Chris Schulz: entertainment commentator on Donald Trump pushing back against 'The Apprentice'

A new biographical drama film based on Donald Trump's early years has arrived in theatres weeks ahead of the election - and the Republican nominee is less than pleased.

Trump's team has threatened to sue director Ali Abbasi in a bid to delay the wide release of The Apprentice after it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Entertainment commentator describes The Apprentice as 'a super-villain origin story' - exploring the early years of the former real estate mogul and his pursuit of power. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
And joining me now we have Chris Schultz talking entertainment.
Good to have you with us, Thank you, thank you
for stepping in. I have to start with this because
I'm really keen to hear your thoughts on this. A
new film has been released, I think, quite quietly here
in New Zealand. I've seen quite a lot of press
and articles about it in the US. It's called The Apprentice,

(00:35):
and this is the film that Donald Trump wanted banned.
Tell me about it.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Yeah, he is not happy about this film being released
so close to the US election. We're just four weeks
out from that hotly contested election. This, I think once
you've seen the film The Apprentice, you'll understand why he
doesn't want it ed. It is very controversial. It's kind
of like a super villain origin story. They go right

(01:01):
back to Donald Trump's beginnings when he was kind of
all my human like, he was kind of normal. He
was this sort of real estate want to be in
New York who had dreams of opening a hotel. And
this is all about that time. What sort of encouraged
him to and the people around him who influenced him
to become what he is today. So that person is

(01:25):
Roy Kine, the lawyer played here by Jeremy Strong, who
is sensational. There's going to be an Oscar nomination almost
certainly for Jeremy Strong in this role. He is he's
taken that succession look, and he's gaunt, and he's intense.
He's kind of terrifying.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Actually, it's interesting because there was an article where I
caught my attention was on the New York Times, and
of course, in nineteen eighty seven, Donald Trump released a
book called The Art of the Deal, and the ghost
writer of it did an article after watching the film
just kind of going, Okay, they've taken some creative license,

(02:02):
but the tone and kind of the whole vibe of
it is absolutely right.

Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah. Yeah, all of that is in the film. So
you see those interviews taking place, and you see Donald
Trump revealing his kind of three really warped rules for living,
like you know, deny everything and never admit defeat and
all of it, like a win every time, all this
kind of stuff. But that's what's fascinating, you know. Sebastian
Stan the guy who plays Donald Trump gives us an

(02:29):
incredible performance because he he morphs over it. He's got
the walk, he's got the hair. But then over the
course of the film he gets that accent, he gets
the jutted out chin and the personal lips, and it
just slowly felters in and by the end of the
film you kind of see Trump becoming Trump.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
No what I mean, no, soe, you might need to
hunt that one out. But it is screening in cinemas now.
Summer music festival kind of period has started. I've got
I've got my name down for early tickets to Laneway.
I don't know if Lameways aimed at people my age,
you know, middle aged woman wandering around, but I'm pretty

(03:08):
excited about the lineup.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
My ten year old daughter is also excited, and I
had to break the news to it, and she's sixteen.
There were tears. She was very upset. Your Charlie XCX's
headlining Glameway.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
And that's probably the draw card for me, for everyone.

Speaker 3 (03:22):
That is probably the biggest headliner we have coming this summer.
She has owned this year. I mean even Karmala Harris
has been name dropping her big album, The skytowers lit
up on Thursday.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Green.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
She's kind of everywhere, but she does have a bit
of a summer to save. It's been a little bit
of a rough start. We had listening last weekend that
reporters said was marred by fights and alcoholism, and that's
interesting in this.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
My eighteen year old went and he had last but
I think he was more focused on the music. I
didn't hear a huge amount about that.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
It's definitely the age group listener. But then just yesterday
Eden Festival also had problems that two headliners, Buster Rhymes
and mcguel, dropped out in the days leading up to it.
Festival goers, we're calling for refunds. Yeah, a lot of
a lot of a lot of troubling starts there.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, which isn't good because when you buy a ticket,
you having an expectation as to what you're going to get,
and the reality of it now is actually we're buying
an advance, but you don't on the day when you
turn up, not tinly sure what kind of experience you
might have.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
It's a complicated festival market at the moment. A lot
of headlining acts just touring themselves. They can make more
money playing their own shows a spark arena or in stadiums.
So to get those headliners, you're choosing from a very
small talent pole at the moment, and I guess that's
what you're seeing, like festival organizers really trying to get
these names in that aren't as big as they used.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
To be, looking really quickly. John too Good is one
of my favorite New Zealand musicians, and he's got a
new solo album out.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
Yeah, well you pictured John too Good right, and it's
on top of a set of speaker's shirt off guitar
and hands.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
Live performers in the world I reckon absolutely.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah, He's doing a bit of a different tour at
the moment. It's all behind his new album, Last of
the Lonely Gods. It's gentle, it's melodic, it's acoustics, it's
really quite lovely. He thinks it's the best material he's
ever written, and I kind of agree. If you want
to know about his past, you can go. He's done
a lot of interviews about the trauma that this album
is about, but basically had really intense tonight. This and

(05:25):
these gentle songs helped heal it. And so that's what
you can see. It's just him, guitar and a stool,
and he's doing like the biggest nationwide tour I think
I've ever seen, nineteen dates. He's playing like far flung places.
So if you live in a small town or a
big city, he's almost certainly coming to you.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
No, I'm very looking forward to sort of diving into
that name of the album, Last of the Lonely Goal.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
It sounds like a metal album, right Like that does
sound like a rock album, but it's not. It's totally not.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
Okay, I love it.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
Chris. Good to have you with us.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
We'll talk next week.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen
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