Over the weekend, The Apprentice, Ali Abassi’s Donald Trump biopic starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, had its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.
Reviews for the film are (so far) mixed-positive, with many noting its reception depends on one’s personal tolerance for Trump, and whether or not you think The Apprentice is too sympathetic or not sympathetic enough toward Trump. The Hollywood Reporter’s Oscar prognosticator, Scott Feinberg, noted that whatever you may think of the film itself, the performances of Stan and Strong shouldn’t be ruled out of award contention. Recent contenders, and some winners, have been nominated for playing the likes of Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Tonya Harding, and Tammy Faye Baker, so playing unlikeable and/or disreputable people has never stopped anyone from garnering nominations.
Last we heard of The Apprentice, though, was that no one was buying it for distribution, likely because buyers were afraid of potential lawsuits from Trump and even the film’s own producer. However, that has now changed. Tom Ortenberg’s Briarcliff Entertainment picked up The Apprentice and set an October 11 release date, less than a month from the US election. They also intend to mount an awards campaign for the film and talent.
While I will always and forever believe a Trump movie is a fundamentally bad idea, it rubbed me the wrong way that distributors were being so nakedly chickensh-t about The Apprentice. The way the CEO class and the media cowers from Trump drives me nuts, and the major distributors backing away from The Apprentice like it has cooties is part of that problem. They’d rather lick boots than make money on something critical of that man.
Part of this distribution deal is that producing partner Rich Spirit (owned by James Shani) bought out irate producer Dan Snyder, the pro-Trump billionaire who threw a fit about changing his football team’s name from a racial slur and who must not have read the script or seen any of Ali Abassi’s prior work or been familiar with Sebastian Stan’s knack for playing rich weirdo losers, because he got mad when he realized the film is not pro-Trump, and threatened to sue his fellow producers. Shani and Rich Spirit bought out his interest, though, thus releasing Dan Snyder from affiliation with The Apprentice. Rich Spirit is now partnered with Briarcliff in the commercial release of The Apprentice.
Will it make a difference to the election? No. Everyone’s mind is made up about Trump, people who claim to be undecided just don’t want to tell you who they’re voting for. A movie, no matter how good, isn’t going to change anyone’s mind. The people whose minds need changing won’t see it anyway.
But it DOES mean Sebastian Stan’s award season hopes now look a little different. He has another film, A Different Man, which has also earned him great reviews, but that film isn’t as splashy as The Apprentice. It’s also not a biopic, and the Academy f-cking LOVES biopics. They’re a sucker for a good impression.
I expect Stan will throw most of his energy behind The Apprentice going forward, though I am still curious to see if A Different Man can get any awards energy going coming out of September (particularly for co-star Adam Pearson). Also, Tom Ortenberg ran Lionsgate when Crash won Best Picture, and Open Road when Spotlight won. Spotlight is legitimately good, and I don’t nitpick that win. But Crash? No matter the film’s subject, the man who can get Crash over the finish line should NOT be underestimated when it comes to awards season.
