NEW YORK (AP) ā Hard as it may be to believe, there arenāt a lot of Hollywood agents clamoring for their star clients to take the role of one of the polarizing political figures of the 21st century.
Sebastian Stan, though, was More than anything, he believed in its director, the Iranian Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi. And, even though it made him nervous ā or maybe because it made it him nervous ā he wanted to do it. He wanted to play
āThere wasnāt a lot of competition,ā Stan says, chuckling.
āIt was one of those things I thought: If this isnāt going to happen, itās not going to happen because of me,ā Stan says. āItās not going to not happen because Iām scared.ā
By a landslide, āThe Apprenticeā is the most controversial movie of the fall. It stars Stan as a young Trump playing apprentice to the attorney Roy Cohn ( ) while trying to make a name for himself in 1980s New York real estate. Already, āThe Apprenticeā has had one of the most tortured paths to movie theaters of any 2024 release.
After its debut at the all the major studios and top specialty labels One potential issue was a cease and desist letter from Trumpās legal team. Another was that one of the movieās investors ā Dan Snyder, the former owner of the Washington Commanders and a Trump supporter ā wanted to exit the movie.
Only last week, that it will open āThe Apprenticeā on Oct. 11, just weeks before Election Day. And itās still fighting for more screens. On Tuesday, the filmmakers took the unusual step of launching a to raise money for its release.
āThis project has been pretty crazy, from beginning to the end,ā Abbasi says. āItās still not completely there. Itās going to get more crazy, maybe.ā
Trump's reelection campaign has vigorously opposed the movie. After its Cannes debut, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called the film āpure fiction.ā On Friday, after its release date was confirmed, Cheung declared it āelection interference by Hollywood elites.ā
What role, if any, āThe Apprenticeā might play in the lead-up to Nov. 5 will be one of the most notable storylines at the movies this fall. While many Hollywood stars are vocal supporters of Democratic nominee , itās far rarer that plainly political films squeak through todayās sequel- and superhero-dominated movie industry. That makes for a unique election-year test case: Will liberals want to see a film about Trump? Will conservatives turn out for a film Trump opposes?
Abbasi, whose turned a questioning eye on Iranian society through the story of a serial killer targeting women, says heās not trying to tell anyone how to vote.
āDo I want to show you some stuff about character? Yes, I would very much love that and I think we have some great stuff to show,ā says Abbasi. āWhat you do with that knowledge is up to you. But that knowledge might come in handy if you want to go and vote.ā
To Abbasi, grappling with contemporary politics is his responsibility as a filmmaker. As ubiquitous as Trump is, Abbasi argues there have been paltry attempts to really understand the former president.
āWith Donald and Ivana, theyāve never really been treated as human beings,ā Abbasi says. āTheyāre either treated badly or extremely good ā itās like this mythological thing. The only way if you want to break that myth is to deconstruct it. I think a humanistic view is the best way you can deconstruct that myth.ā
āFor me, the best comp for him is Barry Lyndon,ā Abbasi adds, referencing the Stanley Kubrick film of the same name. āWhen you think about Barry Lyndon, you donāt think about that guy as being a bad guy or a good guy. He has this ambivalence and this uncanny ability to navigate. He wants to be somebody. He doesnāt really know what or why. He just sort of wants to ascend.ā
āThe Apprenticeā found a mixed reception from critics at Cannes, though Stan and Strong were widely praised. The movie notably includes a scene in which Trump, as played by Stan, rapes Ivana (played by Maria Bakalova). In Ivana Trumpās 1990 divorce deposition, she stated that Trump raped her. Trump denied the allegation and Ivana Trump later said she didnāt mean it literally, but rather that she had felt violated.
But, Abbasi maintains, āThe Apprenticeā is not a hit job. He has insisted that Trump, himself, might like the movie. At the same time, some critics have questioned whether āThe Apprenticeā shows too much empathy to Trump and Cohn, who was Sen. Joseph McCarthyās chief counsel during the 1954 communist hearings.
āI donāt think any of us are above it. I donāt think any of us are born perfect people or weāre not morally compromised,ā says Stan. āItās really, really much muddier and trickier than that, life is. I think the only way we can learn is through empathy. I think we have to protect empathy and continue to nourish it. And I think one way of nourishing empathy is showing what itās exact opposite can be.ā
Stan, who plays Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier) in Marvel movies, was drawn to the film partly because the Copenhagen-based Abbasi brought a European perspective. Itās something that Stan, who was born in Romania and emigrated to the New York area with his mother at age 12, partly shares. He views the film as an origin story for a āwin at all costsā ideology.
Strong is much more renowned for staying in character. (Abbasi recalls sometimes being confused by Strongās demeanor on set before he realized he was still Roy Cohn.) But Stan also, unwittingly, dabbled in such immersion. He points to his diet, including one scene in which he repeatedly ate cheeseballs.
āI must have had, like, 25 to 30 cheeseballs that night,ā Stan says. āThe next morning I woke up and, Iām sorry to say, but I was on the toilet at 6:30 in the morning before I was getting picked up. And I was in such pain. I couldnāt leave that toilet. It was like: Yeah, I guess this is method acting.ā
When the fate of āThe Apprenticeā seemed uncertain, Abbasi was in disbelief. He felt he had made an edgy film, but an entertaining one.
āI always thought of the United States, yes, itās not a perfect place. But one thing was always repeated to me: This is the land of the free. This is the land of freedom of speech. You can say what you want here,ā says Abbasi. āThatās not what Iāve been met with. Iāve been met with sheer business calculations.ā
Strong echoes those sentiments.
āIt was almost effectively banned, and I find that, alone, very frightening and a harbinger of dark things,ā says Strong. āBut first and foremost itās a movie. Itās not a political act or a political event. Itās a movie.ā
All three of them, ultimately, just want people to see āThe Apprenticeā ā if possible, with an open mind.
āWeāre in a very black-and-white mentality right now, and I went into this movie knowing that,ā Stan says. āBut letās take the road less traveled, and maybe other people will, too. I think we have to look at public figures that are consequential in our times, in our lives and we have to reflect and evaluate them.ā
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
