Donalod Trump Campaign staff Calls "The Apprentice" Malicious Defamation
It is garbage and sensational lies

Avisen Danmark, /ritzau/ & Information
12 Oct 2024

The story of Trump is also the story of the development of the perception of reality in our time.

Donald Trump campain staff believes "The Apprentice" film, directed by Ali Abbasi, is rubbish and sensationalist lies.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump's legal team are reaching out for Ali Abbasi the Danish-Iranian director of "The Apprentice".

- This rubbish is pure fiction with sensationalist lies, which have long been cleared up, wrote Steven Cheung, the spokesman for Donald Trump's election campaign.

However, the film's Danish-Iranian director, Ali Abbasi, does not take the criticism too seriously.


Film director Ali Abbasi attended the premiere of his film "The Apprentice" at the New York Theater last week. According to Abbasi, he has done something right if both wings of the American political spectrum are unhappy with the film. Photo: Charles Sykes/Ritzau Scanpix

- If we piss off both sides, we must be doing something right, he says to CNN.

The story of Trump is also the story of the development of the perception of reality in our time. People perceive Donald Trump as a unique person, but according to Ali Abbasi and the director's new film, 'The Apprentice', which is about the young Trump, he is not so unique at all.

"No matter what, I think that you should make a film about Donald Trump. I am very frustrated with where we are in the film world, not only others, but myself as well. We escape from our reality in the films we make. We are running away from what we are otherwise talking about," says film director Ali Abbasi.

When Ali Abbasi's new film, The Apprentice, which is about Donald Trump's young years in 1970s and 1980s New York, had its world premiere at Cannes in May, it was threatened with legal action by Trump's people. The film does not let up in its biting portrait of the financier and later president (played by Sebastian Stan) and his mentor, the controversial lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong).

The threats scared American cinema distributors, and no one dared to tie up with the film. But now the people behind it have found a risk-averse company, Briarcliff Entertainment, and The Apprentice has its American premiere on October 11 (and on the 17th in Denmark). Along the way, Abbasi & Co. also launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, Release The Apprentice, to raise money for the film's launch and distribution.

Abbasi has been criticized by liberals for not being critical enough of Trump, while the Trump camp criticizes the film for being too critical of the presidential candidate. In addition, he claims that the critics may not have seen the film at all. (CNN interview with Ali Abbasi on criticism of his new film)

- Recently, Roger Stone, who is a Trump supporter and one of his old friends, saw the film. He was happy with the film and praised us for the portrayal of Roy Cohn, says Ali Abbasi.

Roy Cohn was a lawyer and prosecutor and he was Donald Trump's mentor in his younger years.

The film "The Apprentice" is a fictional film based on Donald Trump and his relationship with Roy Cohn. You follow Trump from his youth and watch him grow into the business empire he has since built.

The film is directed by Ali Abbasi, who has previously had great success with films such as "Holy Spider" and "Border".

Donald Trump himself has not yet commented on the film. When the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, it wasn't long before Trump's lawyers tried to block its release. At the time, the film received a standing ovation for eight minutes.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Trump reportedly did not file a lawsuit against the film's producers after last week's premiere.

The film premiered in US theaters on Friday. It premieres in Danish cinemas on October 17.

/ritzau/