StudioCanal on Thursday unveiled the acquisition of Ali Abbasi’s
Cannes competition entry
The Apprentice
for the U.K. and Ireland, with a release planned for later this year. The film is an exploration of
Donald Trump’s rise to power
in 1980s America.
Directed by Abbasi
and written by Gabe Sherman, the film stars Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee and Berlin Silver Bear winner Sebastian Stan
(Pam & Tommy)
as Trump; Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award winner Jeremy Strong
(Succession)
as his firebrand mentor Roy Cohn; Martin Donovan
(Tenet)
as Fred Trump Sr.; and Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Maria Bakalova
(Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)
as Ivana Trump.
The Apprentice
is “a dive into the underbelly of the American empire,” according to a plot description. “It charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.”
The movie is produced by Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek for Profile Pictures, Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde for Tailored Films, and Abbasi and Louis Tisné for Film Institute. Executive producers are Amy Baer, Mark H. Rapaport, Emanuel Nunez, Josh Marks, Grant S. Johnson, Phil Hunt and Compton Ross, Thorsten Schumacher, Niamh Fagan, Sherman, Lee Broda, James Shani, Andrew Frank and Greg Denny.
Rocket Science is handling
international
sales on the project, which was financed by Kinematics, Head Gear Films, Screen Ireland, Film i Vast, The Danish Film Institute and National Bank of Canada.
The Apprentice
will be released in cinemas across the U.K. and Ireland in 2024, StudioCanal said.