 "Why Donald Trump's biopic 'The Apprentice' caused a stir at Cannes")
What do the United State (US) presidential election campaign and the ongoing Cannes film festival have in common? The answer is Donald Trump.
‘The Apprentice’, a movie about the early years of the 45th US president as a real estate developer, premiered at the Grand Theatre Lumiere on Monday to earn an eight-minute standing ovation.
Trump was irate, calling the movie a "malicious defamation" and threatened legal action.
What is the movie about?
"The Apprentice," named after the reality TV series Trump anchored in the early 2000s, delves into the former president's early years in the real estate world. It begins with a disclaimer acknowledging fictionalised events.
Directed by Ali Abbasi and written by author Gabriel Sherman, the movie stars Sebastian Stan, who plays Winter Soldier in ‘The Avengers’ franchise, as Trump. It shows Trump's journey to establish himself as a real estate mogul who is guided by lawyer Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong, and married to fashion model Ivana Zelnickova, portrayed by Maria Bakalova. The film highlights how Cohn's teachings, such as "admit nothing, deny everything" and "attack, attack, attack," shaped Trump's strategies.
According to news agency AFP, the film presents "an unflinching but nuanced portrait of the former US president."
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However, depicting Trump as a "striver" has stirred angered his supporters. Notably, a scene portraying Trump raping Ivana inside their Trump Tower apartment has sparked considerable outrage. Although Ivana had accused Trump of rape during their divorce proceedings, she later retracted the allegation. In this controversial scene, Bakalova (Ivana) is depicted presenting a book on female anatomy to Trump, leading to a dark turn of events where Trump throws her to the ground and rapes her.
The film also depicts Trump's alleged abuse of amphetamines for weight loss and his liposuction surgery to shed excess fat. Additionally, a young Trump is shown making deals with underworld figures to advance Trump Tower construction plans, failing to pay bills, and making a disastrous bet on a casino.
How has Trump reacted to 'The Apprentice'?
While ‘Variety’ reported a positive reception for the film at Cannes, Trump's campaign is vehemently opposed. Steven Cheung, Trump's campaign communications director, threatened legal action against the film’s makers for their "blatantly false assertions."
“This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalises lies that have been long debunked,” he added in a statement, adding, “This is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.”
And it’s not just Trump’s campaign that is threatening legal action against the movie, billionaire Trump supporter Dan Snyder also shares this sentiment. Having donated generously to Trump's campaigns, Snyder had hoped for a positive portrayal of his friend in the film. However, upon watching a cut of the movie, he was reportedly incensed. Cease-and-desist letters were promptly dispatched, seeking to halt the film's release.
Director's defence
Director Ali Abbasi contended that Trump might not dislike the film entirely. “I don’t think it is a movie he would dislike. I don’t necessarily think he would like it, but I think he’d be surprised. So I’m happy to meet him, have a screening and then we can discuss it afterwards," he said.
Abbasi hoped for a mid-September theatrical release, preceding the November US elections, in which the 77-year-old Trump is vying for the Republican presidential nomination.
Abbasi further noted, "Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people, they don’t talk about his success rate though."
Reflecting on Trump's character, Abbasi said, "He's a complex character. I think anyone who thinks Donald Trump is stupid or banal or superficial is gravely mistaken. I think a lot of my liberal friends think that because he doesn’t speak as eloquently as Barack Obama, he’s dumb and he doesn’t know what he’s doing."
Abbasi continued, "He has a very intuitive, actual ability to understand the masses. The Donald Trump in the movie is a construct, you know? I can call it a persona. And I can’t say that I decoded him."