Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump-centric movie The Apprentice finally has a release date but unfortunately, not in the U.S. The controversial project for which the director previously teased a release date back in March will only get a U.K. and Irish release for now, as Digital Spy confirmed. This may come as no surprise considering that in the same month, Abbasi hinted at an arrival date for the film, Trump’s attorneys sent a cease and desist letter to prevent sales or a release in the U.S., specifically warning the filmmakers not to seek a distribution deal after the film’s world premiere.
Starring Sebastian Stan in the lead role, the historical drama follows the former U.S. president’s rise as a business mogul in the 1980s. According to the official synopsis, “The Apprentice charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn. Filled with larger-than-life characters, it reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.” Other stars added to the project besides Stan include Jeremy Strong (Succession) as Roy Cohn, Maria Bakalova (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Ivana Trump, Martin Donovan (Simple Men) as Fred Trump, and Joe Pingue (The Book of Eli) as Anthony Salerno.
What’s Stopping ‘The Apprentice’ From A U.S. Release?
Earlier this year, The Apprentice had its world premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and received largely mixed reviews. Not to mention, the film is currently rated 77% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.9 out of 10. At the time of its premiere, a press conference followed during which director Abbasi shared a potential release window, saying, “We have a promotional event coming up called [the] U.S. election that’s going to help us with the movie. So we’re hoping very much that it can come out – if I’m remembering right – the second debate’s going to be on September 15, something like that. So that’s a good release date for us, I would say.”
Meanwhile, not long after the premiere, Trump‘s campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, reacted with a derisive statement in response to The Apprentice‘s debut at Cannes: “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire.”
The Apprentice will be released in U.K. and Irish cinemas on October 18.
via Collider