He had caused a sensation at the Cannes Film Festival. “The Apprentice”, the controversial biopic on Donald Trump, will be released in cinemas in October in the United States, a month before the presidential election, according to several American media outlets on Friday.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Briarcliff Entertainment is planning to release “The Apprentice” on October 11. The studio has not yet responded to a request for comment. On November 5, Republican candidate Donald Trump faces Democrat Kamala Harris in what is expected to be a very close election.
An uncompromising biopic of Danish-Iranian Ali Abbasi, “The Apprentice” made its mark at the Cannes Film Festival when it was presented in May. The film depicts the billionaire’s early years. Initially portrayed as a somewhat naive social climber, Donald Trump (played by Sebastian Stan, known for his role in “Captain America”) drifts away from his principles as he discovers the ropes of power alongside his mentor, lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong from “Succession”), who is closely associated with McCarthyism and the New York mafia.
A rape scene
In one scene, Donald Trump rapes his first wife, Ivana. He is also seen taking amphetamine pills and undergoing liposuction and surgery to cover up his hair loss. In real life, Ivana accused Donald Trump of rape during their divorce proceedings, before withdrawing her accusations. She died in 2022. Enough to displease the main person concerned, whose team has promised to sue the producers of the film, denouncing in particular “purely malicious defamation”.
The screenplay for “The Apprentice” is written by Gabriel Sherman, a journalist who followed the New York real estate market and spoke regularly with Donald Trump at the time. In an interview, the lead actor, Sebastian Stan, said that the billionaire was “more accessible than we want to admit.”
It’s not the only biopic about a former president to hit theaters: “Reagan,” which chronicles the life of Republican President Ronald Reagan, was released in U.S. theaters Friday.