Star Metro - Trump vows to sue over explosive biopic

NYSE - LSE

RBGPF	2.16%	75.55	$
CMSC	1.26%	23.75	$
SCS	2.42%	16.5	$
RYCEF	0.91%	14.29	$
RELX	0.52%	48.44	$
GSK	0.27%	40.19	$
NGG	-0.03%	71.41	$
RIO	2.22%	62.69	$
CMSD	1%	23.95	$
AZN	0.63%	80.97	$
BTI	-1.3%	58.51	$
BCC	7.18%	91.22	$
JRI	0.89%	13.45	$
BCE	-0.9%	25.49	$
VOD	0.5%	11.92	$
BP	1.99%	34.74	$

Trump vows to sue over explosive biopic

THINGS TO KNOW 21.05.2024

Trump vows to sue over explosive biopic / Photo: LOIC VENANCE - AFP

Donald Trump's team has vowed to sue over a biopic about his early years that includes rape, erectile dysfunction and ruthless betrayal, but the makers said on Tuesday the film allowed viewers to feel "sympathy" with the ex-president.

Text size:

"The Apprentice", which premiered Monday at the Cannes Film Festival, traces Trump's origins as an ambitious young property developer in 1970s and 1980s New York.

Sebastian Stan, best known from Marvel superhero films, stars as Trump, while Jeremy Strong of "Succession" fame plays his ruthless mentor and attorney Roy Cohn.

Both received glowing reviews from critics.

The film offers a nuanced account of Trump, depicted as an ambitious but naive social climber in the first half, before his decency is eroded as he learns the dark arts of dealmaking and power.

"Donald's team should wait to watch the movie before they start suing us," director Ali Abbasi told reporters in Cannes.

"I don't necessary think this is a movie that he would dislike... I think he would be surprised," Abbasi said.

But Trump's campaign communications director Steven Cheung said a lawsuit would be filed "to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers".

"This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalises lies that have been long debunked," added Cheung in a statement to AFP.

- 'Attack, attack, attack' -

The most controversial scene is that of Trump raping his first wife, Ivana, after she belittles him for growing fat and bald.

In real life, Ivana accused Trump of raping her during divorce proceedings but later rescinded the allegation. She died in 2022.

Abbasi was unflustered in Cannes, saying: "Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people. They don’t talk about his success rate.

"The Apprentice" premiered while Trump is on trial in Manhattan for a tawdry scandal involving a porn star.

It comes just months ahead of the US presidential election in which Trump is expected to face Joe Biden.

"We have a promotional event coming up called the US elections that is going to help us with the movie," joked Abbasi, suggesting it could be released around the second Biden-Trump debate in September.

"The Apprentice" begins with a young Trump, obsessed with joining the city's elite and dreaming of his own luxury hotel, even as he spends his days collecting rent from his father's tenants.

His life is transformed by an encounter with Cohn, whose nihilistic lessons such as "admit nothing, deny everything" and "attack, attack, attack" will become Trump's manifesto in later life.

Cohn made his name as a fearsome lawyer by hunting Communists for Senator Joseph McCarthy, and sending Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to the electric chair.

Abbasi said the film aimed at "deconstructing the mythological image" of these characters and showing them as real human beings.

"With that comes understanding. With that comes sympathy. That doesn't necessarily mean you forgive everything they did."

"The most despicable monster you can think of, the most reprehensible person in history, also liked a dog or fell for somebody or was nice to somebody at some point."

- 'Rock certain boats' -

The screenplay was written by Gabriel Sherman, a journalist who covered real estate for the New York Observer and regularly spoke to Trump.

He said the film was blocked by top Hollywood executives, and it was ultimately funded by the Canadian, Irish and Danish governments.

"We couldn't make it in the American system," Sherman said.

"Hollywood in many ways doesn't want to rock certain boats."

The film is one of 22 in competition for the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or.

A jury headed by "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig will unveil its winner on Saturday.

Asked whether it was possible for an American woman to be objective in judging a film about Trump, Gerwig said she would come to the movie with "an open mind and an open heart, and willing to be surprised".

Among the current frontrunners is "The Substance", an ultra-gory horror film about the pressures women face to maintain bodily perfection as they age.

Demi Moore has earned particular praise for her lead role.

Also earning rave reviews is "Emilia Perez", a highly audacious musical about a Mexican narco boss undergoing a sex change.

P.Lefebvre--SMC

Featured

Abasca Resources Releases Assays Confirming Multiple Intersections from its Thor Graphite Zone and Announces Resumption of In-Fill Drilling at its Loki Flake Graphite Deposit

SASKATOON, SK / ACCESS Newswire / August 25, 2025 / Abasca Resources Inc. ("Abasca" or the "Company") (TSXV:ABA) is pleased to release assay results from KLS-25-072, drilled into the Thor Graphite Zone during the winter 2025 drill program at its Loki Flake Graphite Deposit (Loki Deposit) at its 100%-owned Key Lake South (KLS) Project (Figure 1, Figure 2). The drillhole successfully intersected three zones of graphite mineralization while testing up-dip mineralization in KLS-24-046 drilled in the summer of 2024 (Figure 3). Two of the three mineralization zones having high grades, the primary zone with a total length of 40 m and average grade of 8.57 % Cg was intersected at 145 m and a second 32 m zoneat 6.43 % Cg was intersected at 347 m. The location and orientation of the drillhole is listed in Table 1 and its assay results are shown in Table 2.

Metallic Minerals Announces Additional $2 Million in Private Placement Financings

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Rio Grande Resources Announces Strategic Engagement with Existing Agency to Broaden Market Awareness and Expands Corporate Communications Team

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / August 25, 2025 / Rio Grande Resources Ltd. (CSE:RGR)(OTCQB:RGRLF) ("Rio Grande" or "RIO" the "Company"), is pleased to announce that it has entered into a strategic agreement (the "Agreement") with Existing Agency Inc ("Existing") an arms-length independent contractor, to advance the Company's branding and digital strategy initiatives. Under the engagement, Existing will be paid a fee of $4,000 per month (the "Services") effective August 25, 2025, for a six-month term unless either party provides written notice of termination to the other party sixty (60) days prior to the date of termination.

HyProMag USA Commences Stockpiling of Feedstock

LONDON, UK AND VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / August 25, 2025 / CoTec Holdings Corp. (TSXV:CTH)(OTCQB:CTHCF) ("CoTec") and Mkango Resources Ltd. (AIM/TSX-V: MKA) ("Mkango") are pleased to announce that Intelligent Lifecycle Solutions LLC ("ILS") has formally commenced its stockpiling of feedstock initiative pursuant to the recently announced feedstock supply and pre-processing site share agreement between HyProMag USA LLC ("HyProMag USA" or the "Project") and ILS. Pre-processing of the feedstock is expected to commence prior to December 31, 2025.