The Apprentice is set to take a deep dive into Donald Trump’s life and ascension to power! The first look released by Briarcliff Entertainment showed Sebastian Stan’s Trump trying to give a telephonic interview while constantly being guided by his mentor Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), hinting at the former’s amateur status in the position of power.
The film is directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabe Sherman. Apart from Emmy winners Stan and Strong, the cast includes Tenet fame Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr and Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump. The biopic premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and faced resistance by Trump supporters.
The film was initially backed by Dan Snyder, a staunch conservative and a friend of Trump. Still, due to the controversies and his objection to the malicious portrayal of the former president, he detached his name from the project. Finally, Tom Ortenberg’s Briarcliff Entertainment acquired it for domestic distribution.
Despite the backlash from the former POTUS supporters and legal threats, Abbasi had faith in his work and stuck to his conviction. He rather claimed to use the US elections as a promotional event for the film. “Yeah, and we have a promotional event coming up called the U.S. election, it’s going to help us with the movie,” he said at the Cannes press earlier. “So, we’re hoping very much that it can come out,” he said regarding the film.
The film was secretly added to the lineup of this year’s Telluride. As reported by Deadline, the film had a trouble-free debut. The reports also claimed that The Apprentice team had anticipated friction from the former President’s supporters and protests against screening.
“I have allowed myself as a non-American to take a deep look into this country and system, and some characters,” Abbasi said about the film. He jokingly took a dig at Trump, saying that he was awaiting the entry of his “special guest” and had already reserved three seats for him and his bodyguards. “He might arrive in the dark, you never know,” the director added.
