Brett Ratner has established himself as one of Hollywood's most successful directors.
By the time he was twenty-six years old, he directed his first feature film, the box office hit,
Money Talks, starring Charlie Sheen and Chris Tucker. His second film, the action comedy
Rush Hour, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, earned $250 million worldwide.
He followed that success with The Family Man, a critical as well as another box office hit,
starring Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. A year later, Ratner delivered more Hong Kong-style
action with Rush Hour 2, which grossed more than $342 million worldwide. His last film,
Red Dragon, made box office history in 2002 as the biggest opening weekend in October
and went on to gross $250 million worldwide.

Raised in Miami Beach, Ratner dreamed of being a filmmaker since the age of eight.
He enrolled in New York University's Tisch School of Arts when he was sixteen,
becoming the department's youngest film major. While attending NYU Film School,
he made Whatever Happened to Mason Reese, which earned awards and brought
him to the attention of Steven Spielberg, whose Amblin Entertainment gave him a
production grant.

When hip-hop impressario Russell Simmons saw the short, he hired him for his
music videos. Ratner has since directed more than 100 music videos for such artists
as Madonna, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Wu Tang Clan, D'Angelo, Heavy D, Mary J. Blige,
Foxy Brown, Public Enemy, P. Diddy, and many others. He also won the Tony Award
for producing Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway.

In addition to success in film and music, Ratner has also segued into the world of
publishing. He published Mark Helfrich's photo-driven Naked Pictures of my Ex
Girlfriends and authored the Powerhouse Books project, Hilhaven Lodge:
The Photo Booth Pictures, which was released in October 2003.

Ratner is on the board of directors of the Chrysalis Foundation, which helps
economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals change their lives through
jobs. For his work with the organization, Ratner was the recipient of the Spirit
of Chrysalis Award.

SoHood.com: In your opinion, will X-Men 3: The Last Stand exceed X-Men fans
expectations?
Brett Ratner: In my opinion, absolutely.  The script was a bigger canvas.  It was
the final chapter in the X-Men motion picture trilogy.  It's much more
emotional and action-packed.  Feels like an epic.

SoHood.com: Who is your favorite X-Men character?
Brett Ratner: My favorite character is Magneto because he's a villian whose anger
really comes from a true place.

SoHood.com: Do you have a favorite comic book character?
Brett Ratner: My favorite comic book character is Superman, because I grew up
reading all the comics.

SoHood.com: Are you going to or have you been offered the chance to direct the
upcoming film of Wolverine the movie?
Brett Ratner: I cannot answer that question at this time...

SoHood.com: You did a great job directing Red Dragon and both Rush Hour films,
how was the experience like working with Anthony Hopkins, Jackie Chan,
and Chris Rock?
Brett Ratner: Working with great actors, I learn different things every day on each of my
movies.  Part of my love is collaborating with actors, especially actors as experienced as
Anthony Hopkins and Jackie Chan.  I've never worked with Chris Rock yet, but we're working
on developing a movie with Eddie Murphy.  If you were referring to Chris Tucker, he's a lot of
fun and I love working with him as well.  I'm looking forward to working with Jackie and
Chris on "Rush Hour 3".

SoHood.com: You've come so far from directing music videos to making big box
office films, what other goals do you want to accomplish?
Brett Ratner: I want to have a family one day.

SoHood.com: Do you have any upcoming film projects that you're working on?
Brett Ratner: When I finish "X-Men: The Last Stand", I'll start pre-production on
"Rush Hour 3".