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The only child to Jewish parents in Miami, FL, Brett Ratner was accepted to
N.Y.U. at the age of 16. Attending the Tisch School for the Arts, he received
funding from Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment for his senior project
Whatever Happened to Mason Reese?, a documentary about a child star.
After forming a friendship with Def Jam producer Russell Simmons, Ratner began
directing music videos for stars such as Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, and Madonna. It
was Simmons who helped him get his first big break, directing Money Talks with
Chris Tucker and Charlie Sheen. Ratner worked with Tucker again for his
sophomore effort, Rush Hour, a Jackie Chan comedy that broke box-office records
for New Line Cinema. A brief departure into romantic comedy with The Family Man
was not very well received, but the wild success of Rush Hour 2 brought him back
into the limelight, and he soon landed the director's chair for The Silence of
the Lambs prequel Red Dragon.
Credit:
entertainment.msn.com
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