Fox Searchlight
Fox Searchlight

It’s the talk of the web today, and maybe water-cooler chatter at the office too – Nate Parker’s sit-down with Anderson Cooper on “60 Minutes” which aired on CBS last night.

The conversation covered not only the film – the Oscar buzzy “The Birth of a Nation” – but also, as you’d expect, the uproar over the now widely-discussed incident in Parker’s past. There’s also an interesting supplement that features Cooper speaking with descendants from both sides (Turner’s and the family that owned Turner) about the slave rebellion, debating the question of whether he, Nat Turner, should be considered a hero?

Both videos follow at the bottom of this post.

Parker wrote, directed and also stars in the film, “The Birth of a Nation,” playing Nat Turner – a film set against the antebellum South, telling the story of Turner, a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. After witnessing countless atrocities against fellow slaves, Nat devises a plan to lead his people to freedom.

Joining Parker in front of the camera are Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Gabrielle Union, Mark Boone Jr. and more.

Fox Searchlight will open the film (which is still on my 2017 Oscar predictions list despite the controversy surrounding it) this Friday, October 7, 2016.

Below, first watch Anderson Cooper’s “60 Minutes” interview with Nate Parker, and then watch the discussion between the descendants:


NOTE: If the videos below don’t show or play for you (there seems to be some consistency issue) CLICK HERE to watch them on CBS’ website until the problem is fixed.