Amazon will reportedly pay $40 million to license a new documentary on Melania Trump.
Melania Trump will serve as an executive producer on the film, Puck reported.
The incoming first lady is not expected to be in Washington full time during her husband's second term.
Amazon will reportedly shell out $40 million to license a documentary on incoming first lady Melania Trump. The price tag includes the film itself, a smaller-scale theatrical run before being featured on Prime Video, and a supplementary docuseries.
Puck's Matthew Belloni reported more details about the Brett Ratner-directed film as the onetime and future first lady prepares to rejoin the biggest spotlight in the country in less than two weeks. The New York Post has also reported that Amazon paid $40 million for the project.
Melania Trump will be an executive producer on the projects, Belloni said. It's unclear how much the incoming first lady will be paid.
Puck also reported that both Disney and Paramount sought streaming rights for the Melania Trump documentary. Apple and Netflix did not place bids for the documentary, sources told the outlet.
Multiple sources told CNN in November that Melania Trump would likely split most of her time between New York and Florida, while also maintaining a presence at the White House during her husband's second term.
The news about the documentary comes as President-elect Donald Trump's relationship with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos continues to be a hot topic in both the business and political worlds.
In December, The Wall Street Journal first reported that Amazon would donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee, part of a cascade of tech leaders seeking to cement or strengthen their relationships with the president-elect.
Bezos last month traveled to Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Ahead of the November election, Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post, chose to end the newspaper's longtime practice of endorsing presidential candidates. The decision sparked a huge outcry among subscribers and led to the exit of several members of the editorial board.
In an op-ed defending the move, Bezos called his stance "principled."
Business Insider has reached out to Amazon for comment.
Movies like "The Front Room" and "Nightbitch" are streaming.
New TV series including "Missing You" and "Lockerbie" also premiered.
You can also stream the Golden Globes live on Sunday night.
Ring in 2025 with a movie or show.
If the post-holiday malaise has you looking for a new bingeworthy mystery, the new Harlan Coben show "Missing You" might be up your alley. Or if you're looking for a new reality show, there's "Selling the City," from the makers of "Selling Sunset."
As for movies, there are both kid-friendly picks like the new "Wallace and Gromit" and more adult fare like "Nightbitch" available to watch now.
Here's a complete rundown of all the best movies, shows, and documentaries to stream this weekend, broken down by what kind of entertainment you're looking for.
Horror-comedy fans can watch "The Front Room."
Brandy plays a pregnant woman terrorized by her husband's ultra-religious ailing stepmother in "The Front Room." The A24 psychological horror comedy from Max and Sam Eggers (the brothers of "Nosferatu" filmmaker Robert Eggers) was released in theaters last year.
Amy Adams plays a stay-at-home mom who becomes convinced she's turning into a dog. It sounds goofy, but it's extremely resonant, especially if you are now or have ever been the mother of a toddler.
For a gripping true-story drama, watch "Lockerbie: A Search for Truth."
Colin Firth stars in this British drama based on the true story of Jim Swire, a bereaved father who fought for justice after his daughter was killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
Streaming on: Peacock
Seeking lighter reality TV fare? "Stranded with my Mother-in-Law" is a good bet.
This Brazilian reality competition show is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: Six couples go to a remote island to compete for prize money, not realizing their mothers-in-law are also there waiting for them. The couples are then split up and reteamed with their respective in-laws to fight for the win.
If you're a fan of messy interpersonal drama between realtors on predecessor series "Selling Sunset" and "Selling the OC," check out the latest incarnation focusing on luxury agents selling high-end real estate in Manhattan.
For something kid-friendly, watch "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl."
The beloved stop-motion animation franchise about a cheese-loving Brit and his beagle is back with a second feature-length movie, nearly 20 years after "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit."
"Vengeance Most Fowl" is already out in the UK, where it's gotten rave reviews.
The Investigation Discovery documentary series, released in three batches, explores the story of Natalia Grace, whose former adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett, said she was an adult posing as an orphaned Ukrainian child.
The first season, which aired in May 2023, gave an overview of Natalia Grace's story and covered the accusations against her. The Barnetts, who said they believed Natalia to be a 6-year-old Ukrainian orphan when they first adopted her in 2010, came to believe that Natalia was really an adult con artist. In the series, Michael alleged that Natalia had attempted to harm members of the family and said that a therapist had diagnosed her as a "sociopath," all accusations that Natalia denied.
Natalia has a rare form of dwarfism known as spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. Though her Ukrainian birth certificate said she was born in 2003, in 2012, Michael and Kristine Barnett succeeded in legally changing Natalia's birth year to 1989.
That made Natalia an adult on paper, but she was still classified as a dependent due to her disability status. After leaving Natalia alone in an Indiana apartment and moving to Canada in 2013, the since-divorced couple faced charges of neglect in 2019. (Michael was acquitted in October 2022, and the charges against Kristine were dismissed in March 2023.)
"Natalia Speaks," the second season of the series, aired in January 2024 and featured extensive interviews with Natalia in which she denied the Barnetts' allegations of violent behavior and their claims that she faked her age. Shealso accused Kristine Barnett, who did not participate in the docuseries, of abusing her as a child. In a statement posted to Facebook in January 2024, Kristine said that Natalia "was not abused by anyone in my family."
The docuseries also featured Natalia's confrontation with Michael Barnett, who apologized to Natalia and alleged that Kristine had manipulated him.
In the years since her time with the Barnetts, Natalia found a new family in Cynthia and Antwon Mans, a religious couple who later adopted her. The second season of the docuseries presented their relationship as a loving one and a happy ending for Natalia, but a revelation in the last two minutes of the docuseries threw all that into doubt.
Now, ahead of the new episodes of the docuseries airing on January 6, Natalia has clarified where she stands with the Mans family.
How did Natalia Grace meet her new adoptive parents, Cynthia and Antwon Mans?
Both Antwon and Cynthia Mans featured heavily in the second part of the docuseries, "Natalia Speaks," with Antwon accompanying Natalia to receive DNA test results that appeared to determine that her true age is around 22 years old. He also sat in on her confrontation with her former adoptive father, Michael Barnett. Natalia praised the Mans family throughout the series and referred to them as her parents even before they legally adopted her.
Natalia previously testified in Michael Barnett's neglect trial that she came to live with the Mans family after meeting Cynthia Mans through a neighbor while she was living alone in Lafayette, Indiana, where the Barnetts had moved her in July 2013. At that time, Natalia said, she was 9 years old, though she was legally 23 years old due to the Barnetts changing her age.
Antwon and Cynthia, who had multiple other children living in their home when Natalia came to live with them, spoke highly of Natalia in the series. They said she didn't behave in their home in a way uncharacteristic of other children and certainly not the way the Barnetts said she acted with them. But the show did raise one specific incident: Genesis Mans, a child also living with the Mans family, recalled in an interview in episode five that Natalia bit her when she was a baby. Genesis said Natalia told her the incident occurred when Natalia was 10 (legally 24 years old).
"I would say she has been violent in a typical way like most kids do. You know, most kids fight, most kids argue, but nothing unusual to where there was just crazy unrest in that sort of way. There's nothing dangerous about Natalia at all, absolutely not," Bishop Antwon Mans said in an interview in episode five of "Natalia Speaks."
In episode six, Natalia said she remembered "having some behavior issues" when she first met the Mans, and she apologized for her early behavior.
"When Natalia first got with us, there would be moments that she would just be so broken, and just feel like, 'How do I deal with this?'" Cynthia Mans recounted in an interview in episode six.
"Natalia been with us all these years, and let me tell you, we have corrected Natalia, and she's never came at us with the knife or put thumbtacks up on our stairs, or tried to hurt our children," Cynthia continued, referencing allegations from the Barnetts.
Episode six of "Natalia Speaks" depicted Antwon and Cynthia Mans formally adopting Natalia, with both parents wearing t-shirts celebrating their status as adoptive parents.
"It has been a really long journey. I have always wondered if I would be able to find someone that would actually love me. But then I met my parents, and it's been different ever since. It's been a good different," Natalia said in an interview in episode six.
Documents shown in the episode indicated the adoption paperwork was filed in June 2023, about a decade after she began living with them.
The docuseries suggested Natalia Grace and the Mans family had a falling out
In the last two minutes of episode six of "Natalia Speaks," a black screen appears with text that reads, "Two weeks ago, and six months after Natalia's adoption, the producers got a shocking phone call."
Audio of Antwon and Cynthia's voices then plays over a shot zooming in on Natalia sitting on a porch.
"Something ain't right with Natalia," Antwon says. "This girl is tweakin'. I feel like she's the enemy in the house. And she said to us, we have held her hostage. Made us look like we're the enemy."
"Natalia is stabbing her family in the back over a complete lie," Cynthia says.
"She's done other things, too," Antwon continues. "But this was a new low. Natalia does not have emotions for nothing but herself. We're done. We're done with her."
Then the screen cuts to black with the text, "Natalia's story will continue."
Jason Sarlanis, president of crime and investigative content, linear and streaming at Discovery, told The Hollywood Reporter after the episode aired that producers initially believed that Natalia's story, despite being full of "twists and turns," had reached a positive conclusion.
"We genuinely thought Natalia had found a happy ending with her new family, so you can imagine we were all thoroughly shocked when that call came from the Mans," Sarlanis said.
"Our series was already finished and locked, but we instantly mobilized with our producers to ensure that this shocking development was included in our finale," Sarlanis told THR. "Our viewers are so invested in Natalia's case we felt our series needed to reflect the constantly shifting truth of her situation."
"One thing has always proven to be true with Natalia's story βΒ nothing is ever what it seems."
Natalia still interacted with the Mans family on social media after the phone call, but things got messy
Despite the cliffhanger, Natalia appeared to still be on good terms with the Mans family on social media after their phone call to producers, which "The Final Chapter" states took place on December 1, 2023. She appeared in posts from the Mans family's social media accounts, including a Thanksgiving 2023 post on Instagram.
The family's TikTok account, which the Instagram page references, posted on December 26, 2023 that Natalia had launched her own TikTok account under the handle @natgrace20. The post bears several hashtags, including #MamaBabyIsGrowingUp, #MamasForEverBFF, #FamilyIsForever, and #GoFollowBabysPage. According to the timeline presented in the documentary series, the post was likely made after or around the same time as the phone call between the Mans family and the docuseries' producers.
One post on the @natgrace20 account, previously viewed by BI, was a video of a woman who appeared to be Natalia wishing her followers a happy 2024. A December 29, 2023 post on the account featured photos of Natalia and the Mans family.
"2023 was amazing but 2024 is gonna be awesome," the December 29, 2023 post's caption read, accompanied by the hashtags #newbeginnings, #fyp, and #family4ever. It also tagged the Mans family's account.
"i love you so much my forever baby," the Mans family account replied to the post.
"I love you mama," the Natalia account replied.
On January 5, 2024, after "Natalia Speaks" aired, the Instagram account appearing to belong to Natalia posted to let people know that she was safe. The post did not explicitly reference her relationship with the Mans family, nor the ending of the show.
"I am okay and doing well and thank you all for your support and prayers," read the caption. "I wish I could tell you more Abt the show but I signed an agreement with the show to keep things confidential for now. I will let you guys know when I can for sure, but just know I am okay. Love y'all! #safe #livingmybestlife."
Later posts indicated that things were more complicated. One February 2024 TikTok on the Mans family's account reads: "Life can be so hard when raising kids. I miss my daughter so much and I will never understand why things are like this."
Another February post on the Mans family's Facebook page said they and Natalia had "disagreements" but she was still their daughter and they didn't hate her. It also claimed that the audio from their phone call to producers had been edited, and did not reflect the "full audio" of the conversation.
A representative for ID did not immediately return BI's request for comment.
In a March 2024 TikTok video, Cynthia Mans said that Natalia was no longer active on their account, or any account, as she'd decided to leave social media. Another post later that month said Natalia no longer lived with the family and that she wasn't speaking to Cynthia anymore.
"I miss my baby so much," she said.
As of January 3, 2025, all posts on the @natgrace20 TikTok account had been deleted or set to private.
Previous requests for comment from BI sent to the Mans family's Instagram account and the Instagram account appearing to belong to Natalia in 2024 did not receive a response. Natalia's Instagram account was wiped as of January 3, 2025.
Natalia Grace confirmed in January 2025 that she's no longer living with the Mans family
In a People cover story published days before the premiere of "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter," Natalia said that she was living in New York with the DePaul family, who previously attempted to adopt her when she was a child.
Natalia told People that while she was living with the Mans family, she "learned how to be a mother," assisting in raising other children in the family. The publication reported that Antwon learned that Natalia was dating a man named Neil and removed access to her phone. People also reported that on the new episodes of the show, which have yet to be released, neighbors allege that Cynthia and Antwon Mans had physically abused Natalia while she lived with them.
Natalia would not confirm or deny those allegations to People.
Antwon and Cynthia Mans did not immediately respond to BI's requests for comment sent to their personal Facebook profiles, their family Facebook page, and an email listed on the Facebook page. They also did not respond to People magazine's requests for comment.
People reports that Neil, Natalia's boyfriend, contacted the DePaul family, and they organized a plan to help her leave the Mans family in the middle of the night. In December 2023, Nicole DePaul drove to Nashville, where the Mans were located, to pick up Natalia, as shown in a preview from the docuseries.
Natalia has lived with the DePaul family β Nicole, her husband Vince, and daughter Mackenzie, who all have dwarfism too β since then. Nicole told People that their relationship was typically smooth, though it had its difficulties.
"Did she probably do weird things in the past? Yeah," Nicole told People. "[But] when you take in a child, you take that child as your own. You don't just get rid of them when they don't fit into your puzzle."
Natalia told People that she informed her adoptive mother, Cynthia, that she wasn't "kidnapped or dead" once she left the Mans family. Now, she is preparing to one day live on her own by studying for the GED and learning how to drive. She also told People that she met Neil, her boyfriend, for the first time in person after leaving the Mans family.
"It's been a big learning curve for me. For the most part, I've made peace," she told People. "It is definitely a blessing to be alive today. And there's nothing I can do to change the past."
"The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter" will premiere on January 6 on Max and Investigation Discovery.
Aaron Rodgersβ flirtation with politics was addressed in the second episode of his three-part Netflix documentary, "Enigma."
The New York Jets quarterback was floated as a possible running mate to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. earlier this year before the independent presidential candidate eventually dropped out of the race and endorsed Donald Trump.
Rodgers and Kennedy went on a hike, and the four-time NFL MVP admitted to Kennedy that John F. Kennedyβs assassination in 1963 initially piqued his interest in politics.
"I mean, I got into politics back when I was a sophomore in high school. I mean, the idea, all around, honestly, your uncleβs death, and that was my first entrance into pulling the veil back, as I call it, on, like, whatβs actually going on because I read the Warren Commissionβs report about it. I remember it hit me going, βThis is what they said happened?β This canβt be real," he said.
"And then I went to Berkeley, which is a crazy political environment. Itβs super leftist, and I grew up in a really conservative, small-town environment. So, that was fun to have, like, my ideologies tested. But, I mean, itβs β¦ Iβve just been disheartened forever, that thereβs a two-party system thatβs really one party. The one party that's ruling is the people with the money. So, I really didnβt have any hope in politics until, really, you announced your candidacy."
Rodgers later confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked him to be his running mate. However, he chose to continue playing football with the Jets.
"Retire and go into politics or play two or three more years," he said. "I definitely envisioned a life without football, and it wasnβt scary. I felt comfort in being able to move on at some point. But I love football. I want to keep playing. And I hated the way last year went. Thereβs still some unfinished business in New Jersey."
Amid the drama that came with the possibility of Rodgers being Kennedyβs running mate was a report that claimed he allegedly shared conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook shooting.
Rodgers denied the allegations at the time and in the episode he seemed shocked that someone would paint him that way.
"Misrepresentation is a trigger for sure. Trauma, trigger, whatever," Rodgers said.
Since Mangione was arrested and charged with murder last week over the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the media and public have been mining information about his past, including by scouring his social media accounts, to learn every detail about his life.
This week, news outlets reported that four documentaries about the 26-year-old and the shooting were in the works.
Thompson was shot and killed by a masked person outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4. Mangione was arrested on December 9 after being found in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and later faced local gun and forgery charges alongside the murder charge.
The shooting has had a huge cultural impact, sparking conversations about what is seen as the normalization of violence in the US and the state of the healthcare system. It seemed inevitable that true crime shows would follow at a time when the genre's popularity is at its height.
After pictures of Mangione emerged following the shooting, some X users joked thatΒ Ryan Murphy, who is behind true crime dramas including "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," would make a show about him. Others speculated which actors should portray Mangione.
Here's what we know about the upcoming projects.
An ABC special on Mangione includes a minute-by-minute breakdown of the shooting
ABC's "Manhunt: Luigi Mangione and the CEO Murder β A Special Edition of 20/20" will be the first show about him to air.
The hourlong special was announced on Tuesday and will air at 10 pm EST on Thursday, and will land on Hulu the next day.
According to ABC, the film will present a minute-by-minute investigation of the shooting, feature an exclusive audio recording of Mangione talking about his travels through Asia, and provide new details about the hunt to find him.
The special will also include an interview with his friend.
An Oscar-winning director's production company is making a documentary about Thompson's death
On Monday, Variety reported that entertainment production companies Anonymous Content and Jigsaw Productions were teaming up on a documentary about the shooting.
Variety reported the documentary will explore how people become killers and American citizens' frustration with the healthcare industry.
Jigsaw Productions is led by Alex Gibney, who in 2008 won an Oscar for best feature documentary for "Taxi to the Dark Side." Gibney is also working on a documentary about Elon Musk.
Emmy nominee Stephen Robert Morse's documentary will explore different perspectives on the shooting
Hours later, Variety reported that filmmaker Stephen Robert Morse, an Emmy-nominated producer, was making a separate documentary about Mangione.
Morse will work with Matt Cianfrani, a cinematographer, Hannah Ghorashi, an investigative journalist, and Eli Eisenstein, a filmmaker who went to Mangione's college, the University of Pennsylvania.
Morse told Variety that the doc will explore various perspectives surrounding the killing "while respecting the profound loss of life and its impact on everyone involved."
Morse told Deadline Monday that the film would be "memed" but encourage a deeper understanding of the case.
Last week, Morse Code Group, Morse's production company, set up an Instagram page and invited Thompson and Mangione's family, friends, and co-workers to share their stories.
In the caption of their first post, the company wrote: "If you have a story to share about your experience with Luigi Mangione, Brian Thompson, United Healthcare, or US health insurance generally, please get in touch with us!"
Warner Bros. Discovery's true crime network is working on 'Who Is Luigi Mangione?'
On Monday, Variety also reported that Investigation Discovery, Warner Bros. Discovery's true crime network, will release an hourlong special about the Mangione case in February 2025.
Variety said the project's working title is "Who Is Luigi Mangione?"
A representative for Investigation Discovery told Variety that the special will feature the TV host Dan Abrams, experts, industry insiders, and people close to Mangione to explore "his mental state" and "investigate the theories" surrounding his arrest.
Meanwhile, Netflix continued to flex its first-mover advantage over cash-hungry rivals, who retrenched and returned to licensing their shows back to Netflix, which will likely fuel its continued dominance.
Netflix continues to put out hits that keep people watching and subscribing. Lately, it's been leaning into popular fare like true crime and live events that have big advertiser β and water-cooler β appeal.
It's continued to capitalize on its password-sharing crackdown and is ramping up ad tech and measurement deals to entice more advertisers to buy on the platform.
Stellar advertising growth amid an executive shake-up
Netflix has undergone leadership changes across multiple teams this year. In advertising, where the company harbors vast ambitions, Ampersand's Nicolle Pangis replaced Peter Naylor as VP of advertising.
The move came as Netflix reported stellar growth for ad-supported subscribers in 2024 β to the tune of 70 million, up from 40 million in May.
Next up for ads? Netflix is building its own ad technology to further open the spigot, which it said will roll out next year.
The New York Times reported in April that Stuber clashed with higher-ups over what kind of movies to make. Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria told staff in a meeting that quality needed to improve as the company shifted strategy.
Rather than big-budget action films and big-name stars, he sought to diversify the company's offering, prioritizing in-house producers and skipping theatrical releases. Lin also ended the massive upfront checks the company had been writing to movie stars.
The stalker saga "Baby Reindeer" and the scammer series "Inventing Anna" drew defamation suits, which Netflix said it would defend. And Netflix's two projects about the Menendez brothers β a Ryan Murphy-produced drama and an accompanying documentary β were also ensconced in controversy.
The brothers' families criticized the show, though Murphy has said the brothers should be grateful given the attention the project received. In October, Los Angeles's top prosecutor recommended the brothers be resentenced with the option of parole.
A password crackdown continued to fuel growth
Subscribers initially balked at Netflix's bid to ban password sharing, but in the end, the streamer prevailed.
While Netflix has emerged as the clear victor of the streaming wars, that wasn't always a foregone conclusion given the loads of debt it previously accrued to fund its production war chest. Today, the streamer is forecasting billions of dollars in profit while competitors struggle to break even.
Correction: December 3, 2024 β The Paul-Tyson fight drew 60 million households, not people, as live viewers, Netflix said. An earlier version of this story misstated that figure.