‘Birth of a Nation’ Still Scheduled For October Release Despite Controversy
Fox Searchlight’s awards season plans for The Birth of a Nation have grown increasingly complicated in recent weeks, as reports surfaced revealing that the director and star of the historical drama has a troubled history of his own. Although details of Nate Parker’s alleged involvement and subsequent acquittal in a 1999 sexual assault was available to the public (it’s on his Wikipedia page) before the studio acquired the rights to distribute the Sundance hit, it was only recently that the case became a point of controversy. Despite all of this, according to Fox Searchlight, their plans to release the film in October have not changed.