Brett Ratner to direct biopic of Playboy's Hefner
Story by Jack Foley
BRETT Ratner is to direct a biopic about the life of Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner, after being given the go ahead by the man himself.
The filmmaker, responsible for the Rush Hour movies and the most recent X-Men movie, is determined to “show it all”, according to trade publication Variety, from “his first orgy to the stroke that almost killed him in the 1980s”.
There have been numberous attempts to tell Hefner’s story on film, including a musical.
And acclaimed director Oliver Stone has even penned several drafts of a screenplay, hailing him as an icon of the sexual revolution. But he could not direct the film himself because he is currently committed to making Jawbreaker, about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.
Hefner, now 81, is famed for his magazine around the world as well as his live-in girlfriends and Playmates at his LA mansion.
Many of his centrefolds have gone on to become massive stars in their own right, including Baywatch babes Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra.
Playboy magazine regularly attracts some of the world’s top models and actresses for photo shoots.
Ratner is delighted to be given the chance to make the film, having made his first visit to the world-famous Playboy mansion to seal the deal.
He told Variety: “He used his magazine to advocate civil rights and free speech, and put James Brown on his show Playboy After Dark when they didn’t put black performers on national television. He broke all kinds of taboos, especially in sexuality.”
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