UPDATE: Filming has actually started.
In September, I had exclusively reported that director Ali Abassi, who made waves at Cannes with two films, “Border” and “Holy Spider,” was set to shoot his third feature in October.
The title I was given was “The Apprentice” and it completely flew over my head, since I hadn’t been given any plot details, that this would actually be a film about Donald Trump. “The Apprentice,” which is being described as a “thriller,” sounds wild.
Deadline is reporting that Sebastian Stan will star as Trump in Abassi’s film. Stan is known for his TV work (“Pam & Tom,” “Gossip Girl”) but has also appeared in such films as “The Martian,” Logan Lucky,” “I, Tonya,” and “Fresh.
UPDATE: Maria Bakalova will play Ivana Trump. Jeremy Strong is set to star as controversial lawyer Roy Cohn. In a way, Cohn was just as fascinating a figure as Trump, maybe more so — a man with the seediest of reputations.
“The Apprentice” will follow Trump from his twenties through his late thirties, and examine his efforts to build his real estate business in New York over the course of the ’70s and ’80s. There will also be some digging into his relationship with infamous attorney, Roy Cohn.
An exploration of power and ambition set in a world of corruption and deceit. It’s a mentor-protege story that charts the origins of an American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.”
The writer tasked to pen “The Apprentice” is Gabriel Sherman, who wrote “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” which was an indictment of Fox News founder Roger Ailes.
Now, there is some confusion as to whether or not “The Apprentice” has started shooting. It did get a SAG-exemption waiver to start production in September. I had been told that it was going to shoot in the late fall, but haven’t heard anything since.
Regardless, if this film is finished on time then I presume Cannes would be very interested in showing it. Abassi has become a mainstay at that festival — “Border” won Un Certain Regard in 2018 and “Holy Spider” competed for the Palme d’Or in 2022.