The producers and filmmakers behind “The Apprentice” are positioning their movie as the film that Donald Trump and corporate America don’t want you to see — and now they want your help so that more average Joes can see it. Specifically, they want your money.
Producers have launched a Kickstarter campaign in a bid to fuel the movie’s marketing, cover some anticipated legal fees, and hold more screenings. An individual with knowledge of the campaign told IndieWire a small percentage of the money raised will go to attorney fees, while the majority is going toward marketing. There are rewards for the financial support, including getting your names in the credits, getting to stream the film, or for some of the top backers, having dinner with the producers and getting invited to an eventual New York city premiere.
Generally speaking, promotion of a film mirrors the film’s production budget. “The Apprentice” was made for $16 million, according to a report in the Washington Post about the fight to get it released.
Marketing works, but it is not like we’ve never heard of “The Apprentice.” The film just had a splashy North-American premiere at Telluride, and its world premiere at Cannes was even buzzier. Ahead of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the Trump campaign issued a cease and desist to try and block the film’s release. So far it hasn’t worked.
The Kickstarter cites a New York Times opinion piece from June that presumed “The Apprentice” did not immediately land distribution (let alone wide distribution) over fears of retribution should a second Trump presidency happen. “The Apprentice” recently secured U.S. distribution — and a pre-election October 11 release date — from indie distributor Briarcliff Entertainment.
Adding to the complications around the film’s release was that it had financial backing from former Washington Commanders billionaire Dan Snyder. Snyder is firmly in the MAGA camp and was reportedly not pleased to learn how unfavorable Trump comes off in the film.
On Tuesday after the announcement of the Kickstarter, Snyder’s company Kinematics announced it was formally bought out of its stake in the film by executive producer James Shani’s company Rich Spirit, paving the way for the film’s release. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“As a writer/director, I understand the importance of supporting visionary filmmakers in the independent film space,” Kinematics founder Mark Rapaport said in a statement. “I created Kinematics based on that core principle. After reading the script, I saw great potential in ‘The Apprentice’ and committed the funding needed to get it made. Unfortunately, creative differences caused Kinematics to leave the project.”
“The Apprentice” follows Trump in the late ’70s and early ’80s as he’s being coached by Roy Cohn on his real-estate empire. (Before Cohn got pushed out.) The film stars Sebastian Stan as Trump, Jeremy Strong as Cohn, Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, Martin Donovan as Fred Trump, and Catherine McNally as Mary Anne Trump.
