The Apprentice: Why Sebastian Stan's Donald Trump Movie Left One Investor Furious

This article contains discussions of alleged sexual assault.

There's a movie about Donald Trump that just made waves at Cannes Film Festival, and one of its investors is not happy now that he's actually seen the movie.

Before it officially premiered on the Croisette, "The Apprentice" was screened for some of its investors, including billionaire Dan Snyder (former owner of the Washington Commanders). According to a report in Variety, Snyder was extremely unhappy when he actually saw the movie, which focuses on Trump's years as a real-estate "mogul" in New York and his marriage to Ivana Trump (played by Oscar-nominated "Borat 2" actress Maria Bakalova). It also reportedly is pretty unflattering in its depiction of Trump himself — portrayed by Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran Sebastian Stan — which is what made Snyder pretty mad.

The movie, which is directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman, also features a major subplot where a younger Trump is mentored and advised by New York lawyer Roy Cohn (Emmy winner and infamous Method actor Jeremy Strong), who worked for Senator Joseph McCarthy before becoming a fixer and was ultimately disbarred in the state of New York. Now, Snyder's company Kinematics, which financially backed Abbasi and Stan's movie, has to try and stand between the investor and director.

The report in Variety indicates that Dan Snyder is largely angry about the unflattering portrait of Donald Trump in "The Apprentice" because, in past U.S. elections, Snyder has financially backed the former president. Sources who spoke to the outlet say that Snyder donated "$1.1. million to his inaugural committee and Trump Victory in 2016 and $100,000 to his 2020 presidential campaign" and only backed the film via the production company Kinematics because he thought the movie would show Trump in a positive light. Apparently, Ali Abbasi and Gabriel Sherman chose to take their film in a direction that really didn't please Snyder, and tried to get Kinematics' legal team to shut down the film's release. 

In a statement provided to the outlet, Emanuel Nuñez, the president of Kinematics said, "All creative and business decisions involving 'The Apprentice' have always been and continue to be solely made by Kinematics. Mark [Rapaport, the founder and CEO] and I run our company without the involvement of any other third parties." Clearly, Snyder's efforts were for naught, as the film premiered at Cannes despite his alleged best efforts — so what specifically enraged him about "The Apprentice?"

The depiction of Donald Trump in "The Apprentice" that angered investor Dan Snyder isn't particularly flattering — and one scene in particular is causing controversy at Cannes amongst viewers as well. The scene in question? One where Trump assaults his wife Ivana, where he insults her appearance, physically overpowers, her and has sex with her without her consent, in response to her joking about a book focused on female pleasure. A different article in Variety chronicles both the divisive scene and the reaction to it, with audience members calling it "gross" and "disturbing" after leaving their screenings.

This report notes that the scene was originally even more explicit in an original draft and has actually been toned down, but the final cut of the film apparently doesn't shy away from showing a young Trump in an unflattering light. In other scenes, he receives liposuction, surgically removes a bald spot on his head, and takes amphetamines. There's also a lengthy sequence where, while Roy Cohn is suffering from complications related to AIDS, a repulsed Trump has his house deep-cleaned after a visit from Cohn. Beyond these unsettling scenes, first reviews of "The Apprentice" are trickling out from Cannes ... so what do critics think?

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Since "The Apprentice" premiered at Cannes so recently, it's still early when it comes to official critical reactions — but like audiences, they seem somewhat divided by the film. At Time Out, Philip de Semlyen praised Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong's performances, saying, "The two leads sell the odd-couple bromance. Strong has arguably the slightly easier task as the less familiar face, but he's fantastic with it... And Stan grows increasingly commanding as the film goes on." David Fear of Rolling Stone said that the director's style really helps "The Apprentice" shine, writing, "[Ali] Abbasi isn't a subtle filmmaker... Here, the blunt force works in his film's favor."

Some critics weren't fans of the film, though, like David Ehrlich at Indiewire: "Clipped from the start and increasingly uncertain of its purpose as it fumbles toward the Trump we know, this origin story certainly isn't as painful to watch as the future that it portends has been to endure, but it's every bit as banal and unnecessary." Bilge Ebiri of Vulture was similarly harsh, concluding at the end of his review, " [...] At some point we might wonder why we're spending two hours watching a movie that, as it goes on, starts to feel more and more like a fancy, vaguely arty 'Saturday Night Live' sketch that refuses to end."

"The Apprentice" doesn't have a confirmed release date as of this writing, but it'll almost certainly court more controversy whenever it does hit theaters.