Donald Trump’s campaign team announced earlier this week that it would take legal action against the filmmakers behind the Cannes hit. The Apprentice, and now the former Celebrity Apprentice The host team has made its first attempt.
While the Ali Abbasi-directed film is seeking a distribution deal to be shown in the US, the former president’s lawyers have sent a cease-and-desist letter to the producers to The Apprentice to be seen by anyone in the States.
“The film presents itself as a truthful biography of Mr. Trump, but nothing could be further from the truth,” says the May 22 letter to Abbasi and screenwriter Gabriel Sherman (who is accused at one point of making “racist, Marxist and otherwise derogatory statements about President Trump” in 2018).
“It is a concoction of lies that repeatedly defames President Trump and represents direct foreign interference in the American election,” the three-page letter continues. “If you do not immediately cease the distribution and marketing of this defamatory farce, we will be forced to pursue all appropriate legal remedies.”
“You have until May 27, 2024, to respond with your agreement to promptly comply with this request,” concludes the letter from the Dhillon Law Group of Alexandra, VA. “President Trump reserves all rights.”
“The film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president,” the producers said today in response to the letter and in a nod to Fox News’ old motto. “We want everyone to see it and then form their own opinion.”
The cease and desist declaration was first reported by Diversity.
Long-time Trump supporters can tell you that the much-impeached former and current candidate often threatens to sue critics and rivals, but rarely follows through. This time, it could be Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova and Succession Veterinarian Jeremy Strong with film of The art of the deal The author’s rise in the 1970s and 1980s under the guidance of the unscrupulous Roy Cohn.
However, a cease and desist order is little more than a warning shot across the bow of a potential defendant and means little without an actual lawsuit being filed.
A fact that Abbasi himself acknowledged at a press conference on 21 May, the day after The Apprentice‘s debut. “Everyone talks about him suing a lot of people, they don’t talk about his success rate [with those lawsuits]“, the filmmaker told the assembled media.
It covers a number of sordid situations from Trump’s time in the New York real estate industry, including a highly publicized sexual assault on his then-wife Ivana (played by Borate Alaun Bakalova), which was written by Sherman The Apprentice received an 11-minute standing ovation after its premiere. Outside the theater, the film was generally praised by critics.
Nevertheless, there was some concern among filmmakers about potential legal issues ahead of the festival, but there was hope and expectation within the industry that a US deal for the film could be reached in the days following the screening.
We know there was domestic interest in the film, but things have gone quiet on that front, suggesting buyers may be paused by legal saber-rattling from Trump and former NFL team owner Dan Snyder, who put money into the film. The Apprentice through production company Kinetics. A streamer house has been touted by many as a possible destination for the film. A buyer will wonder if all publicity is good publicity, especially in an election year? Or is this topic and the threat of litigation just too hot to handle?
The latter could increasingly become the prevailing sentiment among industry observers the longer one waits for a buyer.
The project was shrouded in secrecy for years leading up to its premiere at Cannes, and the filmmakers struggled to keep the press from announcing cast or contracts as they attempted to make the film without drawing attention to themselves, likely due to the controversial subject matter.
After a riotous and slightly explosive rally in the Bronx yesterday (where attendance was once again over the top), Trump himself is returning to court in Manhattan to hear closing arguments in his hush-money criminal trial. The case, and Trump’s fate, will be presented to the jury after the lawyers have delivered their opinions.
Anthony D’Alessandro contributed to this report.