The Trump Movie (Probably) Isn't Being Censored
A response to Michelle Goldberg's New York Times column: out now in The Spectator
“If it got rave reviews, then a streaming service would probably have taken a bet on The Apprentice, but “mixed” isn’t enough, and it’s not likely to be in the Oscars conversation. And even that isn’t a guarantee these days.
Small Things Like These is Cillian Murphy’s first film since Oppenheimer and struggled to get US distribution; and The Outrun and La Concina are two of the leading 2025 Oscar contenders, and neither have US distribution yet.
…
The Apprentice then is yet another adult-focused, dark, prestigious indie drama that’s struggling to get US distribution; but much like its leading character, it’s getting attention by falsely crying, “I’m being censored, the game is rigged.”
Trump’s doing it to turn out his base. The producers of The Apprentice seem to be doing it in hopes that a streaming service will see distribution as a sign of their support for artistic courage, so hand them a fat check.”
Out now in The Spectator: my response to Michelle Goldberg’s Friday New York Times piece, “The Chilling Reason You May Never See the New Trump Movie.” Read it now!