Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday to a packed house and received an eight-minute standing ovation – but not everyone applauded.
The former president's legal team sent a cease and desist letter to the film's makers to prevent its sale and release in the United States. Trump lawyer David A. Warrington, the makers of the libel and illegal election interference film, called the film a "fabrication of lies."
The film's producers responded, insisting it was a "fair and balanced picture".
The film, directed by Ali Abbasi from a screenplay by journalist Gabriel Sherman, tells the story of the rise of Trump, played by Sebastian Stan (Pam and Tommy), as he navigates the difficult world of New York real estate in the 1970s and 1980s. His famous mentor, Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong (Succession), and his first wife, Ivana, played by rising Borat 2 star Maria Bakalova, are the characters central to the film.
Reviews were divided, with Deadline calling the film a "smart, accurate and surprising origin story" while The Guardian called it "a caricatured version of President Donald Trump's early years." Audiences and critics described the "explosive" assault scene – which shows Stan Trump's character raping Ivana – as sparking controversy around the film. Meanwhile, as the real Trump sits in court in his ongoing trial, his 2024 presidential campaign spokesman Stephen Cheung called the film "rubbish."
The film was reportedly finished days before its premiere and is already stirring controversy. Here's what you need to know.
Cheung said in a statement Monday that Trump's team plans to take legal action "to address the fictitious filmmakers' blatantly false claims."
He described the film as "pure fiction that raises lies that have long been debunked" and added: "This is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will reclaim the House White and will beat their favorite candidate because they did nothing.”
On Wednesday, Warrington sent a three-page cease-and-desist letter to Abbasi and Sherman, writing: "The film presents itself as a factual biography of Mr. Trump, but nothing could be further from the truth." repeatedly discredit President Trump and constitute direct foreign interference in the US elections.
The letter attacked the filmmakers and recalled previous statements they made about Trump. For example, she said Strong compared Trump's speech to those of Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong and Joseph Goebbels in a statement that Abbasi read aloud at a press conference in Cannes. The letter also accused Sherman, who covers politics for Vanity Fair, of suffering from "Trump confusion syndrome" because of his coverage of the politician. The letter gave the filmmakers a deadline of May 27 to respond.
On Friday, the filmmakers released a statement saying, “The film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president. “We want everyone to see it and then decide.”
Abbasi was unfazed by threats of legal action in Cannes.
The director said at a press conference: “Donald’s team should wait until they watch the film before they start suing us. » “Everyone says he prosecuted a lot of people, but we don't talk about his success rate.
What is an intern?
The title refers to the reality television show starring and produced by Trump himself, which aired on NBC from 2004 to 2017. The film tells the former president's story as a New York real estate developer before entering politics. The film shows Trump building his empire under the influence of Cohn, the formidable lawyer who took him under his wing and who later died of AIDS-related complications in 1986, which is also highlighted in the movie.
Cohn teaches Trump to be tough and ruthless in business, while the real estate mogul has a rocky marriage to Ivana, a pill addict and estranged father of Fred Trump, played by Martin Donovan.
How was the film received?
As of Tuesday, The Apprentice had a score of 52 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on nine reviews, and a score of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 reviews.
Multiple media outlets described several "explosive" scenes, including the alleged rape, erectile dysfunction and Trump undergoing a hair transplant as well as liposuction. Rolling Stone described the film as akin to a love story between Trump and Cohn, likening the film to Frankenstein, about a mad scientist who "watches his creation turn into a monster."
Although the film is not entirely sympathetic toward Trump, according to the New York Times, the outlet said it was an attempt "at least to explain" how he became one of the most polarizing political figures in history.
What do its stars say?
In a written statement to Strong that Abbasi read aloud at a press conference in Cannes on Tuesday, the actor said the film offers insight into the psychology of Trump and his attacks on the media, which , he says, were shaped during Trump's internship under Cohn in the 1980s.
Stan admitted that he "had to distance himself" from the current Trump to give an authentic interpretation of his early years: "There is a lot to see, watch and read in the interviews he gave to the time".
Bakalova, who plays Trump's first wife Ivana, who died in July 2022 at the age of 73, said she "fell in love" with the Czechoslovakian-born model and businesswoman, whom she described as " ahead of its time".
“It’s inspiring to see someone pursuing their dreams and ambitions, motivated only by the idea of achieving them,” said the Bulgarian-born actress.
On showing the film to the former president, Abbasi said he was fully prepared to do so.
"I don't necessarily think he won't like this movie," the director said at the press conference. “I will suggest that we meet him wherever he wants, talk about the context and presentation of the film and then discuss whether anyone in the Trump campaign is interested.”
Controversial rape scene
A scene in the film shows Trump telling Ivana that he is no longer attracted to her, before throwing her to the ground and sexually assaulting her in their New York apartment. The scene sparked controversy at Cannes, according to Variety, with one audience member calling it "horrible."
In the 1993 book "Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump," Ivana allegedly revealed during her divorce filing in the early 1990s that Trump had raped her in 1989. She disavowed the allegations in 2015, insisting the story was true. “Without any merit. »
NFL's Dan Snyder is not happy
Billionaire Dan Snyder, former owner of the Washington Commanders and longtime donor to Trump's political campaigns, was an investor in the film and thought it would be a great portrayal of Trump. After viewing a clip of the film in February, Snyder became "furious" over the rape scene, according to Variety, and began sending cease and desist letters to Kinematics, which produced the film.
However, Kinematics president Emanuel Nunez insists that Snyder was never involved in the creative aspects of the film: "All creative and business decisions regarding The Apprentice have always been and continue to be made solely by Kinematics,” he told Variety.
When will the film be released?
As of now, The Apprentice does not have a distribution deal in the United States, according to the New York Times. However, the film was sold at Cannes to StudioCanal, who will release the film in the UK and Ireland later this year.
Abbasi said he hoped to release it in mid-September, a convenient time for presidential debates. The Washington Post reported that there was "extreme" interest from buyers at Cannes, and that interested parties had to bring in lawyers due to the looming threat of a lawsuit.