The highly anticipated and contentious biopic, The Apprentice, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews from critics. While a lot of eyes are on it, Donald Trump could create problems for distribution, knowing he will hate it—especially when he’s running for president again.
Considering this film chronicled Trump’s formative years, multiple major film companies avoided it. Most producers will not take the risk during an election year, despite the possibility of being an awards contender.
We reported how this film struggled to gain U.S. distribution a few days ago. Soon after, the biopic secured a distribution company. That begs the question: who will possibly take the risk of distributing The Apprentice? The answer is Briarcliff Entertainment—whose CEO, Tom Ortenberg, distributed the Academy Award-winner Spotlight, Fahrenheit 9/11, and Nightcrawler. While Ortenberg plans to move forward with this deal, The Washington Post said it has stalled. Additionally, Deadline reports that “backer Kinematics will soon be bought out of Daniel Snyder’s $5 million investment with a premium.”
Directed by Ali Abbasi, The Apprentice continues writer Gabriel Sherman’s (The Loudest Voice) exploration of major conservative figures. The biopic will focus on Trump’s relationship with his former mentor, Roy Cohn. Time will tell whether or not this film will come before after the upcoming election.
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