EXCLUSIVE: Ali Abbasi, director of the Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice, has parted ways with his U.S. reps at CAA and Entertainment 360, Deadline has learned.
We’re told there is an ugly backstory here, reminiscent of the kinds of things Abbasi’s screen subject Trump has been accused of. Events unfolded at CAA’s Golden Globes afterparty, where, sources said, an inebriated Abbasi aggressively groped an A-list, CAA-repped actor. Sources told Deadline that in the aftermath, the agency braced the filmmaker and demanded an apology to the actor. Still, others close to the filmmaker told us he was explicitly advised by CAA not to be in contact with the actor to apologize.
It is not entirely clear who discharged whom, but it happened on January 27 but we’ve confirmed that Abbasi is now solely repped by LARK in the UK.
The filmmaker is also no longer working with PR firm The Lede Company, though it appears his contract simply expired after the release of The Apprentice, which drew Oscar nominations for Sebastian Stan for his role as a young Donald Trump and Jeremy Strong for his portrayal of Roy Cohn, the polarizing lawyer who became the mentor for the young wannabe real estate mogul. We’re told Abbasi is no longer with law firm Granderson Des Rochers; sources close to the filmmaker said that’s unrelated to these latest events. The law firm hasn’t returned request for comment.
Abbasi hasn’t yet responded yet to a request for comment on the groping allegation, but when we originally reached the filmmaker for comment on the situation with his reps, he said the following: “I can confirm that I’ve made the decision to move in a new direction with my career. I’m grateful for the work CAA and Entertainment 360 have done, particularly their commitment to The Apprentice, which remains a project I’m incredibly proud of. I look forward to announcing my next steps at the appropriate time.”
We will update this story if and when a secondary statement comes in.
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