Sebastian Stan interviews a young Donald Trump in the first footage released from “The Apprentice,” a biopic from director Ali Abbasi that hits theaters Oct. 11.
In the minute-long clip, Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong) coaches Trump as he conducts a phone interview with a reporter. “I’m going to take over the Commodore Building, and I’m going to make it the best, finest building in the city, and maybe in the country—in the world,” Stan says in a calm voice that’s far from Trump’s cartoonish imitation. “It’s going to be the best building in the world.” Strong, for his part, turns to the New York-nosed Cohn.
“The Apprentice,” which premiered on May 20 at the Cannes Film Festival, landed at Briarcliff Entertainment after struggling to find a buyer due to its controversial nature. It seemed that major Hollywood studios did not want to touch the film, which, as with films like The Apprentice, did not sell. diverse The film reportedly shocked Cannes with a scene in which Trump rapes his then-wife Ivana, played by Maria Bakalova.
The Trump campaign has threatened legal action over the film, saying in a statement: “This garbage is pure fiction that promotes lies that have long been debunked.”
Created by Gabe Sherman, The Apprentice is being touted as a “dive into the underbelly of the American empire.” Martin Donovan also stars in the series as Fred Trump Sr.
Set in 1970s America, the film revolves around Trump's relationship with Cohen, who served as a key adviser to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the McCarthy hearings with the Army. Cohen rose to prominence as a U.S. Justice Department prosecutor in the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, which led to their execution in 1953.
Watch the footage below.
