Sebastian Stan took a break from filming Thunderbolts* to hop over to Cannes for the world premiere of The Apprentice, Ali Abassi’s film about the rise of Donald Trump in the 1970s and 80s. Stan was there with Abbasi and Maria Bakalova, who plays Ivana Trump. Jeremy Strong, who stars as Trump’s mentor Roy Cohn, was not present, presumably because he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, leave his run in An Enemy of the People on Broadway.
As I have said before, festival audiences aren’t to be trusted, especially at a fest like Cannes where every film’s standing ovation is breathlessly reported by the trade press. (The Apprentice’s ovation was either eight minutes or eleven minutes, so even this reporting is not to be trusted!) This is maybe especially true for The Apprentice, as the filmmakers and stars elected not to do a full press run, but rather just did the traditional Cannes press conference. Perhaps this is because they have multiple legal issues on their plate?
I’m not taking Donald Trump’s threat to sue seriously, biopics are common and as a significant public persona, he’s a prime target for the treatment. But his lawyer DID call the film “election interference”, which I don’t think will hold up. Still, Trump is litigious and mad about this movie. Also mad: billionaire Dan Snyder, former owner of the Washington Commanders football team, who is a producer on the film through his Kinematics shingle. The crux of the issue seems two-fold: 1) Snyder thought this would be a flattering portrayal of Trump—like, in what world??—and 2) an explicit scene in which Trump is shown assaulting his then-wife, Ivana. Ivana Trump did accuse Trump of marital rape when they divorced, though she later retracted her allegations. The Kinematics team is wrangling with Abbasi and other producers over the final cut of the film, and threatening to sue.
This film is going to be a sideshow all year, regardless of its quality (Cannes reactions seem mixed-positive, but again, festival hype is real). Trump elicits strong feelings in everyone, I am no exception, and I’m already on the record saying this is a bad idea. I love Sebastian Stan, and he’s going to be in the Oscar mix for this performance, but it’s going to be a sh-tshow front to back, especially as we get closer to the US presidential election (they’re hoping to release The Apprentice before the election, as if that will make a difference to anyone). Wishing Team Apprentice the best, but yikes, buckle up for a long year.
