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As we’ve been covering all week, Nate Parker’s attempts to “get ahead” of the stories about his past have sort of fallen flat. Parker was charged and put on trial for rape when he attended Penn State in 1999. While he was found not guilty, everything about the case is a matter of public record, and every piece of that public record is being and will continue to be disseminated in the media this year as Parker becomes the centerpiece for a major Oscar push. His film, The Birth of a Nation, already received rapturous reviews at Sundance, and most critics already have the film on their short-lists for Oscar contenders.

But, as I said, Parker’s attempts to do damage control in advance of the film’s release have actually made everything worse. Every outlet is digging through court transcripts and witness statements from 1999, and Parker’s 2016 statements are coming across as blasé, self-righteous, self-serving and narcissistic. Instead of seeming like a man who made mistakes in his past and now realizes he behaved terribly in college, he comes across like… well, like a predator who is still making excuses for his behavior. That’s just my take, and I really do believe that this was a bad week for Nate Parker and his Oscar campaign. But surprise! The Birth of a Nation is still going to a big gala premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival!

The Toronto Film Festival is standing by plans to give Nate Parker’s Sundance sensation The Birth of a Nation an international premiere next month to launch the movie’s Oscar campaign.

“TIFF is proud to help bring Birth of a Nation and the important story it tells to audiences. We will present the film as planned,” festival organizers told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday in a statement. Toronto is sticking with The Birth of a Nation after a woman at the center of a college sexual assault case involving director-writer-star Nate Parker was revealed to have died in 2012.

Parker’s Birth of a Nation became a sensation at Sundance, where it debuted and was sold to Fox Searchlight for a record $17.5 million after an all-night bidding war. Fox Searchlight plans an Oct. 7 release for Birth of a Nation, and an awards-season campaign.

[From THR]

On one side, I’m not surprised. I suspect that Nate Parker will make all of his film festival and promotional commitments and that the film itself will be well-received critically. But I also suspect there will be a giant asterisk with this film and it’s not going to get the big awards-push from the studio anymore. No one who reads any part of the victim’s statements in 1999 will want Parker anywhere near an Oscar campaign.

Photos courtesy of WENN.
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