How the NFL's 'worst' owner ever blocked a film showing 'rapist' Trump

The billionaire former owner of the Washington Commanders is blocking the release of a film biography about Donald Trump in which the former president is portrayed as a rapist.

Dan Snyder, once called the worst franchise owner in the NFL, may be able to The Apprentice is coming to theaters thanks to a bizarre twist: he helped finance the film.

The Apprentice portrays the young Trump and his unstoppable rise in New York, where he is tutored and advised by the amoral lawyer Roy Cohn. In the film, Trump, played by Sebastian Stan, is shown seemingly raping his first wife Ivana – an accusation she made during their divorce and later denied.

The film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, where Daily Beast critic Esther Zuckerman called Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Cohn Oscar-worthy.

But the fate of the film rests in Snyder’s hands, who, according to Trumpworld sources, is acting on his own initiative to prevent the film’s release. The sources were “thrilled” by Snyder’s act of deference to his fellow billionaire.

“Of course, anything that portrays Trump negatively will not go down well,” said a Trumpworld strategist.

The Ultimate Trump Relationship You Won’t See in The Apprentice

Snyder, who did not respond to a request for comment, is not directly involved in the film’s production. He owns a financial stake in his son-in-law Mark Rapaport’s production company, Kinematics, which was the film’s primary financier, essentially giving the billionaire veto power over a U.S. distribution deal.

Now he is doing just that: preventing the film from signing a deal with Briarcliff, an independent distributor that has previously released films such as Fahrenheit 9/11 And HeadlightsMatthew Belloni of Puck News was the first to report on his maneuvers.

The billionaire saw a cut of the film before it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and, according to Puck and diversity.

Trumpworld sources who spoke to The Daily Beast said Snyder currently holds no special status in the former president’s orbit, but they see the move as a way for the billionaire to curry favor with them should Trump emerge victorious in November.

Snyder has donated to Trump before — but only in the six-figure range, not an amount that usually interests the former president — making him a good fit for the former president’s kitchen cabinet of billionaire pals. As the turbulent owner of the Commanders, the NFL franchise formerly known as the Washington Redskins, he was accused of fostering a toxic culture in which sexual harassment and workplace discrimination were rampant. It was so bad that the NFL launched its own special investigation.

Following the investigation and a further 14-month review by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which uncovered Snyder’s “misleading” statements and accused him of paying “hush money” to silence accusers, he sold the team in 2023 for $6.05 billion – the highest sale ever by a global sports franchise.

The scandalous Trump film in Cannes could be an Oscar contender (really!)

Even though he is not one of the major billionaires involved in Trump’s vice presidential campaign and other campaign machinations, Snyder may have still found a way to ingratiate himself with the 45th president.

Another factor that The Apprentice The target of scorn in Trump’s world is screenwriter and longtime reporter Gabriel Sherman, who previously wrote a biography of the late Fox News founder Roger Ailes. Sherman declined to comment.

Some close to Trump have tried to downplay the impact such a film could have in an election year, although director Ali Abbasi has indicated that he would like to see the film released in theaters.

“This is not Barbenheimer,” said another Trumpworld strategist, who asked to remain anonymous so he could speak openly. “The idea that a film could have any influence on the 2024 election is ridiculous.” The anonymity shows how nervous people in Trump’s circle are that he feels attacked by the film.

This is not the first time that Trump has been extraordinarily thin-skinned when it comes to his portrayal in books; it is also the first semi-fictional film or television series about him.

Abbasi secured deals to show the film in the UK and Ireland before the Cannes premiere, reported the Hollywood Reporteris now in a race against time to reach its target date before November.

The intention to portray Trump as a rapist – and amphetamine user – as a kind of October surprise is likely to draw comparisons with that of 2020. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, whose creator and lead actor Sacha Baron Cohen insisted that the film be released before the presidential election. Whether it moved any votes was unclear, but the scene in which Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani lies on a bed with his hands down his pants, talking to someone he thinks is a young girl, became a symbol of the state of Trump’s inner circle.

This time, Trump apparently hopes that the American public will not see another film that raises questions about him and his choice of legal advisor.

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