Netflix turned down the opportunity to acquire the upcoming Donald Trump biopic, The Apprentice, because “they have millions of MAGA subscribers,” director Ali Abbasi has claimed.
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In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Abbasi addressed the release of the controversial film, which sees Sebastian Stan star as a young Trump. Succession‘s Jeremy Strong also stars as infamous attorney Roy Cohn, while Maria Bakalova plays a young version of Trump’s first wife, Ivana.
When asked why Netflix weren’t interested in buying the film, Abassi replied: “Because they have millions of MAGA subscribers in the U.S., which is by far their biggest market.
“On a business level, I totally understand that. If you’re in the toilet paper business, you don’t want to alienate half the ass-wiping public. You want to sell toilet paper to everyone.”
He continued: “I also understand that they might be worried about angering Trump himself. What happens if he wins the election and then decides to come after them — with the FCC or whatever government power he can use? I totally get their logic. The potential risk is not worth the reward.
“But here’s my answer: We’re in the business of content. We’re not selling KitKats. With content, sometimes you thrill and delight people, and other times you provoke or make them uncomfortable. That’s the nature of the content business. It shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
A synopsis for The Apprentice reads: “A young Donald Trump, eager to make his name as the hungry second son of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of cutthroat lawyer Roy Cohn. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protege: someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2024. CREDIT: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
According to the official longline, the film is “an exploration of power and ambition set in a world of corruption and deceit. It’s a mentor-protege story that charts the origins of an American dynasty. Filled with larger than life characters, it reveals the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers.”
Elsewhere, Stan recently appeared in the new body horror A Different Man, which received a gushing five-star review from NME.
The Apprentice will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on October 18.
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