Studiocanal has today announced the acquisition for Ireland & the UK of The Apprentice, Ali Abbasi’s exploration of Donald Trump’s rise to power in 1980s America. The Apprentice will receive its world premiere in competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
Directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabe Sherman, The Apprentice stars Emmy and Golden Globe Award Nominee and Silver Bear Winner Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) as Donald Trump, Emmy, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award Winner Jeremy Strong (Succession) as 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 follows a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a deal with influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.
The Canadian/Irish/Danish co-production is produced by Ruth Treacy (Let The Wrong One In) and Julianne Forde (Louise Lives Large) for Tailored Films, Daniel Bekerman (The Witch) for Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek (Holy Spider) for Profile Pictures, and Ali 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, Gabe Sherman, Lee Broda, James Shani, Andrew Frank and Greg Denny.
Rocket Science are 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 Ireland and the UK in 2024.
