As her husband, President Donald Trump, settles in for his second term in the White House, First Lady Melania Trump has been mostly staying out of the spotlight – and is reportedly working on a documentary for Amazon.
Here’s what we know about it so far.
It has a controversial director
Deadline reported in early January that Amazon had confirmed that Melania was working on a documentary for Amazon’s Prime Video with Brett Ratner, director of “Rush Hour” and “Red Dragon” and executive producer of “Prison Break.”
According to CBS News, this is expected to be the first directing project from Ratner since he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including actor Olivia Munn. His lawyer has denied the allegations, but Warner Bros. cut ties with Ratner following the allegations.
Melania is executive producing with Fernando Sulichin, an Argentine producer who has worked on projects related to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Jr.
It could be released in theaters
A spokesperson for Amazon told Deadline that the company has “exclusively licensed” the project “for both theatrical and streaming release.”
Another Trumpworld film – “Vindicating Trump”, directed by Dinesh D’Souza – was also released in theaters last September. Per Box Office Mojo, that film grossed $1.37 million over 155 days, with its widest theatrical release at 813 theaters. It opened at $774,874.
It will offer a “behind-the-scenes” look
The Amazon spokesperson also said the film will give “an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look” at Melania and her life.
“Prime Video will be sharing more details on the project as filming progresses and release plans are finalized,” the spokesperson said. “We are excited to share this truly unique story with our millions of customers around the world.”
People Magazine reported this week that an “exclusive” Miami, Fla., political souce said: “Melania has been busy shooting her documentary and that has taken place in several locations, including the White House.”
A social source also told the outlet that the first lady has stayed at both Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and the White House over the past month. However, the source said she hasn’t “spent meaningful time at the White House in an official capacity,” People reported.
“[Donald and Melania] both live at Mar-a-Lago and have quarters in the White House,” the social source explained. “But she leads her own life and joins him when appropriate in either place.”
Melania mostly avoided the spotlight during Trump’s most recent presidential campaign, and it seems that she has continued that into his new term. She attended the Governors Ball last weekend, but that followed nearly a month without any public appearances, the last being Donald visiting disaster-stricken areas in North Carolina and California shortly after Trump’s inauguration, said People.
According to Page Six, Melania’s main friend group is in Palm Beach, not New York City or Washington D.C. While she has some friends that she trusts in New York and is close with her and Trump’s son, Barron, who attends New York University, the outlet said her previous experience in D.C. has had a lasting impact.
“No one says anything about what she does or says as everyone is aware of how hurt and disappointed she was with Stephanie [Winston Wolkoff] who betrayed her trust,” said a Page Six source cited as a “fixture” at Mar-a-Lago.
Wolkoff was Melania’s former advisor, who wrote a tell-all book about her experiences with the first Trump administration.
“She will never be a traditional first lady. That isn’t who she is,” said a political source cited by People of Melania. That source added that Melania has “her own ideas on what she wants to do.”
However, Melania is expected to participate in one first lady tradition soon – the Easter egg roll at the White House.
It indicates continued support from Amazon and its founder
“Amazon making a deal for the Trump doc is no surprise, given support shown to the former and future POTUS by the tech giant’s founder, Jeff Bezos, who following Trump’s latest election victory, took to X to commend his ‘extraordinary political comeback,’” said Deadline’s report.
CBS News noted that Amazon announced plans to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, and said that it would also stream the inauguration on its Prime Video service.
This week Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, made headlines when he announced changes at the paper.
“I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages,” the multi-billionaire said in a post on X, a social media platform owned by Trump ally Elon Musk, also a multi-billionaire. “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”
Bezos also made headlines during the election when he decided that the paper would withhold a presidential endorsement for the first time in nearly four decades.
Her book sales might indicate interest in the film
This October, Melania released a self-titled memoir that landed on the New York Times best-seller list.
Circana BookScan data cited by Vanity Fair indicated that Melania closed out its first-week sales with 85,349 hardcover copies. Vanity Fair also said that there did not appear to be a bulk-buy of the book such as the one reported by The New York Times regarding Donald Trump Jr.’s book.
“It’s sold in every store. We’re selling a few thousand per week, so it’s sizable. Some stores have sold over 50 to 60 copies and some stores have sold between one and five,” Shannon DeVito, senior director of books at Barnes & Noble, told Vanity Fair in October of the book’s availability across the chain’s approximately 640 stores.