The Apprentice, director Ali Abbasi’s new film about a young Donald Trump played by Sebastian Stan, is set for an October release date in theaters across the United States. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film’s been picked up by distributor Briarcliff Entertainment, with a tentative release date of October 11.
This is despite the fact that Trump and his backers have actively to block its release in the U.S. altogether. After the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, billionaire Dan Snyder was so displeased with the film’s negative depiction of Trump, and tried to prevent the film from getting a theatrical release in the United States.
Snyder was able to do this because he had indirectly financed the film, although Deadline now reports that his company, Kinematics, has since been “bought out of its share in the movie in addition to a healthy premium,” so Snyder no longer has any say about the film’s rollout. Producer James Shani, whose company Rich Spirit is among the film's backers, acquired the film from Kinematics and has since partnered with Briarcliff for the theatrical release.
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The Apprentice, which also features Jeremy Strong as the notorious Roy Cohn and Martin Donovan as Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr, received largely positive reviews, with critics noting that the film includes a controversial rape scene between Trump and his first wife Ivana (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm star Maria Bakalova, who previously disgraced Rudy Giuliani).
It’s this scene in particular, based on a real accusation Ivana Trump made against her husband and later withdrew, that seems to have spurred the legal threats from Trump’s campaign team.
“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast in May. “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.”
Chueng added, “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.”
And yet now, the film is set to premiere at multiple fall film festivals before its theatrical release in the U.S., setting up an awards push that could find it competing for Oscars in several categories next spring.
Director Ali Abbasi has posted on X Friday morning responding to the news: “Soooo excited to show the movie to its home audience!!! America here we come.”
