nate parker likely never could have imagined would resurface 17 years later. writer and a director and a star of the acclaimed movie "birth of a nation." but he was charged with rape back in 1999. and he was acquitted. so the movie comes out in october but the public's perception and reception is in question right now. will the public go see it? some critics are angry. some venues are canceling screenings. jean casarez takes a close look at this controversy. >> what do you think you're doing, boy. >> reporter: from the moment nate parker's film premiered at sundance film festival, the picture has been met with critical acclaim. the historical account starring parker who led a slavery revolt in 1831 won big honors at this year's film festival. invested a record $17.5 million for distribution rights. "birth of a nation" was on its way to blockbuster success. that is until this. parker, the writer, director and star of this film, rated r in part because of violence was formally accused of a violent act himself in 1999. rape. sexually assaulting a young woman that

nate parker and gene julia parker spoke with cbs affiliate wtaj in 2002 after she dropped out of penn state. >> i'm in my hometown and i can't go anywhere alone without being fearful. >> reporter: in a facebook post, nate parker said he was devastated and filled with profound soror and just learned that julia parker ended her own life several years ago. >> submit yourself to your masters. >> reporter: parker's film "the birth of a nation" about an save rebellion has been considered a contender for an academy award. fox search light which paid more than $17 million to acquire the film said of parker on wednesday he was found innocent and cleared of all charges. we stand behind nate and are proud to bring this important and powerful story to the screen. >> we are in unprecedented territory here where a star and producer and director is the face of the movie is facing very serious allegations. says the next six months will be a challenge for nate parker. >> can he sustain a story in these interviews and explain questions that people have about the case and in the interviews in a way that

>> reporter: from the moment nate parker's film "birth of a nation" premiered, the picture has been met >> reporter: the accounts staring parker as nat turner who led a slavery revolt in 1831, won big honors at this year's film festival. fox search light then invested a record $17.5 million for distribution rights. "birth of a nation" was on its way to blockbuster success. that is, until this. parker, the writer, director and star of this film, rated r in part because of violence, was formally accused of a violent act himself in 1999. rape. sexually assaulting a young woman that he knew while a student at penn state university. parker was arrested and charged with multiple offenses. his roommate at the time jean cell less teen now co-author with parker was charged with sexually assaulting the young woman at the same time. according to legal documents, parker harassed the accuser during the time before trial. parker was found not guilty on all charges. in 2012, the woman who accused parker and celestine committed suicide and the future of the movie is in question, with showings being can

nate parker is starring in "the birth of a nation." a film he produced, directed, and developed with gene selestin. the two men were r state university. in 1999 a woman accused him of raping her while on a night out. >> i won't go out by myself or shopping alone. >> reporter: the woman anonymous at the time and now identified as julia parker claim both men had sex with her after she passed out. nate parker and gene selestin affiliate wtaj in 2002 after she dropped out of penn state. >> i'm in my hometown and i can't go anywhere alone without being fearful. >> reporter: in a facebook post, nate parker said he was devastated and filled with profound soror and just learned that julia parker ended her own life several years ago. >> submit yourself to your masters. >> reporter: parker's film "the birth of a nation" about an 1831 save rebellion has been considered a contender for an academy award. fox search light which paid more than $17 million to acquire the film said of parker on wednesday he was found innocent and cleared of all charges

i'll talk live with the writer who got the exclusive interview with nate parker.h, ge il and industrial. so it's indigital. digidustrial. indigenous. shhhh... let's go with digital industrial. for now. digidustrial. yeah. or, digital industrial. ein street-legal form.g lexus performance get great offers at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. get up to $5,000 customer cash on select 2016 models. ends september 5th. see your lexus dealer. it takes a lot of work... but i really love it.s. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost® to get the nutrition that i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all wi a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon. stay strong. stay active with boost®. >>> welcome back. nate parker, the director and star of the upcoming film "the birth of a nation" speaking out. as his film sold for record $17.5 million this yea

a year when hollywood's troubles with diversity have been well-chronicled, actor and director nate parker'sbirth of a nation" promised to be a breakthrough. but parker's own tangled pastan has changed the conversation. jeffrey brown has the story. >> brown: "the birth of a >> brown: "the birth of a nation" tells the story of nat turner, who led a bloody slave, rebellion in virginia in 1831. >> the lord has spoken to me, visions of what's to come. a rise of good against evil. >> what are we gonna do? >> we'll fight. once it begins, our brothers and sisters will join.er and we'll number in the hundreds, thousands even. >> brown: 36-year-old nate parker wrote, directed and starred in the movie, which first wowed audiences last january at the sundance film festival. parker spoke of his motivation. >> people asked me who i wanted to be like, i'd say nat turner. about two years ago, i steppedt away from acting and said, the next film i'm involved with will be "the birth of a nation." >> brown: the movie won then. "audience award" and the "grandh jury prize" at sundance. fox searchlight bought its

now nate parker's "birth of a nation" won't play tonight at the film institute.d. it's all because of some comments recently made by parker when he was talking about his acquittal in a past rape case. joining me now, jean casarez who has more. this came as a surprise to a lot of people and completely derailed the film. >> a lot of people in his corner saying why now, it doesn't make sense. the film doesn't have its premi premiere nationally until october. the focus is on the background of the star nate parker. >> what you think you're doing, boy? >> from the moment nate parker's film premiered at this year's sundance film festival, the picture has been met with critical acclaim. but historical accounts starring parker as nate turner who led a slavery revolt in 1831 was big honors at this year's film festival. fox search light then invested a record $17.5 million for distribution rights. birth of a nation was on its way to blockbuster success. that is until this. parker, the writer, director and star of this film, rated rnc edn part because of violence, was accuse

amid controversy about its di new details are emerging about the acquittal of nate parker in a 2001 rape trial, including the subsequent suicide of his accuser. the american film institute said more discussion is needed about the various issues raised before the movie is shown. >>> "the new york times" reports that bans of a full body garment are causing confrontations they are asking them to disrobe or leave or pay fines. they are seen as religious symbols in france and may not be worn in public. >>> the "star tribune" reports that the minnesota home of prince could soon become a museum. the singer's sister said prince always planned to offer tours of paisley park. officials in the minneapolis suburb, where it's located, must okay the plan to open the estate in october. >>> still to come, slow motion crash. the world's longest aircraft is damadu foundation. a body without proper foot support can mean pain. the dr. scholl's kiosk maps your feet and recommends our custom fit orthotic to stabilize your foundation and relieve foot, knee, or lower-back pain from being on your feet. dr. schol

. >>> actor and director nate parker speaking out again in the wake of controversy surrounding a 1999im and a college roommate. parker, who was a student at penn state, was charged with rape at the time and he was acquitted. his accuser committed suicide in 2012. now renewed interest in that rape case has overshadowed the upcoming release of his critically acclaimed film "birth of a nation." after what some say were his insensitive comments to the controversy. in an "ebony" magazine interview, parker talks about what he says is to blame for his comments. this is a question from "ebony," have you thought about her, the alleged victim, in this incident over the last 17 years? >> no, i had not. i hadn't thought about it at all. "ebony" that's going to come off as very privileged. nate parker, it is, listen to me when i say i'm understanding that i'm dealing with a problem like an addition. also from nate park, just like you can be addicted to white supremacy and all the benefits, you can be addicted to male privilege and all of the benefits that comes from it. so let's talk about that. t

liberty mutual insurance. >>> nate parker breaks his silence.ducer and writer of the sundance film which captures the slave revolt of 1831 led by nat turner and now he's speaking about an insuran incident in his own past in 1999. he was charged with raping an 8 18-year-old student. parker was cleared in trial a couple of years later and his roommate's sentence was overturned. parker is opening up in an exclusive one-on-one interview with ebony's britney danielle. this happened 17 years ago and you wrote in your piece, "to paraphrase tyra banks, we were all rooting for him." what happened? >> the optics became incredibly awkward. what happened was this rape allegation, which has been around as he stated before in his wikipedia page, most people didn't pay attention to it until the sundance year, the film became a juggerknot and an oscar contender. i think before this, people were rooting for him. this is coming off the heels of oscar so white so even a lot of studio people and academy people were probably hoping that, you know, this -- >> would b

supposed by the american film institute this friday, followed by a q & a with writer/director/star nate parker - but now that's been cancelled. it was going to be the first big public forum for parker and his film since he started facing questions again about a rape accusation years ago - he was acquitted but many still think his behavior was highly sketchy. and sad news - the terminally ill british star wars fans who pushed to see star wars: rogue one early, has died. 36 year old neil hanvey got to see the film on saturday, and his wife says he died on monday. the hashtag rogueonewish was retweeted by fans, including mark hamill himself, in an effort to get hanvey a special screening. and that's what's happeninihlywood, jason nathans, abc news, los angeles football is back and that means so is friday night lights live coverage. muscatine heads to kingston stadium to take on cedar rapids kennedy. coverage starts at 7 kcrg 9.2 and kcrg.com. keeping your i-r-a on the right side of the i-r-s is always a smart plan. our financial expert will guide us through new laws... making the best plan forwar

. >> so, this story iss absolutely insane.ns nate parker who you know fromnof films like the great debaters's under fire.erf let me catch you guys up ons this real fast.th he's the star and director of a new movie called birth of nation which is the storys the about the nat turner slave revolt. it was at sundance in januaryan and considered a major oscar contender.nt now fox search light paid pai $17.5 million for this film. fi. it's the largest amount ever paid at a sundance filmda film festival for a movie but all the attention now has draggedn up parts of his past. he might fever forget.er f back in 1999 he and a friendrien who is also the movie's writer'i were accused of raping a woman n and parker had a sexualexual relationship and history withryh her in the past.t. now, case went to trial. t parker was acquitted but the other guy who the co-writer ofhe the film was convicted.ed the case came back into thek in spotlight a couple weeks ago wee when the woman's brother gave an interview to variety, thevari woman that was involved in thedn rape suffered years afterred ar allegations and s

the film's director and star nate parker accused of and acquitted of raping a fellow penn state studentn 2012 that woman committed suicide. tonight's screening would have mark the first time parker has appeared in public since the case resurfaced two weeks ago. controversy has dogged the movie which is considered an oscar contender. other screenings have also been canceled. birth of a nation set to be released in theaters in october. it tells the story of the slavery volt led by matt turner. >> south african judge dismiss a appeal by prosecutors for a harsher sentence by oscar pistorius. he was found guilty of murder for killing his girlfriend in 2013. the judge said the state's appeal to extent the six year sentence had small chance of success. prosecutors maintain the sentence was shockly light at the time and that the judge should have used a 15-year minimum as a starting point. pistorius shot and killed 29 yeared reeva steenkamp in the early morning hours of valentine's day back in 2013. claimed he thought she was an intruder. >>> francis high court over turns a ban on so called bur

o nate parker under fire if youe y know him you know him from thehe great debators, non-stop and redctor of a new film called cl birth of a nation.at now this tells the story of that -- nat turner slavery voltv let me catch up to speed hereedr the film was massive heat at sun dance, fox search light studios paid $17.5 million for the filml the largest in sun dance historo the film considered to be a massive oscar contender but alla the attention dragged up partsp of his past. probably prefers not to pfers remember. back in 1999 parker an friendn e also the film's co writer wereer accused of of raping a womanom parker had sexual history with.. the case went to trial.rial parker was quitted and the otheo guy was convicted.cted. the case which has been known kn for years recently came backam into the spotlight because the t rape victim's brother gave an a interview to variety explainingi the woman suffered for yearsfora after her allegations and eventually took her own live.wn. now she took her own life in in 2012 but parker wasn't aware ofo this information until last wek week. parker

. >>> plus, breaking his silence, actor and director nate parker, opening up as a resurrected rape chargecquitted of hovers over the release of his new movie, "birth of a nation." what parker says about male privilege, so-called toxic masculinity and the treatment of women in an exclusive interview with "ebony" magazine.