Donald Trump The Apprentice Movie May Never Get Official Release In America?
With how much attention Donald Trump has already received in recent years, as well as what he is likely to continue to receive in the upcoming presidential election, it is surprising that he has not been the subject of more films. However, a recent film focusing on Trump, The Apprentice, shows that fear may be a motivation behind the lack of movies on the controversial figure. Despite The Apprentice receiving strong reviews, it cannot find a distributor in America, with some believing this is due to fear of retaliation from Trump’s supporters.
Sebastian Stan As Donald Trump
Sebastian Stan stars as the movie’s version of Trump, focusing on the early rise of Trump as a businessman. It is not a flattering portrayal of the former president, even including a depiction of him raping his former wife Ivana based on past statements she had made but has now recanted.
There is no ambiguity that Trump does not want The Apprentice released, with his legal team even threatening action against the creators of the movie.
Trump’s Threats
“If you do not immediately cease all publication and marketing of the movie, President Trump will pursue every appropriate legal means to hold you accountable for this gross violation of President Trump and the American people’s rights,” Trump’s lawyer wrote to the filmmakers. Despite Trump’s threats, it is not the creators of The Apprentice who are balking, but potential distributors of the movie.
The Apprentice Movie Is Doing Well Overseas
Though the attempted insurrection on January 6 was over three years ago, the extreme nature of those events is still a lingering threat at the back of many people’s minds.
Many are finding it pretty telling that the Trump threats have not dissuaded distributors in other countries from buying the rights to The Apprentice to share the movie. Canada, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan have all bought distribution rights, while America is conspicuously absent.
Vice
Thus far, no American distributors have come right and said that fear of MAGA supporter retaliation is what has caused them not to be interested.
In fairness, other movies about major politicians, such as 2018’s Vice focusing on Dick Cheney, were huge flops. Perhaps American distributors genuinely just consider political films not to be a marketable genre. However, the timing of all of Trump’s ire combined with The Apprentice struggling to get a release for the movie is suspicious.
Jeremy Strong
The movie does not lack star power, either. Jeremy Strong plays Roy Cohn. Strong is fresh off playing Kendall Roy in the hit HBO drama Succession, which similarly focused on the ugly politics of the business world.
And despite Trump being such a controversial figure, The Apprentice has garnered strong praise for its acting throughout the movie, including a lengthy standing ovation during its premier at the Cannes Film Festival.
It may be a reality that The Apprentice is not a movie that distributors will dare to release in America until after seeing the results of the election in November. Trump has already sworn vengeance on many of his perceived enemies.
If he does become president again, it could put many in fear of facing legal and social repercussions. If that is truly the source of hesitation from distributors, it will be interesting to see what they do if Trump loses in November, and whether The Apprentice gets picked up shortly after for its big movie debut.
Source: The New York Times
