Trump Movie: movie about Trump Then no one would release
NEW YORK — Rather surprisingly, there is no mad dash on the part of Hollywood agents to have their best clients play some of the most controversial political figures of the 21st century.
But Sebastian Stan was bound and determined to join “The Apprentice.” Mostly, he just really trusted the film’s director, the Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi. The more trepidation he felt— or perhaps the more reason there was for trepidation— the more Stan wanted to do it. He was ready to put on those shoes of Donald Trump.
“There wasn’t much competition,” says Stan, laughing.
I told myself, ‘If this project doesn’t succeed, it won’t be because of me,'” Stan explains. I wasn’t going to let fear be the reason it didn’t happen.'”
Of course, the most infamous film of the fall season is going to be “The Apprentice.” The movie follows Stan as a young Donald Trump mentored by attorney Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong, trying to make it big in the cutthroat New York real estate world of the 1980s. It’s already had one of the most complicated roads to theaters this year.
Following the movie’s Cannes premiere, none of the major studios, and none of the leading speciality labels, moved forward with an offer. One complication may have been a cease-and-desist letter from Trump’s lawyers. And then there was the not-insignificant fact that one of the movie’s investors-Dan Snyder, the controversial erstwhile owner of the Washington Commanders and a friend to Trump-had sought to bail on the movie itself.
Just last week, Briarcliff Entertainment announced it would distribute “The Apprentice” on Oct. 11, only weeks before Election Day. But the film is still struggling to secure more theaters. On Tuesday, the filmmakers took the unusual step of starting a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund money for its distribution.
This entire project has been a whirlwind from beginning to end,” Abbasi remarks. “And it’s still not quite done. Things might get even crazier.
Trump’s reelection campaign has been loudly objecting to the film. The day after its Cannes premiere, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called the movie “pure fiction.” This past Friday, with a release date now locked in, Cheung called it “election interference by Hollywood elites.”.
Whether “The Apprentice” will have any impact leading up to November 5 is one of the most intriguing narratives in this fall’s movie lineup. Though many Hollywood stars openly support Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, it’s rare for baldly political films to break through in today’s sequel- and superhero-franchise dominated industry.
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That sets up a singular election-year experiment:
Will liberals be interested in a film about Trump? And will conservatives show up for a movie that Trump himself opposes?
Abbasi, who rose to fame with his previous film “Holy Spider,” a critical look into Iranian society through the story of a serial killer targeting women, insists he isn’t trying to influence anyone’s vote.
Am I trying to bring some insight into character? Absolutely, and I think we have some pretty telling material to divulge,” Abbasi says. How you choose to use that information is entirely up to you. But that information may come in handy if you intend to vote.”.
Abbasi Says
For Abbasi, there was a compulsion to address the current political situation-a duty a filmmaker owes to the society he lives in. Speaking of Trump, Abbasi said not many have actually attempted to understand the former president despite his omnipresence:.
Donald and Ivana have never really been documented as people,” Abbasi says. “They are either vilified or glorified, turned into almost mythological figures. And the only way to break down that myth is, literally, to break it down. I think the best way to do that is to make it humanistic.
To me, he’s most akin to Barry Lyndon,” says Abbasi, invoking the Stanley Kubrick movie. When you think of Barry Lyndon, he isn’t easily categorized as purely good or bad There’s something ambiguous about him, something uncanny in how he navigates life. He wants to be someone, though he isn’t quite sure who or why—he just has this drive to rise.”
Maria Bakalova
The Apprentice” received a range of reviews at Cannes, but Stan and Strong’s performances were universally praised. One scene in this movie has been particularly contentious since its premiere: it depicts Trump – played by Stan – raping Ivana – played by Maria Bakalova. In 1990, during a deposition in her divorce proceedings, Ivana Trump accused Donald Trump of rape, which he denied. Ultimately, Ivana clarified that she had used the word to indicate that she had felt raped – violated – rather than literally.
Abbasi, however insists that “The Apprentice” is not an attack piece. He further goes on to intimate that Trump may even enjoy the film. However some critics have expressed apprehension that the film may be overly sympathetic to Trump and to Roy Cohn, the chief counsel for Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the 1954 communist hearings
Stan says
“I don’t think any of us are exempt from this,” Stan says. “None of us are born perfect or free from moral flaws. Life is far more complex and nuanced. The only way we can evolve is through empathy. We need to cherish and nurture empathy, and one way to do that is by illustrating its exact opposite.
Stan, who has been Bucky Barnes in the Marvel movies among so many other roles, was partly drawn to “The Apprentice” because Abbasi is Copenhagen-based and brought a distinctly European perspective. This resonates with Stan, who was born in Romania and relocated to the New York area with his mother at age 12. He views the film as an exploration of the factors that contribute to a ‘win at all costs’ mindset.
Character
Strong, by contrast, is famously strict about staying in character. It wasn’t until Abbasi realized that he was still in character, as Roy Cohn, that she stopped finding his on-set behavior confusing. Stan did his own kind of method acting, too- memorably in one scene where he munches on a plate of cheeseballs.
“I must have had about 25 to 30 cheeseballs that night,” Stan recalls. “The next morning, I was in such pain that I was stuck on the toilet at 6:30 before being picked up. It was a real lesson in method acting.”
When “The Apprentice” faced uncertainty, Abbasi was shocked. He thought he had made a provocative yet entertaining film.
I always took the United States for a country where, although flawed in many ways, freedom of expression was taken for granted,” Abbasi reflects. “Instead I have found nothing but business interests.”
Strong echoes that
It was almost banned, which I find really alarming and part of disturbing trends,” Strong says. “But at its core it’s a movie, not political statement .
All three want audiences to bring an open mind to “The Apprentice.”
We’re in a very polarized climate right now, and I went into this film knowing that,” Stan says. “Let’s take the more unlikely road for a minute and maybe others will too. We need to look and introspect at the populous figures of our time and of our lives.
