In a new clip from The Apprentice, Ali Abbasi’s biopic on the rise of Donald Trump, Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) coaches the aspiring tycoon (portrayed by Sebastian Stan) on speaking with the press.
“Hi Judy, this is Donald Trump. Very excited, very excited to talk to you,” says Trump over the phone. “Be excited, be excited!,” whispers an exasperated Cohn, sitting next to Trump in a taxi. When asked by the reporter what he would like to do next, Trump explains that he intends to “acquire the Commodore” and is planning to turn it into “the best and the finest building in the city — and maybe the country.”
Cohn asks him to build up his plans for the building even more, appearing content with his mentee’s answer when Trump responds in his now-signature exaggerated remarks that the building is going to be “the best in the world; it’s going to be spectacular.”
When the reporter points out that Trump’s plan sounds “very ambitious” and asks about the source of his drive, he responds that he’s “got flare” and is “smart.” Cohn then advises Trump to tone it down. Unhappy with Trump’s additional answers, Cohn grabs the phone and tells the reporter they’ll have to do the rest of the interview in person.
“Sorry, Roy,” says a defeated Trump. “Uh, no. I mean, listen, it’s your life,” responds Cohn. “You’ve got a ways to go but, uhh … you’re learning.”
Following its premiere at Cannes, The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney writes in his review that the film “reveals most of all is the extent to which the toxicity that’s now an inescapable part of our contemporary reality was shaped by the unholy alliance between two men half a century ago.”
The official synopsis for the film reads, “A young Donald Trump eager to make his name as a hungry scion of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of Roy Cohn, the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protégé —someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.”
The Apprentice hits theaters on Oct. 11.
