Inside ‘MELANIA’: The unprecedented access behind Melania Trump’s first film

Exclusive: From music to cinematography to lighting, marketing and beyond, First Lady Melania Trump has planned “every element” of her upcoming debut film. “Melania” Her agent and exclusive senior advisor told Fox News Digital that her involvement in realizing her vision was “unparalleled.”

“Melania” The 104-minute film is set to hit the big screen globally on January 30, and will appear in theaters across North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Israel, the UAE and more.

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But the night before, on January 29, the first events will be hosted across the country, as Amazon brings The movie To the theatres.

Advertising campaign for the movie “Melania” on the side of the Duomo Cathedral in Florence, Italy.

President Donald Trump and the First Lady will attend the first event at the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington on January 29, Fox News Digital has learned.

The first events will also be held in New York. Phoenix. Salt Lake City; chicago; Miami; San Diego; Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Orange County, California; San Francisco/Palo Alto; Minneapolis; Philadelphia; Denver; Detroit; Kansas City, Missouri; Boston; Austin, Texas; Houston; las vegas; Dallas. And Los Angeles.

Fox News Digital has learned that Amazon executives will attend events for the film’s premiere.

Mark Beckman, the first lady’s agent and exclusive senior adviser — and right-hand man — told Fox News Digital that the first lady has been hands-on from day one.

“The First Lady’s engagement and participation in this film is unparalleled,” Beckman said. “She is fully committed from conceptualizing the concept itself to creative direction across all touchpoints.”

“As everyone knows, the First Lady is a very visual person, and she is best in class when it comes to style and design,” Beckman said. “She had had the idea of ​​going into the film industry for many years.”

From the beginning, the first lady’s idea was to “create a very rich cinematic experience that is unlike anything that has been created before. This is not a documentary. This is a movie,” Beckman said.

“Melania” hits theaters on January 30, 2026. (Amazon MGM Studios)

“It gives her fans, Americans and people around the world the opportunity to look into the First Lady’s once very private life,” he explained.

The film will give audiences a look into the First Lady’s work, philanthropic efforts and family life, “all as she prepares to be First Lady of the United States again.”

“She brings the audience into specific moments — interactions with her husband; US Secret Service security; geopolitical moments; moments with world leaders; and of course, for those who want that — there’s a lot of fashion here.”

Beckman added, “I call it the fashion explosion. Vogue can’t keep up with the First Lady’s fashions. She is without a doubt the most stylish First Lady in history.”

“It brings audiences into stunning, never-before-seen meetings of a First Lady and a President of the United States taking office — that’s unprecedented access that all Americans and people around the world want to see.”

On the one hand, the film is about Melania Trump, Beckman said.

“But on the other hand, it’s about what the First Lady of the United States must do to prepare her family, on the personal side, to regain her position, on the professional side,” he added.

Beckman detailed the original negotiations he led with major companies like Amazon, which eventually bought the rights, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount, Netflix, and Disney.

The poster for the movie “Melania” is shown in Japan.

Exclusive: First look at the movie “Melania”.

Fox News Digital has learned that Disney has sought exclusive rights to the film, in addition to Netflix and Paramount. Amazon and MGM had the highest bid, purchasing the film’s license for $40 million — the largest documentary deal in history.

Beckman confirmed that he negotiated the deal on behalf of the First Lady while dealing with “all the studios directly.”

“We have effectively created a bidding war,” he said. “We were able to conduct a very competitive bidding process among best-in-class companies.”

The decision to choose Amazon “was not just because of their financial proposition, but because they had the most impressive team for what the First Lady wanted to produce — a high-quality theatrical film and, later, a docuseries,” Beckman said.

“The docuseries will allow the first lady to unpack these stories in a much more detailed way,” he said.

The First Lady served as executive producer of the film “Melania.” (Moses films)

As for the deal, Beckman said it was structured in a way that made “both sides very excited.”

“Amazon has been amazing,” he said. “They have been so wonderful and so committed to the First Lady and the success of this film. We are so grateful.”

The film is directed by Rush Hour director Brett Ratner, who worked alongside Melania Trump to bring her vision to life.

“Brett Ratner was amazed — he says it’s as if Mrs. Trump has been working in Hollywood her whole life — she’s a natural,” Beckman explained. “I was involved in setting the tone, not only with the concept, but also with the lighting and photography.”

Post-production, the First Lady worked alongside the director in editing, color correcting and hand-picking all the songs for the film.

“Furthermore, the First Lady is also involved in developing all marketing elements,” Beckman said, noting that she built the trailer with the director and the Amazon team, the commercials, and the ad and print campaign as well.

Meanwhile, the First Lady’s team hired famous fashion photographer Ellen von Unwerth to shoot the film.

“This is something the fashion industry wouldn’t expect,” Beckman said. Ellen at the top of her game – a modern legend.

First Lady Melania Trump takes the audience behind the scenes at Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago and at the White House. (Regin Maho)

Unwerth has worked on some of the biggest fashion campaigns for Chanel, Dior, and more. She has been featured in Vanity Fair and Vogue.

“They’ve worked together for years on a campaign, and for obvious reasons, we thought it would be great to have Ellen involved,” Beckman said. “Ellen and Melania have an amazing relationship.”

Melania Trump partners with Amazon to release a new film about her life in theaters around the world

Beckman said Unwerth will travel to Washington, D.C., from Europe to watch the film privately at the White House.

“Ellen personally was an orphan when she was young, and she is very fond of Melania’s work in the foster care community,” Beckman said. “It’s just an interesting part of their relationship — a delicate element that makes their relationship stronger.”

Meanwhile, the film will be released in the United States, but also worldwide in 30 countries, including Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Hungary, Slovenia and more.

“All 30 countries have an advertising campaign in different languages,” Beckman said. “Melania oversaw the campaign in every region of the world.”

He said that one advertising campaign, in Florence, Italy, displays images of the film on the Duomo Church.

Melania Trump releases a ‘collector’s edition’ of her memoir featuring photos taken by the former First Lady

As for the premieres, on Jan. 29 in multiple cities, Beckman said the first lady has planned “every element” of the events, from gifts for guests to seating, food, menus and more.

“She creates amazing packaging designs for collectible tubs of popcorn,” he said. “It’s all of it.”

Fox News exclusively obtained the December 2025 trailer, which begins with the First Lady entering the US Capitol chamber ahead of her husband’s wedding. Second opening. Dressed in her now-famous inauguration outfit, she looks into the camera and says, “Here we go again.”

The trailer jumps out of the First Lady and President at the inauguration; And standing together outside Mar-a-Lago; Behind the scenes of the inauguration ceremony, the father of Barron Trump and Melania Trump appears; to a series of portraits of the First Lady; Air Force One; Presidential Seal and more.

“MELANIA” is scheduled to hit theaters worldwide on January 30. (Melania Trump)

The iconic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion roars and takes over the screen.

The film’s release comes a year after the release of her book, “Melania.” The memoir offers an intimate portrait of Melania Trump and includes personal stories and family photos that she has never shared with the public before.

“Melania” has been at the top of the New York Times bestseller list since its public release.

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Upon the memoir’s release in 2024, the first lady told Fox News Digital that writing her story had been “an amazing journey full of emotional highs and lows.”

“Every story made me who I am today,” she said. “Although it has been daunting at times, this process has been incredibly rewarding, and has reminded me of my strength, and the beauty of sharing my truth.”

The First Lady released the original “Melania” book along with a special collector’s edition that includes hand-picked photographs, many of which she took of herself, of her home and of various trips she has taken around the world.