The movie, which serves as a Trump origin story, centers on his almost filial relationship with notorious fixer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), who, according to the film, taught him the political playbook that he uses to this day.
But so far, the film — which includes a rape allegation made by Ivana Trump that she later recanted — has failed to pick up an American distributor. Even Francis Ford Coppola’s eccentric epic, “Megalopolis,” which also premiered at Cannes and is considered a tough sell for general audiences, has [gotten American distribution](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/06/17/megalopolis-lionsgate-release-date/?itid=lk_inline_manual_8). The holdup is notable because, judging by the rapt audience at its premiere and intense media coverage, interest in “The Apprentice” is high, and the timing around its release in an election year is crucial to its box office success.
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Controversy [was near-constant](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/04/15/dan-snyder-commanders-ownership/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) for Daniel Snyder during the 24 years he owned the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Now, a year after he [sold his stake](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/20/washington-commanders-sale/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) in the team, Snyder has landed in a different kind of dispute: Kinematics, a film-production company largely funded by Snyder, is attempting to block the U.S. release of a pot-stirring movie about [Donald Trump](https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2), five people close to the production say.
“The Apprentice,” a docudrama about Trump’s years as a New York real estate mogul, [made its buzzy debut](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/05/20/donald-trump-the-apprentice-cannes/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4) at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The [BBC called](https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240521-the-apprentice-review-sebastian-stan-is-excellent-as-a-young-donald-trump) Sebastian Stan, who plays a young Trump, “excellent,” while [Rolling Stone said](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/the-apprentice-review-donald-trump-biopic-1235023810/) it was “the most brutal Donald Trump biopic imaginable.”
The movie, which serves as a Trump origin story, centers on his almost filial relationship with notorious fixer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), who, according to the film, taught him the political playbook that he uses to this day.
But so far, the film — which includes a rape allegation made by Ivana Trump that she later recanted — has failed to pick up an American distributor. Even Francis Ford Coppola’s eccentric epic, “Megalopolis,” which also premiered at Cannes and is considered a tough sell for general audiences, has [gotten American distribution](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/06/17/megalopolis-lionsgate-release-date/?itid=lk_inline_manual_8). The holdup is notable because, judging by the rapt audience at its premiere and intense media coverage, interest in “The Apprentice” is high, and the timing around its release in an election year is crucial to its box office success.
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