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Actor Jeremy Strong has said Donald Trump calling those involved with his new film The Apprentice “human scum” is “all the more reason” cinemagoers should go and see it.

Ahead of the UK release of the biopic which depicts the presidential candidate’s rise as a New York property developer back in the 1970s, Strong told Sky News: “We all knew we were playing with fire getting involved with [this], but it also felt just supremely important and meaningful to try and understand and tell the story about how Donald Trump became who he is now.”

While Marvel actor Sebastian Stan plays Mr Trump, the Succession star plays notorious lawyer Roy Cohn, a mentor of sorts to Mr Trump, whom it’s claimed taught him power plays like denying everything and to “attack, attack, attack”.

Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn
Image:
Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn

“As a film I think it stands on its own but there are also things in it that I think a lot of the American public certainly don’t know about and, because of the stakes right now, it would behove everyone to become informed about where this is all coming from and how we got here,” Strong insisted.

Co-written by Vanity Fair journalist Gabriel Sherman who has penned biographies on both Mr Trump and Mr Cohn, not only does the film show the former president having cosmetic surgery and popping diet pills – most controversially it depicts him raping his first wife Ivana.

An incident based on an assault that was detailed in her divorce deposition – a claim she recanted years later.

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Sebastian Stan as Trump
Image:
Sebastian Stan as Mr Trump

After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival at the start of this year, lawyers for Mr Trump unsuccessfully filed a cease and desist notice to the team behind the film.

This week, in a 1am rant on his Truth Social app on Monday, Mr Trump called the film “FAKE and CLASSLESS”.

Referring to those involved as “human scum”, he hit out at the timing of the movie’s release, calling the film a “cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job” aimed at thwarting his re-election attempts.

“I feel very proud of being part of this film,” Strong said.

Jeremy Strong (left) as Roy Cohn and Sebastian Stan (right) as Donald Trump in the new film
Image:
Jeremy Strong (left) as Roy Cohn and Sebastian Stan (right) as Donald Trump in the new film

“It’s also unsettling to be kind of, you know, at the sharp end of the spear and intersecting with history and politics in this moment… for Trump to call us ‘human scum’ is a heavy thing but also, to me, the fact that he felt compelled to do that is just all the more reason why I think it’s essential for people to see it.”

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Strong claims Mr Trump’s early morning post is exactly what his character Mr Cohn would advise, “always attack, deny everything and never admit defeat”.

Strong explained: “The veracity of the film, that he’s attacking us, once you start to see the playbook and you realise what these tactics are, you see that it permeates literally everything that [Mr Trump] does.”

The Apprentice is released in the UK & Ireland on 18 October.

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Angelina Jolie on her legacy, family and new film Maria

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Angelina Jolie on her legacy, family and new film Maria

Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.

The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.

Pic: StudioCanal
Image:
Pic: StudioCanal

She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.

Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.

“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”

The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.

Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.

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Who was Maria Callas?

Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.

After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.

Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.

Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.

She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.

Pic: StudioCanal
Image:
Pic: StudioCanal

Jolie on changing motivations as an actor

Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.

Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.

“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.

“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.

“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.

Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
Image:
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP

A family affair

Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.

She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.

“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.

“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”

She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”

Maria is in cinemas now.

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Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in the duo Sam & Dave, dies

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Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in the duo Sam & Dave, dies

Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man and other 1960s hits in the legendary Sam & Dave duo, has died aged 89.

Moore, who influenced musicians including Michael Jackson, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen, died on Friday in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications while recovering from surgery, his publicist Jeremy Westby said.

No additional details were immediately available.

Moore was inducted with Dave Prater into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

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Tom Holland and Zendaya’s engagement confirmed by Spider-Man actor’s dad

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Tom Holland and Zendaya's engagement confirmed by Spider-Man actor's dad

Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.

Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.

Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.

He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.

“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”

“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.

Zendaya arrives at the 82nd Golden Globes.
Pic: Invision/AP
Image:
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP

Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.

Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.

In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.

He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”

“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”

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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.

Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.

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