‘Shooter Series’ Bows With Brett Ratner

14 Sep, 2009 By: Billy Gil

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Director Brett Ratner, of X-Men: The Last Stand, the “Rush Hour” series and countless music videos, has somewhat of a reputation. P. Diddy lauds him but calls him cheap, LL Cool J calls him “a walking blog” and Madonna thanks him publicly for directing her award-winning “Beautiful Stranger” video but sarcastically refers to the energetic Ratner as “shy, unassuming and incredibly down-to-earth.”

Those comments can be found in “Hip Hop to Hollywood: The Brett Ratner Story,” one of the features on Director Brett Ratner: The Shooter Series, coming to DVD from Genius Products Sept. 15 at $24.95. Ratner created the series with Richard Brown, producer of the “Director’s Series” DVDs.

The first volume collects 22 music videos from Ratner by the likes of Jessica Simpson, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey and Public Enemy; as well as his commercials, short films and early work as an NYU film student.

“The early work from a director, especially for me, a fan, is intriguing and educational at the same time,” Ratner said. “I went to film school, but I learned a lot from hearing filmmakers talk about the process.”

The DVD menus by Grand Jete show bits of Ratner’s work and life in a montage effect that serves as a preview to the content, while Shepard Fairey (who designed the Obama “Hope” poster) designed the box and logo. Ratner said future titles (the next one is on hip-hop video director F. Gary Gray) will feature similar menus and designs.

Notable DVD features include a short film on Mickey Rourke about his boxing career (before his Oscar-nominated turn in The Wrestler), which Ratner said serves as a trailer to an as-yet-unproduced feature, as he shot “hours and hours” of footage. Commentaries on the music videos reveal behind-the-scenes stories, such as on the “Beautiful Stranger” video, during which Ratner describes working with Mike Myers (the song is from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me).

“He was definitely more difficult than Madonna,” Ratner said. “Mike would only talk to me in character, which drove me crazy, then he would come to the editing room, and I couldn’t joke with him. He was all serious.”

So Director Brett Ratner: The Shooter Series is not likely to change people’s view of Ratner as a playboy director who hangs out with rap stars and producer Robert Evans, but Ratner hopes it will show viewers his tenacity, energy and hard work.

“I love what I do so much,” Ratner said. “I can’t wait to get to the set every day. I hate to go home, and I dread the weekends because I just love shooting.”

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