Summary The 1980s-styled parody stars an almost unrecognizable Depp in heavy makeup.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Donald Trump s outlandish campaign claims -- and hair -- are a regular gift to late-night comedy writers. But now Hollywood is getting in on the game with a spoof biopic starring Johnny Depp unveiled after the billionaire s triumph in the New Hampshire primary.
The satirical website Funny or Die began streaming the faux documentary the morning after Trump s resounding victory Tuesday night placed him firmly back atop the Republican field of White House contenders.
Kept secret during production, "Funny or Die Presents Donald Trump s The Art of the Deal: The Movie" is presented as a long-lost celluloid treasure written and directed decades ago by the real estate magnate himself.
The 1980s-styled parody stars an almost unrecognizable Depp in heavy makeup including trademark comb-over, set to music by the era s soundtrack star Kenny Loggins whose credits include "Top Gun" and "Footloose."
The tycoon-turned-politician says at the opening that at the age of 10, he saw he saw a photo that changed his life: a child standing in front of the Taj Mahal, India s famous mausoleum.
"So I vowed that day to buy my own Taj Mahal," he says. "Thirty years later, I got my chance. This one was even classier because it was a casino and it was in a place way more beautiful than India: New Jersey."
At the movie s outset, a narrator -- played by director Ron Howard -- presents the 50-minute film as a televised adaptation of Trump s bestselling book "The Art of the Deal," published in 1987.
Trump s character at one point claims "The Art of the Deal" to be the world s second best-selling book of all time after the Bible, "which required 12 guys write, and you know what? It s boring!"
Originally set to air in September 1988, Howard-the-narrator says, the prime-time special was bumped after a football game went into overtime. A furious Trump pulled the program and vowed never to air it again.
Howard tells viewers he came upon a videotape copy last summer in a Phoenix, Arizona yard sale.
Funny or Die, whose co-founders include the actor Will Ferrell and actor-director Adam McKay -- in the running for a best picture Oscar laster this month for his film "The Big Short" -- has reeled in well-known stars to feature in its productions.
The Trump parody cast also includes Alfred Molina, Henry Winkler and Michaela Watkins -- from the Fox sitcom "New Girl" -- as Ivana Trump.
