The making of trump biography films

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“Biography: The Trump Dynasty” draws from first-hand accounts and never-before-seen archival footage to examine the life and heritage of the 45th President of the United States. As part of the award-winning Biography series, the documentary spans three generations of the Trump family saga and offers an in-depth exploration of the influences that shaped Donald Trump’s personality, celebrity, and ambition in business and politics.

From the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s to the origins of a New York real-estate empire, the documentary provides an all-encompassing view of the Trump family that has rarely been seen. The series delves into Donald Trump’s childhood in Queens, his risky move into the world of Manhattan real estate and the creation of a landmark residential skyscraper on Fifth Avenue, his notoriety as a best-selling author and reality television star, and the lead up to his 2016 presidential campaign.

“Biography: The Trump Dynasty” features sit-down interviews with a full range of subjects to provide insights into the Trump family and their legacy. Subjects include:

Kurt Andersen , Author, Fantasyland

Ken Auletta, Journalist and Author, Writer The New Yorker

Charles Bagli, Reporter, The New York Times

Richard Behar, Contributing Editor of Investigations, Forbes Magazine

Jake Bernstein, Author, Secrecy World *

Gwenda Blair, Author, The Trumps

Marie Brenner, Writer-at-Large, Vanity Fair

Tina Brown, Former Editor, Vanity Fair; Author, The Vanity Fair Diaries

Nina Burleigh, Author, Golden Handcuffs: The Secret History of Trump’s Women

Louis Calomaris, Classmate, The Wharton School

Thomas Campanella, Urban Historian

David Cay Johnston, Investigative Reporter

Connie Chung, News Anchor

David Corn, Author, Russian Roulette

Ann Coulter, Political Commentator

Michael D’Antonio, Author, The Truth About Trump

Adam Davidson, Staff Writer, The New Yorker

Donny Deutsch, Media Personality

Michael Diehl

Biographical film about Donald Trump

The Apprentice is a 2024 independentbiographicaldrama film that examines Donald Trump's career as a real estate businessman in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, including his relationship with attorney Roy Cohn. Directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman, the film stars Sebastian Stan as Trump, Jeremy Strong as Cohn, Martin Donovan as Trump's father Fred, and Maria Bakalova as Trump's first wife, Ivana.

An international co-production between Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the United States, the film was announced in May 2018, but languished until Abbasi, Stan, and Strong joined in 2023. After premiering at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2024, and despite impressing the critics, sparking an eight-minute standing ovation at Cannes, and "feverish media attention" the film struggled to find American distribution due to its subject matter and an attempt by Trump's legal team to block its release.Briarcliff Entertainment eventually bought the rights, and theatrically released it on October 11, 2024. The film grossed $17 million on a $16 million budget.

The film received praise from critics for its acting, directing, and editing; Trump, meanwhile, described it as a "defamatory, politically disgusting hatchet job" intended to harm his ultimately successful 2024 presidential campaign. For their performances, Stan and Strong each received nominations at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTAs for Best Actor and Supporting Actor respectively, with Strong also earning a SAG Award nomination.

Plot

In 1973, a young Donald Trump, after pointing out various wealthy people to his date, meets Roy Cohn, a contentious lawyer known for prosecuting the Rosenbergs, at a New York City social club. Trump complains that the federal government is investigating his real-estate mogul father, Fred Trump, fo

Before his first election to president of the United States, Donald Trump had produced and hosted reality TV shows The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice from 2004 to 2015. He also made dozens of cameo appearances in films, television series, and advertisements since the 1980s. He won the Worst Supporting Actor award at the 11th Golden Raspberry Awards for Ghosts Can't Do It in 1990, as well as awards for Worst Actor and Worst Screen Combo at the 39th Golden Raspberry Awards for his roles in the documentary films Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9 in 2019.

Appearances by Trump

Main article: Media career of Donald Trump

Film

Television

Video

Trump has appeared in three VHS tapes released by Playboy. He did not appear in any scenes containing nudity or sexual content.

Music videos

See also: Donald Trump in music

In 1989, Trump appeared in the music video for Bobby Brown's single "On Our Own", which was featured in the movie Ghostbusters II. In 1991, Trump originally made an appearance in the music video for Precious Metal's cover of Jean Knight's song, "Mr. Big Stuff". However, Trump wanted a $250,000 payment instead of the agreed-upon $10,000 appearance fee. After the band refused to pay for his appearance, Trump was replaced in the final version of the music video.

Advertising

Trump has also appeared in a number of television commercials for Pizza Hut. The first of these commercials aired in the United States in 1995, and featured him and his ex-wife Ivana promoting Stuffed Crust pizzas. The second of these commercials aired in the Australian market in 2000, and was for large 'New Yorker' pizzas the chain was promoting at the time. In 2002, Trump appeared in three McDonald's commercials featuring Grimace.

Other brands that Trump appeared in commercials for includ