Latest news with #Bekerman
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'The Apprentice' film about Donald Trump wins big at Canadian awards: 'He effectively forced the industry to freeze out our film'
While the team behind the film The Apprentice, starring Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump and Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, largely went home from U.S. awards shows empty handed, that wasn't the case in Canada. At the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards, the movie won five awards, Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Make-Up, Achievement in Hair, Performance in a Leading Role, Drama for Stan, and Performance in a Supporting Role, Drama for Strong. "When Donald heard about our movie, apparently he got a little freaked out and he called us some interesting words. He called us, 'human dumpster fire people' and 'human scum,'" Canadian producer Daniel Bekerman told reporters in Toronto. "But more seriously, he threatened any distributor who would dare to bring this movie out to audiences, and he effectively forced the industry to freeze out our film." "I think over the last few years, there's been so much discussion about censorship and there's people, including a particular former professor from this city, who is very upset and very mad that they can't say mean and cruel things about some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and they're calling that censorship. But I think I have had a front row scene to what actual censorship is, and that is when the most powerful people in society tell artists and ordinary people what they can and can't say about the people at the top. That's actual censorship." Bekerman said he felt a real "chill" in the industry around both the release of The Apprentice and possible support for the film. "A lot of really incredible people fought against that. Someone like Jane Fonda stood up on stage and talked about Sebastian's performance, and how valuable and important it was. That made me so happy," he said. "The experience with this movie is that institutional entertainment companies really jumped when Donald said jump, that's the truth. And so I feel that in this moment independent storytellers and using the network of international co-productions, there's a lot of fantastic independent storytellers in that network. We are now in a position of almost obligation to tell brave stories, because it's pretty clear that those are not going to be happening in say the mainstream space. So to me, this is the moment for international co-productions, and I think we can do things that no one else can do." When asked about Trump's recently implemented tariffs and the threat of additional tariffs of films made outside of the U.S., Bekerman sees that through the lens of storytelling. "My biggest lesson I feel I've learned through this whole process is the truth that I think Donald Trump is actually a genius storyteller," Bekerman said. "He has a very narrow skill set and it's about telling, not just stories in general, a specific story about himself." "It's about a man with this magical story, about a man with a golden toilet who never loses, who always wins, never ever, ever loses. And he told that for decades, and people started to believe it. Even though he's got multiple bankruptcies, he was such a good storyteller. They ignore that because he's told a compelling story about a protagonist called Donald Trump, and that, to me, is the lens I look at it through. So when he talks about tariffs, I see that as, a chapter in a book, I don't think he writes books actually, but he is trying to push people's emotional buttons. He's not trying to create policy."
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
‘The Apprentice' wins best film at Canadian Screen Awards
'The Apprentice,' a Canada-Ireland-Denmark co-production about the early years of U.S. President Donald Trump, won best motion picture at Sunday's Canadian Screen Awards. Toronto's Daniel Bekerman is the lead producer of the Ontario-shot film, which portrays how Trump honed his persona, power tactics and media savvy under the mentorship of controversial fixer Roy Cohn. The drama bested 'Universal Language,' 'Darkest Miriam,' 'Gamma Rays,' 'Village Keeper' and 'Who Do I Belong To.' The film has won five Screen Awards in total, including best performance in a lead role for Sebastian Stan's turn as Trump, and best supporting actor for Jeremy Strong's portrayal of Cohn. Back in May, Bekerman told The Canadian Press that Trump's threat to impose a 100 per cent tariff on foreign films, citing national security, felt like a veiled reference to 'The Apprentice.' Bekerman denied that his film is a national security threat but said it might instead be 'an ego security threat' for Trump. 'This is not some sort of political attack film,' Bekerman said. 'It's actually not at all what it is. It is a humanistic story about choices people make in their lives and the consequences of those choices.' Trump's team attempted to block the film's theatrical release last fall, calling it 'election interference by Hollywood elites' and threatening to file a lawsuit. This year's Canadian Screen Awards bash was hosted by Edmonton-born comedian Lisa Gilroy in Toronto, capping off a multi-day celebration of Canadian film, television and digital storytelling. The televised ceremony put a bow on three days of awards shows, where major winners included the documentary 'The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal' and Matthew Rankin's film 'Universal Language.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A Trump film tariff would send Canadian screen industry into 'chaos,' say local producers
When Daniel Bekerman set out to produce "The Apprentice" — last year's biopic about U.S. President Donald Trump — he figured some controversy might come from the subject, not the city it was filmed in. But the Toronto-shot film is now an example of the kind of international production that would be hit hardest by Trump's proposed full-scale tariff on foreign-made movies. In a social media post Sunday, Trump said he's authorized trade officials to impose a "100 per cent tariff" on all films produced outside of the United States, claiming the American movie industry is dying a "very fast death" due to the incentives other countries are offering to lure filmmakers. Many Hollywood projects are shot in Canada, where foreign-funded movies and TV shows make up about half of all output. The Canadian Media Producers Association pegs the value of foreign productions last year at $4.73 billion, creating more than 90,000 jobs. Bekerman is among several insiders who say Trump's proposed tariff on foreign-made films could send Canada's screen industry into "chaos," though most believe the plan is unlikely to ever be implemented. "The worst version of this could change the shape of the industry and my livelihood," says the Toronto-based producer and founder of Scythia Films. Still, Bekerman notes Trump has retracted several other tariff threats in recent months. "I think he's proving himself to be someone who you can't necessarily rely on what he says to be followed through on. With that level of unpredictability, the only really rational course is to hold steady, solidify all your partnerships and make sure that you're making good product that people want." Meanwhile, Noah Segal, the co-president of Canadian film distributor Elevation Pictures, says he's both 'concerned and dumbfounded' by Trump's announcement, adding he can't see any practical way the tariff could be applied. "It's getting harder and harder to make films and shows, and make them make sense so that you can release it and make money," says Segal, adding that the local industry has faced several hurdles lately, from the pandemic to the Hollywood strikes. "So I would suspect if something like this (tariff) comes along, there'd be a lessening of production and there would be a slowdown, which is never good for anybody." Segal says Trump's tariff threat underlines the importance of Bill C-11, which requires foreign streaming platforms to allocate five per cent of their Canadian revenues to a fund dedicated to supporting Canadian content. Later this month, the CRTC will hold a public hearing to help define what "Canadian content" means.
