As Deadline told you would happen, tonight at 10 PM is a lock for the US debut of the hot button film The Apprentice, about the formative growth of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as mentored by Roy Cohn. The film has been quietly placed on the Telluride roster, and now they’ve locked the Galaxy Theater.
This comes after months of turmoil that followed the film’s Cannes premiere. Scripted by Gabriel Sherman, the film stars Sebastian Stan as young Donald Trump in the ’70s as he — according to the description furnished by Telluride — “falls under the sway of the demonic lawyer and power broker Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). In following Trump as he learns the ways of celebrity and power in the New York of the ’70s, director Ali Abbasi (Border, The Holy Spider) evokes the gritty documentary style of directors like Sidney Lumet and William Friedkin. And he keeps us riveted to the surprisingly poignant father-and-son dynamic, beautifully enacted by Stan and Strong, that seems fortified by greed, insecurity and endless need.” Maria Bakalova plays Trump’s wife Ivana Trump, and one of the scenes the Trump camp has complained about is a scene showing Trump raping his estranged wife.
There are several buzz films on the schedule tonight, including Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night about the chaos that went into the premiere of the NBC staple Saturday Night Live. But buckle up for The Apprentice. Abbas, Stan, Strong, Amy Baer and Sherman will be there. The film gets released before the elections by Briarcliff, likely on October 11 with international rollout to follow.