Trump Unauthorized (2005) (TV)

Director:

John David Coles

Writers (WGA):

Keith Curran (teleplay)
Gwenda Blair (books)

Release Date:

24 May 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

A look at the life of real estate king/media mogul/reality TV star, Donald Trump. |

Plot Keywords:

Real Estate | Rise And Fall

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Justin Louis	...	Donald Trump
Saul Rubinek	...	Peter Wennik
Chris Potter	...	Fred Trump jr., adult
Ron McLarty	...	Fred Trump
David Lipper	...	Robert Trump
Richard Portnow	...	Mayor Ed Koch
Jennifer Baxter	...	Marla Maples
Peter MacNeill	...	Joseph Eichler
Katheryn Winnick	...	Ivana Trump
Mark Camancho	...	Rosenfeld
Peter Cockett	...	TV Producer
J.C. Kenny	...	Emma Reynolds
Noam Jenkins	...	Rod Robson
Richard McMillan	...	Der Scutt
Carolyn Scott	...	Liz

Also Known As:

Ambition (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Movie Connections:

References "The Apprentice" (2004)

For some reason I really liked this.

The Donald Trump we've all become accustomed to seeing is the one that has been carefully orchestrated on "The Apprentice" and other meticulously crafted media events that cause him to appear to be a powerful individual with numerous connections and much gravitas - kind of like the Godfather.

Anyway, the reason I mentioned this is that even though he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, in order to get where he was, the Donald had to hustle to get respect - at least that's what this movie wants us to believe.

The portrayal of how he had to continually "badger" those in higher positions to get done what he wanted to get done seems very believable. I really liked Louis' portrayal of the Donald as a brat with desperation to get respect, because this is really what everything else hinged on. He could have chosen to only take inspiration from the Apprentice and all the books where the Donald brags about his accomplishments, but instead he approaches it like a man frustrated and struggling to get noticed. Also, we get an idea of his womanizing ways from the time he marries Ivanna onward. For a made for TV movie, this was exceptionally good.

I think the only thing I'd change would have been more information into the construction of the buildings he built and all that he had to do to promote them, including the construction of Woolman arena. Oh well, it was only meant to fit into a 2 hour slot with commercials on ABC so there's only so much that could be shown in that time.