Made of car rides and cold silences, ‘Melania’ is so polished it slips out of the first lady’s hands

The film “Melania” didn’t offer advance screenings, and on opening day, journalists made up half of the small audience at my local theater. The film’s star described it not as a documentary, but as a carefully crafted artistic statement meant to evoke feelings through visuals. Essentially, the movie consists largely of footage of Melania entering and exiting cars. It felt so exclusive, I’d estimate she’s being paid around a million dollars per hour for it.

Penélope Cruz, Jude Law & More Join Nancy Meyers’ Romantic Comedy

So, I was hearing about this movie, originally called Paris Paramount, that was supposed to hit Netflix. Apparently, things fell through over money. The director, Meyers, asked for a $150 million budget, but Netflix was hoping to keep it under $130 million. It’s a pretty interesting story – a young writer, director, and producer who fall in love, make a big film together, and then their relationship, both personal and professional, falls apart. I haven’t heard anything about whether the script has been altered, if the title will stick, or what the new budget looks like. The whole thing is kind of ironic, though. Meyers is now taking the film to Warner Bros., and Netflix is actually talking about buying Warner Bros.! That could mean they end up with her movie anyway, which is a wild thought.