“How will Nate Parker’s 17-year-old rape case affect the awards chances for ‘The Birth of a Nation’?” is not a question that should be asked at this point.
But it is being asked, because in some circles in Hollywood (and yes, in this column) everything is viewed through the lens of movie awards, as trivial as that undoubtedly is when you’re talking about serious real-life issues.
The decision on the part of Parker and Fox Searchlight to speak publicly about the charges right now to Hollywood trade papers was itself a clear campaign stratagem: an attempt to deal with the issue before the heat of awards season, to try to put it behind them before Parker takes his movie to the Toronto International Film Festival next month, meets the press and then wades into the long slog of awards season.