Nate Parker as Nat Turner, center, in a scene from "The Birth of a Nation" (Photo/Jahi Chikwendiu/Fox Searchlight)For Nate Parker, it's been the best of times ... and the worst of times.
In January, the former Penn State and University of Oklahoma wrestler's film "The Birth of a Nation" debuted at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the audience award and grand jury prize. Then the film Parker wrote, directed and starred in was the subject of a bidding war for distribution rights, with Fox Searchlight Pictures coming out on top with its $17.5 million bid, a Sundance record. Positive early movie reviews generated Oscar buzz. Parker was nominated to become a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization responsible for the Oscar awards.
In recent months, however, the news hasn't all been good for the 36-year-old Parker and "The Birth of a Nation." New details about a 1999 incident at Penn State have come back to haunt Parker. The movie has been the subject of numerous articles and columns beyond Hollywood/entertainment publications -- and was the subject of a number of feature segments on TV and radio, including a Anderson Cooper piece on CBS' 60 Minutes the first weekend of October -- with some individuals urging a boycott of the film just as it opened in theaters nationwide on Friday, Oct. 7.
Nate Parker, the wrestler
Long before "The Birth of a Nation", Nate Parker made a name for himself on the wrestling mat. Born in November 1979 in Norfolk, Va., Parker was introduced to wrestling as a high school sophomore. At national wrestling powerhouse Great Bridge High School, Parker claimed the 125-pound Division AAA title at the 1998 Virginia state championships, and an eighth place finish at the Junior Nationals. Parker earned a scholarship to wrestle at Penn State, and became a starter. However, Parker left the school for reasons to be discussed in-depth later.
Parker transferred to the University of Oklahoma, where he earned All-American honors by placing fifth in the 141-pound bracket at the 2002 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as a junior.
However, Parker's college wrestling career at Oklahoma ended with some controversy during his senior season, according to a recent article in the Tulsa World. He was knocked out of his starting position in his weight class by a freshman teammate. The newspaper went on to report that the Virginia native began posting more losses than wins at another weight, and was off the team two weeks later.
Jack Spates, Sooner head wrestling coach at the time, told The Oklahoman in a Jan. 15, 2003, story, "Nate Parker, by mutual agreement, is no longer with the University of Oklahoma wrestling program. ... We lost the Arizona State dual because Nate head-butted his opponent and was disqualified. We have no interest in commenting on the situation."
Parker graduated from Oklahoma with a degree in management science and information systems.
Parker's film career started when he was discovered at a modeling convention in Dallas which he attended with a friend. That led to a commercial ... then to acting roles in TV and movies. As an actor, Parker's films include Denzel Washington's "The Great Debaters", "Secret Life of Bees", and "Beyond the Lights".
The film
Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation" is based on the story of Nat Turner, a Virginia slave who led a violent slave revolt in 1831. Parker played Turner, as well as wrote the script (along with former Penn State teammate Jean Celestin), and made his directorial debut.
"Imagine my dismay," Parker told The Hollywood Reporter in January before his film premiered, "in learning (in class) that one of the greatest men to walk the soil in this country was a man who grew up and lived and breathed and fought less than 100 miles from where I grew up."
In addition to Nate Parker, other actors in "The Birth of a Nation" include Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabrielle Union, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Tony Espinosa, Jayson Warner Smith, and Jason Stuart.
The film cost $10 million to produce; Parker himself contributed approximately $100,000 of his own money to help finance it.
When Parker's film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January, the timing could not have been better. Right about the same time, nominations for the Oscar awards for films released in 2015 had been revealed. None of the actors or actresses nominated for Best Actor/Actress or Supporting Actor/Actress were of color, which generated much discussion and media coverage at the time. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite became widely used.
Before his "The Birth of a Nation" premiered at Sundance, Nate Parker told the audience, "I made this film for one reason: creating change agents." The former Nittany Lion-turned-Sooner wrestler added that getting the film made was "extremely difficult for many reasons ... the first was our subject matter: anytime we are dealing with history, specifically slavery, I found that desperately sanitized. There's a resistance, I'll say, to dealing with this material."
In accepting his awards on stage at Sundance after the showing of "The Birth of a Nation", Parker said, "An issue film succeeds when it touches people. I've seen that people are open to change."
Even if you have not been following the developments regarding Nate Parker's movie over the past year, the title may sound vaguely familiar. Just to be clear ... Parker's new film is NOT a remake -- nor related in any way -- to a 1915 epic also titled "The Birth of a Nation" -- the first feature-length (nearly three-hour) silent film in the U.S., which was written and directed by D.W. Griffith. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Griffith's 1915 silent film "focuses on two white families during the Civil War and the Ku Klux Klan's rise during Reconstruction. Much of what was portrayed in the first feature-length U.S. movie is repugnantly racist, but it changed the film business forever."
Popular national film critic Leonard Maltin, who gave the original "Birth of a Nation" four stars (out of four), included this disclaimer in his capsule review of the movie: "Sometimes the drama survives intact; other times, one must watch in a more historical perspective. Griffith's portrayal of Ku Klux Klan in heroic role has kept this film at the center of controversy to the present time."
The past comes back to haunt Parker
Through the first half of 2016, most coverage about Parker's "The Birth of a Nation" was positive. After its triumphant debut at the Sundance Film Festival, it was slated to be featured at a number of film festivals, including the American Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival.
However, an alleged incident from Parker's past became news all over again this past summer.
In 1999, while Parker was a student and wrestler at Penn State, and his roommate Jean Celestin (the co-writer of "The Birth of a Nation") were charged with raping a fellow student -- an 18-year old female -- in their apartment after a night of drinking. The woman claimed she was unconscious at the time, while Parker and Celestin maintained that the encounter was consensual. She later said that she was stalked and harassed by Parker and Celestin after she reported the incident. Both men were suspended from the Nittany Lions wrestling team; Parker transferred to University of Oklahoma.
In a 2001 trial, a jury acquitted Parker of the charges, in part because of testimony that he had consensual sex with the victim prior to the incident. Celestin was found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced to six months of prison. Celestin appealed the verdict and was granted a new trial in 2005, but the case never made it back to court after the victim decided not to testify again.
Most in the media and entertainment industry -- and the general public -- were not aware of these allegations until entertainment business publication Variety reported in mid-August 2016 of the 2012 death of the woman who had accused Nate Parker and Jean Celestin of rape back at Penn State seventeen years earlier.
The woman's older brother, Johnny (no last name was given, to honor is sister's wishes to remain anonymous), told Variety that she committed suicide and overdosed on sleeping pills four years ago. "She became detached from reality," said Johnny. "The progression was very quick and she took her life."
"(Parker) may have litigated out of any kind of situation," Johnny said. "My position is he got off on a technicality." Other family members reached by Variety declined to comment publicly.
There's no evidence that the woman's death was directly linked to the trial. She died at a drug rehabilitation facility, where she was found unresponsive by staff with two 100-count pill bottles of an over-the-counter sleep aid with ingredients similar to Benadryl by her side. "It's just a horrible life's progression," the coroner told Variety. "She was a young woman."
In court, she testified that she had attempted to kill herself twice after the reported rape. Her brother said that she suffered from depression after the incident. Her death certificate, obtained by Variety, stated that she suffered from "major depressive disorder with psychotic features, PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome] due to physical and sexual abuse, polysubstance abuse ...."
"If I were to look back at her very short life and point to one moment where I think she changed as a person, it was obviously that point," Johnny said to Variety. "The trial was pretty tough for her."
The brother told Variety that if the trial had been held today, there would have been a different verdict. "I think by today's legal standards, a lot has changed with regards to universities and the laws in sexual assault," he said. "I feel certain if this were to happen in 2016, the outcome would be different than it was. Courts are a lot stricter about this kind of thing. You don't touch someone who is so intoxicated -- period."
After the trial, the victim left college before graduating, and received a $17,500 settlement from Penn State.
In the Variety interview, Johnny said, "It's hard seeing my sister's life slowly crumble while these men are by all accounts relatively successful and thriving."
"It's been 17 years," he added. "We certainly as a family forgive them. I don't know that [the victim] would forgive them. I don't think that she would."
Johnny shared his story to Variety days after Nate Parker had conducted interviews with that publication and another where he addressed the 1999 rape allegations.
"His character should be under a microscope because of this incident," Johnny told Variety. "If you removed these two people, the project is commendable. But there's a moral and ethical stance you would expect from someone with regard to this movie."
When the Variety reporter asked Johnny if "The Birth of a Nation" should be released, he responded: "I think that's up to the people. I don't think a rapist should be celebrated. It's really a cultural decision we're making as a society to go to the theater and speak with our dollars and reward a sexual predator."
Another family member was in agreement with her brother Johnny.
"I know what she would've said," a sister named Sharon told the New York Times, "and that would be, 'I fought long and hard, it overcame me. All I can ask is any other victims to come forward, and not let this kind of tolerance to go on anymore.'" She added that her sister had believed there were other victims and had been broken by the 1999 case and its aftermath. "These guys sucked the soul and life out of her."
Apparently not all family members agree.
In a statement to The New York Times, the woman's family said: "We appreciate that after all this time, these men are being held accountable for their actions. However, we are dubious of the underlying motivations that bring this to present light after 17 years, and we will not take part in stoking its coals. While we cannot protect the victim from this media storm, we can do our best to protect her son. For that reason, we ask for privacy for our family and do not wish to comment further."
Prior to the news that Johnny's sister had died four years ago, here's how Parker addressed the Penn State situation with Variety.
"Seventeen years ago, I experienced a very painful moment in my life," Parker told Variety. "It resulted in it being litigated. I was cleared of it. That's that. Seventeen years later, I'm a filmmaker. I have a family. I have five beautiful daughters. I have a lovely wife. I get it. The reality is I can't relive 17 years ago. All I can do is be the best man I can be now."
After Variety published the interview with the alleged victim's brother Johnny, the entertainment industry publication followed up with comments from Nate Parker.
"Over the last several days, a part of my past -- my arrest, trial and acquittal on charges of sexual assault -- has become a focal point for media coverage, social media speculation and industry conversation," according to Parker. "I understand why so many are concerned and rightfully have questions. These issues of a women's right to be safe and of men and women engaging in healthy relationships are extremely important to talk about, however difficult. And more personally, as a father, a husband, a brother and man of deep faith, I understand how much confusion and pain this incident has had on so many, most importantly the young woman who was involved."
In an interview with The New York Times after Johnny's revelations to Variety, Nate Parker said, "I talked about it publicly and I never sought to hide it. It was the most painful thing I have ever had to experience. I can imagine it was painful for a lot of people."
"It's a serious issue. I get it," he said. "The reality is there is a problem on campuses in America, and violence against women is not taken seriously enough. And the dialogue and the discourse isn't loud enough. I think there's even more that can be done to educate university students, men and women. Being a father of daughters, it's important to say if something happened, to lift your voice."
He later said: "They say the oppressor is anyone who's not on the side of the oppressed. I stand firmly on the side of the oppressed."
Asked if justice had been served in the case, he replied: "I was cleared of all charges. We're talking 17 years later. We're discussing a case which was thoroughly litigated. I was cleared of everything. At some point I have to ask myself, 'How often am I willing to relive it?'"
Reactions to Parker's situation from classmates ...
Reactions to Nate Parker making "The Birth of a Nation" -- and to the news of what may have happened in 1999, and how he may have handled himself back then, and when revelations about what may have happened back at Penn State 17 years ago -- have been powerful ... and divergent.
Four Penn State alumni, who were classmates of actor and director Nate Parker, wrote an open letter in August, stating that they believe in his innocence with regards to a rape he was charged with 17 years ago, and believe that it is unfair that allegations are resurfacing just months before the release of "The Birth of a Nation."
"We are both dismayed and disappointed at the gross and blatant misinformation campaign regarding the events that took place during that time period," the group's statement said. "We feel compelled to speak truth to this situation as the media has cherry-picked the most salacious elements while ignoring the actual record."
... and reaction from Hollywood and beyond
Actress Gabrielle Union, whose character is raped in "The Birth of a Nation", said in late August, "As important and ground-breaking as this film is, I cannot take these allegations lightly."
Union was raped at gunpoint 24 years ago while at work in a shoe store.
"My compassion for victims of sexual violence is something that I cannot control. It spills out of me like an instinct rather than a choice. It pushes me to speak when I want to run away from the platform. When I am scared. Confused. Ashamed. I remember this part of myself and must reach out to anyone who will listen -- other survivors, or even potential perpetrators," said Union.
Actor and long-time activist Harry Belafonte, 89, weighed in on the controversy, saying, "It's interesting because it's coming out the same time the film's coming out. Of all the stories you can tell, why are you telling this story?" the actor asked. "And if he was somebody who had committed a crime and got away with it, but he faced the justice system."
"The fact that [the system] may have screwed up, the fact that it didn't really take care of justice, the fact that he should have been punished or whatever, is history," Belafonte said. "The fact is that he was confronted and then he did go through the process. Why are you bringing this up now? What has he done that requires this kind of animus?"
Belafonte continued: "How do I put it in a perspective that helps me with greater clarity understand why this is the consequence of something he's done by getting this high-profile, 'cause this film is touching a lot of consciousness. Why isn't that the story?"
Oscar-winning actress Patricia Arquette is someone who has spoken out on issues of gender equality. When asked by TheWrap.com about Nate Parker, she responded, "It's very hard because the film tells a very important story and it needs to be told."
She added that Parker's situation was "a very sad story and a horrible story," she said. "I really just wish something good could come of this. How do we talk to young people going to college, how do we really deal with this in a healing way? I don't mean the specific situation [with Parker]. This situation [of rape] plays out all the time. How are we going to stop it?"
Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said that the personal history of Nate Parker should not dissuade people from seeing "The Birth of a Nation."
"The important thing is for people to see it and enjoy the film, be impressed by the film," she said. "People need to see this movie ... Just by the conversation that has gone on at Sundance, it's clearly a movie that filmgoers should go and see."
Not everyone in Hollywood agrees with Boone Isaacs.
Los Angeles street artist Sabo has produced posters reminiscent of those promoting "The Birth of a Nation" which feature Nate Parker's face with the word "Rapist?" in the same typeface used on the actual movie posters.
"I wouldn't normally do something like this but [Parker] pissed me off right off the bat with the trailer and the poster," Sabo told TheWrap.com, explaining his motivation to create and post his provocative poster.
The original movie poster features an image of Parker as Nat Turner, with a noose around his neck made of the American flag.
"I find it very offensive someone is using the flag as a noose," said Sabo, a Texas-born artist who has been associated with right-leaning politics. He recently produced artwork to promote Dinesh D'Souza's anti-Clinton documentary "Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party."
Others outside of Hollywood have announced they will not be seeing the film.
Among them is Roxane Gray, a Purdue University professor, who wrote the following in The New York Times in late August:
"I cannot separate the art and the artist, just as I cannot separate my blackness and my continuing desire for more representation of the black experience in film from my womanhood, my feminism, my own history of sexual violence, my humanity.
"'The Birth of a Nation' is being billed as an important movie -- something we must see, a story that demands to be heard. I have not yet seen the movie, and now I won't. Just as I cannot compartmentalize the various markers of my identity, I cannot value a movie, no matter how good or 'important' it might be, over the dignity of a woman whose story should be seen as just as important, a woman who is no longer alive to speak for herself, or benefit from any measure of justice. No amount of empathy could make that possible."
Some film critics weigh in
Justin Chang, film critic for Variety, opened his review of "The Birth of a Nation" with this paragraph:
"It speaks to his ambition that the writer, director, producer and actor Nate Parker chose to title his slavery drama "The Birth of a Nation" though the film would be a significant achievement by any name. Arriving more than a century after D.W. Griffith's epic lit up the screen with racist images forever destined to rankle and provoke, this powerfully confrontational account of Nat Turner's life and the slave rebellion he led in 1831 seeks to purify and reclaim a motion-picture medium that has only just begun to treat America's "peculiar institution" with anything like the honesty it deserves. If "12 Years a Slave" felt like a breakthrough on that score, then Parker's more conventionally told but still searingly impressive debut feature pushes the conversation further still: A biographical drama steeped equally in grace and horror, it builds to a brutal finale that will stir deep emotion and inevitable unease. But the film is perhaps even more accomplished as a theological provocation, one that grapples fearlessly with the intense spiritual convictions that drove Turner to do what he had previously considered unthinkable.
Brian Truitt of USA Today served up a glowing review: "(Nat Turner) has his story told in brutal, unrelenting yet masterful fashion by director/star Nate Parker in "The Birth of a Nation" (four stars out of four), which chronicles a violent uprising of slaves in 1831 Virginia. While it has been overshadowed off-screen by past rape allegations surrounding Parker, the drama isn't an easy watch, either from the standpoint of tortured blacks or in their white owners' climactic comeuppance. Still, Parker crafts the narrative in a way that immerses audiences in the heartbreaking though redemptive emotional journey of the conflicted main character."
The website Digg.com -- an aggregator for movie reviews -- provided a variety of film critics' comments on "The Birth of a Nation".
The critic for TheVerge.com wrote, "'Birth of a Nation' is built around Parker's tremendous performance: his careful navigation of his household's specific racial boundaries, the love and joy that marks his personal life, and his gradual awakening to the larger realities of the slave existence. The film is at its most powerful when it's relying primarily on Parker's charisma and presence."
"And despite its efforts to simplify and italicize the story, it's admirably difficult, raising thorny questions about ends and means, justice and mercy, and the legacy of racism that lies at the root of our national identity," according to The New York Times.
The Seattle Times wrote, "It's part of the strength of Parker's film that the current controversy doesn't entirely overshadow its impact -- and that "Birth of a Nation" immediately becomes part of another crucial conversation, about race."
The Los Angeles Times' film critic was not as positive. "This lack of subtlety is most evident in the characterizations, especially those of the film's almost invariably clichéd and morally bankrupt white people. Even if these overwhelmingly sadistic, perfidious folks are historically accurate, they do not make for dramatically effective characters."
Opening weekend box office performance
"The Birth of a Nation", which opened in 2,105 theaters nationwide on Friday, October 7, generated ticket sales of $7.1 million in its first weekend. The movie placed sixth in terms of box office, behind another new release, "The Woman on the Train" (which debuted at No. 1), and some films which had already been in theaters.
"The Birth of a Nation" performed best in theaters in New York City, Atlanta, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Some Hollywood business experts think that Hurricane Matthew may have had a negative impact on ticket sales in the southeastern U.S.
Moviegoers and film critics nationwide generally provided favorable feedback. The movie review aggregator website RottenTomatoes.com tallied 79% of reviews which offered positive reviews for "The Birth of a Nation." In addition, the film received an "A" CinemaScore from audiences. Some stats about the audience: 60% of filmgoers were older than age 25, with 50% of the audience being African-American while 40% the audience was white.
When "The Birth of a Nation" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January 2016, some attendees declared the film to be an early Oscar contender. Subsequent revelations may have an impact on potential award nominations ... as well as the film's financial success. Only time will tell.
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