It’s been ten years since Nate Parker was “cancelled” by the industry at large for a past 1999 sexual assault allegation.
If you remember, in 2016, Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” was the toast of the town at the Sundance Film Festival when it was purchased by Fox Searchlight for a record-breaking $17.5 million. Oscar buzz surrounded the film, and then everything fell apart when past rape accusations from 1999, for which he had been acquitted, were brought back against Parker.
Parker would eventually try to defend himself, telling Deadline that he did not want to “not relive that period of his life” as a consequence of his success, and openly avoided questions asked by journalists at an infamous TIFF press conference that I had covered for The Playlist. “The Birth of a Nation” was ultimately doomed, its glowing reviews replaced with mixed ones upon release, and its Oscar chances all but completely nixed.
Parker attempted a comeback in 2019 at the Venice Film Festival with “American Skin.” Spike Lee was in attendance at the screening, supporting Parker and telling the audience that we need to “move forward.” Critics, however, did not like the movie at all, with scathing reviews to its name. The film never hit theaters in the US.
Hey, but guess what? Parker has now been given yet another chance; he shot “Newborn” in 2020, starring David Oyelowo, and despite the film being in the can for nearly six years, it is finally coming out.
“Newborn,” written and directed by Parker, has found domestic release with an exclusive partner. Oyelowo and Parker are teaming with AMC and have lined up an April 10th theatrical bow exclusively with AMC Theatres.
The dystopian psychological thriller follows “Chris Newborn (Oyelowo), who, after serving seven years in solitary confinement, seeks to rebuild his life and reconnect with his family, only to find that freedom has become a terrifying psychological battleground.” Below is a first-look image (via Deadline).
According to Parker and Oyelowo, their Mansa Productions company has raised $12M in seed funding to make the AMC partnership happen.
Lars Von Trier is working on the 15th—and likely final—film of his career, “After,” and according to his producer, Peter Aalbæk Jensen, the screenplay is supposed to be completed this month