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The story of how a young Donald Trump started his real estate business in the 1970s and 1980s in New York City with the help of famed attorney Roy Cohn. Roger Stone, a longtime associate of Donald Trump and Roy M. Cohn, agreed that Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Cohn was “astonishing in its accuracy.” [trailer clip] Roy Cohn: The Third Rule: No Matter What, Claim Victory and Never Admit Defeat. Featured on The 7PM Project: Episode 11 October 2024 (2024). Anti Anti AntiMade by Consumers Licensed by Domino Publishing Company Limited (PRS) obo In The Red RecordingsWritten by Paul B. CutlerPublished by BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited.. Greetings again from the dark. Many questions remain unanswered, but one thing is clear… Donald Trump was not “born”; this way. Ali Abbasi directs a script by journalist Gabriel Sherman (Vanity Fair, New York Magazine) that aims to explain the journey of the man who would become president. The two separate parts of the film are split between the 1970s and then the 1980s, and the first part is infinitely more interesting and better presented. Sebastian Stan is best known as Bucky Barnes in the Marvel universe, but here he captures an essence of Donald Trump that many don’t recognize. In the 1970s, Donald was vice president of his father’s real estate development company, and his big dreams were constantly dashed either by an overbearing father or by a system that left no room for vision. This was a young Trump (in his twenties) who was told he looked like matinee idol Robert Redford and was a fool for trying to save Manhattan from the wreckage of decadence it had become. In fact, Trump deserves credit for at least dreaming of rebuilding a city on the brink of bankruptcy. Donald’s life (and the movie) accelerates when former prosecutor Roy Cohn (the remarkable Jeremy Strong, “Succession”) invites him to the table. Cohn previously served as the infamous attorney for Senator Joseph McCarthy and as lead prosecutor in the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. By 1970, Cohn was the ultimate fixer and one of the most powerful lawyers in the country. We watch as he mentors, trains and advises the young Trump, instilling in him his three rules: 1. Attack. Attack. Attack. 2. Concede nothing. Deny everything. 3. Claim victory, never admit defeat. These are the foundations of “the art of the trade,” and beyond that… how to be a businessman and a ruthless person. An awkward first meeting made for a mentorship that was truly fascinating to watch on screen. Cohn pushes the eager Trump to become the shark he needs to be, while his father Fred Trump (Martin Donovan) fights him every step of the way. Stan and Strong are mesmerizing in this first hour. Stan captures Trump’s familiar body language (slumped shoulders and pinned-back hair), while Strong mesmerizes with a steely gaze. Trump mixes with powerful men like Rupert Murdoch, George Steinbrenner, and even Andy Warhol (whom he unwittingly asks if he’s “made it”), then becomes attached to Ivana (the brilliant Maria Bakalova) and eventually marries her. It’s the scene before the wedding that shifts the film. We flash back to the 1980s and see an arrogant Donald Trump ignoring Cohn’s advice to slow down and reconsider the Atlantic City casino and hotel. Of course, time will prove Cohn right, but so far Trump isn’t listening to anyone. An unethical approach to business dealings and his flamboyant taste in everything from furniture to cufflinks are evident at this point. His treatment of his family is also becoming apparent – not only with Ivana, but also with her brother Freddy (Charlie Carrick), whom the father calls “an embarrassment”; family because he’s a commercial airline pilot and not a greedy capitalist in a family business.