Donald Trump has been attempting (and failing) to get the upcoming movie based on his life, aptly-titled The Apprentice, shelved due to its controversial nature, but the director insists the film is not a hit piece. The film follows the rise of Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) as a real estate businessman, while also delving into his personal life, which includes a scene where he rapes his former wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova). Despite how provocative the movie might be, the director behind The Apprentice does not like to call it a “political hit piece.”
At the U.S. premiere of the film at the Telluride Film Festival (via Deadline), The Apprentice director Ali Abbasi claims the project, from his perspective, is not simply meant to be a political weapon. Abbasi, an Iranian-Danish filmmaker, brings an outsider perspective to the story and its controversial focus subject: “I have allowed myself as a non-American to take a deep look into this country and system.” Instead, he views The Apprentice as a means to shine a broader light on the country as a whole.
“On a more serious note, at least for myself … this is not a political hit piece. This is a mirror…and it is intended to show you, as the mirrors do, an image of yourselves, not you per-se, but you as community.”
The director initially joked that they had seats reserved for a special guest and his two security guards, and that, presumably, Trump might still “arrive in the dark, you never know.” The drama-free premiere foreshadows a release schedule for The Apprentice that is currently full-steam ahead.
The Apprentice Is Full-Steam Ahead For Fall Theater Debut
Despite attempts by Donald Trump’s legal team to cancel the film, The Apprentice will not be fired anytime soon. The film is currently set for Oct. 11 in the U.S. as distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment, while a mid-October international release is also confirmed. In addition to Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump, Succession star Jeremy Strong plays Roy Cohn, a slimy prosecutor and political fixer who mentored Trump early into his career. The official synopsis is as follows:
The Apprentice is a dive into the underbelly of the American empire. It charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.
The big reason Trump and his team have been fighting to get The Apprentice canceled is due to the timing of its release. Set for release just a month before voting in the U.S. elections begins, the film is poised to be at the forefront of audiences’ minds come Fall. It’s reasonably doubtful The Apprentice would be the main reason Trump potentially loses, but it’s clear that the project does not paint a glossy picture of his past life and career.
The Apprentice
is currently set for a mid-October theatrical release.
