Former reality television star and president Donald Trump is receiving the Hollywood treatment in a biopic aptly named after his defunct competition show "The Apprentice."
The American public may think they already know everything about Trump since his personal life plays out every day in they media as he attempts to run for president for a third time. But forget the dramatics of his two-time impeachment, the 2020 election denial or even the Jan. 6 insurrection. This biopic will focus on Trump in a very crucial point his life — the beginnings of his allegedly criminal, but lucrative real estate empire.
Trump's ascent to the upper echelons of New York City politics and power becomes the makings of the modern-day disgruntled man facing 91 felony charges in four separate criminal cases. The origin of his early success may be the most crucial American story ever told as he has become formative for our widely divided America.
Here's what we know so far about "The Apprentice":
Who'll play Trump and his close associates in "The Apprentice"
Marvel movie star, Sebastian Stan, known for his longtime portrayal of Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier and also Tommy Lee in "Pam & Tommy," will be taking on the role of the 45th president.
Stan will be joined by Maria Bakalova, who will play the former president's infamous first wife, the late Ivana Trump — the mother to nepo babies Eric, Ivanka and Donald Trump, Jr. Some will know Bakalova from her Oscar-nominated role in "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," in which she plays Borat's (Sacha Baron Cohen) underage daughter, Tutar. Some may recall that Tutar infamously pretended to be a conservative media host during an interview with Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, trapping him in a seemingly compromising position in bed.
Jeremy Strong, known for playing sad boy Kendall Roy in the HBO's "Succession," will play Roy Cohn, the infamous attorney who mentored Trump but was later disbarred for unethical conduct.
When "The Apprentice" takes place in Trump's life
The biopic will follow a young Trump's personal relationships and grifter journey through the '70s and '80s New York City real estate scene. It will track Trump's beginnings as a brash, aspiring real estate developer from Queens to his real estate empire mired in scandal and criminal charges.
Cannes prize-winning Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi helms the film which will start production this week. It is billed as "an exploration of power and ambition in a world of corruption and deceit. Also, it is described as “a mentor-protege story that charts the origins of an American dynasty” and “reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers."
The film's screenwriter is journalist and author Gabriel Sherman, who wrote the Roger Ailes biography "The Loudest Voice in the Room," which was turned into the 2019 Showtime adaptation "The Loudest Room," starring Russell Crowe.
