Ali Abbasi, director of The Apprenticethe gripping biopic about the rise of Donald Trump, has made an unexpected revelation.
Even if he left the Croisette empty-handed, The Apprentice received a rather very positive reception during its screening in Cannes. Except it was the start of chaos. Between the threats of trial from Donald Trump himself, a formal notice sent to the producers of the film by his teams and the distribution problems (no major American studio or streaming platform wanted to release the film), all within a few months of a historic American presidential election, The Apprentice experienced a real obstacle course.
Despite the presence of senior actors like Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong in the casting, the Danish-Iranian director, Ali Abbasi, has revealed behind the scenes of the galleys on social networks, little by little, since May. Now hell is over. The film will be released in the United States (from October 11 thanks to Briarcliff Entertainment) and has already been in theaters in France since October 9. But according to Ali Abbasi, it seems that The Apprentice frightened Hollywood long before it took care of it.
The Trump monster
In full promotion for his feature film, the director of Border et The Nights of Mashhad was passing through Paris. During an interview with Le Figarohe obviously returned to his film, its ins and outs and its crucial importance in view of current events. But even more, he also confided that the film had been refused by several filmmakers before he took it onand not least:
“The producers of The Apprentice were having difficulty finding the right director who would be willing to risk his career. Paul Thomas Anderson said no. Clint Eastwood too. »
The Apprentice is indeed a long-standing project. The film’s screenwriter, Gabriel Sherman, began writing it in 2018, and it was only in October 2023 that Ali Abbasi was chosen to direct the film. Before, the scenario was proposed to multiple filmmakers and among them, it seems that Clint Eastwood and Paul Thomas Anderson had passed.
For the first, it’s not really surprising. Clint Eastwood is a staunch Republican (he even participated in the 2012 Republican convention with his famous empty chair speech) and his conservative tendencies could explain his refusal. For Paul Thomas Anderson, it’s difficult to understand why the producers thought of him. After all, the filmmaker has always made films that he had… scripted. It would therefore have been surprising to see PTA take on a script written by someone else.
While the scenario was already in the works in 2018, it was therefore necessary to wait six years for the film to materialize on the screens. Perhaps other names of filmmakers who have been approached will be revealed in the coming weeks, but this long gestation is further proof of the Hollywood industry’s fears about tackling this subject. A perfect reason to jump on The Apprentice in theaters since October 9 in France.
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