As the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches, Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice” looms with Sebastian Stan playing a young Donald Trump. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews but struggled to find a distributor due to its subject matter, as buyers were wary of repercussions from the former president. But as the “Holy Spider” filmmaker told TheWrap at the Toronto International Film Festival, he does not see “The Apprentice” as merely “a Trump movie.”
“It’s a story of how young Donald Trump was formed with the help of his mentor, Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), and how he sort of started to become the person we now know,” Abbasi told TheWrap editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman at TheWrap’s 2024 TIFF Studio sponsored by Moët & Chandon and Boss Design.
“But it’s also a story of a system, the depiction of the American system, the legal system, the inherent corruption in a system that allowed people like Roy Cohn to navigate freely and sort of pull the levers of power as they see fit.”
Abbasi acknowledged the long road to securing distribution from Briarcliff, which is also using a Kickstarter to crowd-fund the film’s expanded theatrical release.
“I never thought getting distribution for a movie can be this tough, to be honest, especially this one,” Abbasi said.
Despite the controversy surrounding the film, the director maintains that it’s grounded in thorough research. “This movie is very much fact-based and fact-checked,” Abbasi said of the screenplay written by Jennifer Stahl and Gabriel Sherman. “There’s rigorous journalistic work around it.”
When asked about his motivation as an Iran-born director to tackle American politics, Abbasi maintained he’s a neutral party. “I am inherently neutral in this conversation,” he said. “I don’t support the blue team versus red team or whatnot.” Abbasi’s outsider’s view was part of what attracted producer Amy Bear and co-writer Gabe Sherman to the project.
The director also addressed the film’s potential impact on the upcoming election. “What I hear from a lot of my friends in media, and it’s being repeated, is this is an election about character,” he said. “So if you’re wondering about his character, we have a lot of insights and interesting stories and nuances of his character on display at least as part of the package, so to speak.”
But Abbasi declined to air his personal views. “As a filmmaker, as a private person, I have my opinions, but that’s not relevant for the movie.”
“The Apprentice” is set for an Oct. 11 release.
While Abbasi is excited about the timing, he believes the film’s relevance extends beyond the election cycle. “I don’t think that the movie has an expiry date,” he said.
Watch the full interview in the video above.
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