‘Apprentice’ filmmakers detail struggle to sell amid Trump-driven ‘cowardice’

He “Apprentice“The filmmakers have been narrating their struggle to find a distributor for the next donald trump biopic since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, which the film’s eventual buyer attributed to fear.

“I can’t really speak for others, but my feeling is that it’s largely, if not entirely, cowardice in the face of Donald Trump,” said Tom Ortenberg, whose Briarcliff Entertainment ultimately saved the project. said Entertainment Weekly in a wide-ranging interview Friday with the cast and crew.

“Anyone who says otherwise would probably accuse him of lying,” Ortenberg continued.

The film follows Trump (Sebastian Stan) and his lawyer, the infamous right-wing political fixer Roy Cohn (jeremy strong), during his rise as a real estate mogul in 1980s New York City.

Trump campaign chief spokesman Steven Cheung He threatened legal action after the Cannes premiere. to block the release of the “trash” movie before November, claiming served as “electoral interference by Hollywood elites.”

Its creators are not afraid of being sued.

“Trump threatens to sue the mailman, so I’m not surprised,” screenwriter and journalist Gabriel Sherman he told EW. “He’s basically doing what Roy Cohn told him to do: He’s attacking. … I know how rigorously researched and solid the movie is, so I’m not worried.”

Even one of the film’s own investors, former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder, reportedly tried to block its release, after realizing at a February screening that it was not, as he had believed, a flattering portrait of Trump.

“I remember talking to everyone at the beginning of the summer that this movie was not going to be released,” Strong told EW, adding: “And the possibility of that level of, ultimately, censorship in this country, at this time , it was felt.” like a dangerous omen.”

while director Ali Abbasi He said the sudden disinterest after its brilliant Cannes premiere “was quite shocking” and understands that hesitant buyers “don’t want to have problems.”

Meanwhile, Ortenberg said he still can’t fathom that this is the same industry he joined 40 years ago, and lamented how quickly Hollywood’s artistic and business communities seemed eager to appease Trump.

“That really gets to the heart of the matter, which is that when you kneel in advance to the authoritarian, you are only increasing the likelihood of that authoritarianism,” he added. “So seeing Hollywood in unison bend the knee to Trump is particularly disturbing to me.”

“The Apprentice” hits theaters nationwide on October 11.