The Apprentice: Everything We Know About the New Donald Trump Movie

Cannes Film FestivalWell, folks, it happened: A movie about Donald Trump is imminent. I wish I were surprised, but I am absolutely not. The former president will get the silver-screen treatment in The Apprentice, which depicts his life in the eighties (aka before he became the first person to run for president while being charged in four criminal cases). So far The Apprentice has not found a distributor, but according to Variety, the production team is hoping to release the film before the 2024 election.

Sebastian Stan stars as Trump alongside Jeremy Strong, who plays his mentor, Roy Cohn. The Apprentice premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and received largely positive responses from critics. However, Dan Snyder, former owner of the Washington Commanders and a key investor via Kinematics, was not pleased.

Some context: Snyder is Trump’s friend—he donated $1.1 million to his 2016 campaign and $100,000 to his 2020 campaign. He also poured money into The Apprentice, thinking the movie would depict his buddy in a positive light. After seeing the film, lawyers from Kinematics have worked toward shutting it down—however, Kinematics president Emanuel Nuñez insists the legal action doesn’t involve Snyder. “All creative and business decisions involving The Apprentice have always been and continue to be solely made by Kinematics,” he said. “Mark and I run our company without the involvement of any other third parties.”

Odds are, neither Snyder nor Kinematics will be able to halt the film’s release—but that hasn’t stopped them from trying. While we wait to learn more, here’s everything we know about The Apprentice.

What Is The Apprentice About?The film reportedly covers Trump’s thirties, including his relationship with Roy Cohn and marriage to his first wife, Ivana (played by Maria Bakalova). According to the logline, it is “a story about the origins of a system…featuring larger-than-life characters and set in a world of power and ambition.”

Additionally, The Apprentice “delves into a profound exploration of the ascent of an American dynasty. It meticulously charts the genesis of a zero-sum culture, one that accentuates the dichotomy between winners and losers, the dynamics between the mighty and the vulnerable, and the intricate psychology of persona.” Dramatic!

Why Is Dan Snyder Mad Again?It’s not just because he lost his football team. Variety reports that Snyder read an early version of the screenplay and provided feedback on what he wanted to change. Surely, those notes were ignored, because he was said to be furious after watching the first cut in February. Apparently, a key issue he has concerns a scene in which Trump assaults Ivana. An insider called the footage “violent” and “uncomfortable.” Ivana accused Trump of rape in 1989, but in 2015 she refuted the claims.

Has Donald Trump Seen The Apprentice? It appears that Trump has not seen the film, but that hasn’t prevented his team from trying to get ahead of the press. His campaign representative, Steven Cheung, said the former president would file a lawsuit to address the “blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers.” Yikes. “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have long been debunked,” Cheung added.

Despite the pushback, director Ali Abbasi plans to offer Trump a private screening. Hopefully, he’ll have the former president’s comfort meal handy—that’s two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish, and a chocolate shake, in case you forgot. It sounds like he’s going to need it.

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