Former President Donald Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter on Friday to the filmmakers behind an upcoming biopic that chronicles his life during his rise to prominence in the New York real estate business. 

The movie, written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abbasi, is titled “The Apprentice,” the same name as Mr. Trump’s hit TV series that ran from 2004 to 2015.

“It is a concoction of lies that repeatedly defames President Trump and constitutes direct foreign interference in America’s elections,” the letter said of the new movie. “If you do not immediately cease and desist all distribution and marketing of this libelous farce, we will be forced to pursue all appropriate legal remedies.”

The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday to an 11-minute standing ovation, depicts Mr. Trump’s rise in the 1970s and 1980s and his relationship with Roy Cohn, a notorious New York lawyer with connections to organized crime. 

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” actor Sebastian Stan plays the younger version of Mr. Trump, while “Succession” star Jeremy Strong portrays Mr. Cohn.

“The Apprentice” revisits several chapters from Mr. Trump’s early years, including his writing of the bestselling book “The Art of the Deal.” One scene depicts Mr. Trump raping his first wife, Ivana Trump, played by “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” star Maria Bakalova. 

Mr. Trump has vehemently denied that he sexually assaulted his ex-wife, who died in 2022 and alleged in her divorce deposition from 1989 that he raped her, but later retracted her claim. 

“The film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president,” the producers of the film told Variety. “We want everyone to see it and then decide.”

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the campaign planned to bring the film to court, panning “The Apprentice” as “pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have long been debunked.” 

Mr. Cheung added in the statement, “As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked.”

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.