(Updated 10/07/2024)
When you think of "The Apprentice" and Donald Trump, you most likely get an image of the reality TV series hosted by the former President. (Before he was elected to office.) But THE APPRENTICE is something else — it's a movie about Trump's personal history in real estate during the 1970s and 1980s, with a strong focus on his relationship with his notorious "fixer," the former NYC prosecutor Roy Cohn.
Here's the first trailer for and everything else we know about the Donald Trump movie.
What's The Apprentice Release Date?
Briarcliff Entertainment will release THE APPRENTICE in movie theaters on October 11, 2024.
Watch the Trailer for The Apprentice
This trailer sets up Trump as a protégé of Roy Cohn, with the bulldog lawyer teaching the future President three rules of business conduct that will be instantly familiar to those who have analyzed Trump's behavior over the years.
What's the Song in The Apprentice Trailer?
While THE APPRENTICE trailer opens with a performance of Mozart's Symphony No. 40, most of the trailer is scored by a simple punk rock song. It sounds a bit like "Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones — pretty appropriate for a movie set in New York City in the late 1970s, even though these characters would never have listened to the band — but the song seems to be a soundalike meant to evoke the sound of New York punk. (THE APPRENTICE soundtrack does feature some 1980s punk rock songs, such as "Ghost Rider" by Suicide and "Anti Anti Anti" by Consumers.")
Is Donald Trump Movie The Apprentice a True Story?
Well, THE APPRENTICE is certainly based in truth, at least. Whether or not it is actually considered true will be left to people who know far more about Donald Trump. Elements of the movie are strongly based in truth, but as with any movie based on real figures, some events have been condensed, omitted, and/or altered.
The Trump campaign threatened to sue the filmmakers, saying "This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked." Which makes the whole enterprise a lot more interesting than your average biopic!
Rather than a true story, it might be better to look at THE APPRENTICE as a showcase for the acting talents of Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, or as a way to look at how the "greed is good" mindset famously put forward in the movie WALL STREET became a dominant force in some business dealings during the era.
Who Made The Apprentice?
THE APPRENTICE is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ali Abbasi, who made the unsettling and very effective monster romance movie, BORDER, and the Iranian serial killer movie HOLY SPIDER. He also directed the final two episodes of the first season of the TV series "The Last of Us."
Who Is in the Cast of The Apprentice?
THE APPRENTICE STARS Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump, and "Succession" star Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, Trump's mentor and controversial attorney. The two dominate the cast, as the movie is primarily focused on the idea of Trump's evolution under Kohn's guidance.
THE APPRENTICE opens on October 11.
All images courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment.