- Clock ticks down on France government nomination
- 'Devastated' Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Mozambique on edge as judges rule on disputed election
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Philippines says to acquire US Typhon missile system
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 23
- Melrose Group Publicly Files Complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election
Explosive Donald Trump biopic "The Apprentice" hits US theaters Friday, with filmmakers gambling that it will draw audiences in a fiercely polarized nation just weeks before its subject's election showdown with rival Kamala Harris.
The hot-topic film about the Republican candidate's younger years has drawn legal threats from Trump's attorneys, not least for deeply unflattering scenes including a depiction of the former president raping his wife.
None of the major Hollywood studios was willing to risk distributing the polarizing movie, which is instead being released in some 1,700 North American movie theaters this weekend by indie studio Briarcliff Entertainment.
"I think it's interesting that people think this movie is controversial," said director Ali Abbasi at the film's New York premiere this week, which was attended by stars Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.
"Think about it. We're talking about a person who is actually convicted in civil court of sexual assault."
The most talked-about scene in "The Apprentice" shows Trump raping his first wife, Ivana, after she belittles him for growing overweight and bald.
In real life, Ivana accused Trump of raping her during divorce proceedings, but later rescinded the allegation. She died in 2022.
Controversy tends to raise awareness, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, "but whether that translates to people wanting to see it is a whole different thing."
"The Apprentice" is "not going to be the number one movie at the box office this weekend," he predicted.
But it can still only benefit from the timing, much like the recent successful release of another biopic, "Reagan."
"You've got to strike while the iron is hot, and right now political movies are pretty hot."
Despite the headlines, "The Apprentice" offers a nuanced view of the young Trump as an ambitious but naive social climber, desperately trying to navigate the cutthroat world of Manhattan property deals and politics.
"I really don't think we've done like a hit job on Donald Trump," Abbasi told AFP at the Cannes film festival in May, where he used a press conference to invite Trump to watch the movie before judging it.
On Wednesday, marketers hired a plane to fly a banner over a Trump rally in Pennsylvania which read "TRUMP GO SEE THE APPRENTICE FRIDAY."
Nonetheless, Trump's lawyers have vowed to sue the producers, calling the film "garbage" and "pure malicious defamation."
Its title reflects the name of NBC television show "The Apprentice," which brought Trump fame and fortune over 15 seasons beginning in 2004.
Executive producer James Shani told the New York premiere audience the film had been "especially difficult" to release, and praised Briarcliff for being the only distributor with "the balls to get us here."
"I think that says a lot about the time that we're in," he said.
O.Johnson--AMWN