James Shani, who is an executive producer on the Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” that debuted at Cannes earlier this year, is leading the group that will buy out Dan Snyder’s stake in the controversial film directed by Ali Abbasi, TheWrap has exclusively learned. The move will pave the way for the film to secure U.S. distribution after Snyder, a staunch conservative, wanted out of the movie.
According to insiders, the producers and Snyder are working to settle in the $6 million-$7 million range, and if there is no agreement this week, the film’s producers are confident in their own legal recourse to give the film a path towards release.
The $7 million is coming from existing individual investors including Shani and Scythia Productions. Upon settlement, the producers will enter into a distribution agreement with Tom Ortenberg’s Briarcliff Entertainment targeting a wide release before the election.
Negotiations to buy out Snyder’s stake have been ongoing since Cannes. The buyout gives Ali Abbasi creative control of the film.
The film, starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, had languished without a U.S. distribution deal since debuting in May at the Cannes Film Festival to strong reviews. Snyder wanted out of the film — he was not among those who read the script and did not know how the project would portray Trump. The film features a much-discussed recreation sequence where Trump rapes his former wife Ivana (she later recanted the allegation). Snyder donated more than $1 million to Trump and his inaugural committee in 2016 and $100,000 to his 2020 reelection campaign.
CAA and WME jointly represent US sales and are in a rare moment of collaboration brokering the settlement.
Reps for the filmmakers did not immediately respond to The Wrap’s request for comment.
Shani previously came on board to produce the project which needed additional financing to finish principal photography.
“The Apprentice” was written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abbasi. It takes a look into the the life and career of Trump (Stan) while working as a New York real estate during the 1970s and the ’80s. He was supported at the time by lawyer Roy Cohn (Strong). The cast also includes Maria Bakalova as Ivana and Martin Donovan as Trump’s father, Fred Trump.
Briarcliff Entertainment is run by Tom Ortenberg, who oversaw “The Dissident,” about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, another film that Hollywood was afraid to distribute. Ortenberg also distributed “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Spotlight,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and “Nightcrawler.” The company is eyeing a wide theatrical release in the fall before the presidential election in November and is currently discussing dates.
