power crush everything in their path. And this complicity may be worse than the act itself. Because it normalizes the unacceptable. It tells the world that it’s OK, that it’s just business, that it’s not worth fighting for.

I’m angry. Not just at Amazon or the Trumps. I’m angry at everyone who stays silent. At everyone who looks the other way. At everyone who makes excuses. Because your silence is your approval.

Taking Back Control of Our Screens

If “Melania” teaches us anything, it’s that we, the audience, have power. The power to say no. The power to boycott. The power to refuse to endorse this kind of manipulation. Box office figures show that people aren’t fooled. They’ve realized that this movie was nothing more than a PR stunt in disguise. And they voted with their feet by staying home. It’s a strong message. A message that tells streaming platforms and politicians that we’re not for sale.

Demanding Better from Our Content Creators

We must demand better. Better from our streaming platforms. Better from our directors. Better from our actors and producers. We must make them understand that we don’t want propaganda. We want true stories, tough questions, and honest answers. We want films that make us think, that make us uncomfortable, that push us to question our certainties. Not advertisements disguised as documentaries.

I refuse to accept that this is just the way things are now. I refuse to believe that there’s nothing we can do. Because if we give up, if we let this happen, then they’ve won. And I’m not ready to hand them that victory.

A Genre Threatened by Commercialization

The documentary is in danger. Not because of a lack of public interest or a shortage of important topics to cover. It is in danger because the platforms that now control distribution have realized they can use the documentary format to serve their own interests. They can call anything a “documentary,” and the public, accustomed to trusting the genre, will watch it without questioning it. This is a betrayal of the implicit contract between documentary filmmakers and their audience. And if we don’t act now, this genre we love so much will die.

Resistance Through Independent Creation

But there is hope. All over the world, independent documentary filmmakers continue to do remarkable work. They fund their films through crowdfunding, distribute them on alternative platforms, and screen them at festivals. They refuse to bow to the demands of major platforms. They refuse to compromise their vision. And they are the ones we must support. They are the ones we must watch. Because they are the ones keeping the flame of true documentary alive.

There are still people fighting. People who believe that cinema can change the world. People who refuse to sell their souls for a few million dollars. And as long as they exist, there is hope.

A defining moment for the film industry

“Melania” will go down in history as a turning point. The moment when a major platform openly bought its way into political power by funding a propaganda film. The moment when a director accused of sexual assault found refuge with a controversial administration. The moment when the film industry chose silence over resistance. And this moment will define us. It will tell future generations who we were, what we valued, and how far we were willing to go to defend our principles—or our lack thereof.

A Call for Vigilance and Action

We are at a crossroads. On one side, a future where platforms and politicians control what we see, what we think, and what we believe. A future where cinema is no longer an art but a tool of manipulation. On the other side, a future where we take back control. Where we demand transparency, integrity, and truth. Where we support creators who refuse to compromise. The choice is ours. But we must choose now. Because tomorrow, it may be too late.

I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if we’re going to win this battle. But I know one thing: I won’t stay silent. I won’t look the other way. I won’t pretend that everything is fine. Because everything is not fine. And as long as I have a voice, I’ll make it heard. Even if it doesn’t change anything. Even if no one is listening. Because silence is death. And I refuse to die.

Signed, Jacques Provost