Nat Turner Lives Skywriter Brith of a Nation

Lunchtime hikers at Runyon Canyon and executives in nearby Burbank, California, were greeted with a message in the sky above the Los Angeles area on Wednesday: “Nat Turner Lives.”

It’s likely no coincidence that Fox Searchlight’s controversial awards hopeful “The Birth of a Nation” opens in limited release on Friday — and the message might serve to underscore the film’s true purpose.

A 17-year-old rape case in which director, writer, producer and star Nate Parker was acquitted has largely stolen the spotlight from the slave-rebellion film — which tells of Nat Turner’s pre-Civil War uprising and brought this year’s Sundance Film Festival to its feet before it was sold to Searchlight for a historic $17.5 million.

Also Read: 'Birth of a Nation' Star Gabrielle Union Confronts Race, Rape and Then Some

Representatives for the studio and Parker did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on their potential involvement in the skywriting. “Nat Turner Lives” has appeared on one-sheet posters for the film, spray painted over images of the 1915 D.W. Griffith film that was also called “The Birth of a Nation” and is known for its blatant racism.

Throughout promotion of the movie, Parker said he refused to “hijack” the attention that it deserved with details of his own personal life. His cast, such as “Birth” co-star Penelope Ann Miller, agreed with the sentiment.

“This is the Nat Turner story not the Nate Parker story,” the actress said defiantly at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

77 Eye-Popping Portraits From TheWrap's Toronto Film Festival Studio (Exclusive Photos)

Actor Gael García Bernal, "Neruda"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actors Gael García Bernal and Luis Gnecco, "Neruda"

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Actor Luis Gnecco, "Neruda"

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Director Pablo Larraín and actor Gael García Bernal, "Neruda"

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Actress Holly Hunter, "Strange Weather"

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Actor Rami Malek, "Buster's Mal Heart"

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Director Sarah Adina Smith and actor Rami Malek, "Buster's Mal Heart"

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Director Sarah Adina Smith, "Buster's Mal Heart"

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Director Ben Younger and actors Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart, "Bleed for This"

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Actor Hisham Fageeh, "Barakah Meets Barakah"

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Actor Fatima Al Banawi, "Barakah Meets Barakah"

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Director Mahmoud Sabbagh and Actors Hisham Fageeh and Fatima Al Banawi, "Barakah Meets Barakah"

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Director Mahmoud Sabbagh, "Barakah Meets Barakah"

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Director Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester by the Sea"

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Actress Angela Sarafyan, "The Promise"

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Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, "The Promise"

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Actor Marwan Kenzari, "The Promise"

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Actor Jarkko Lahti and Director Juho Kuosmanen, "The Happiest Day in the Life of Ali Maki"

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Actress Sônia Braga, "Aquarius"

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Director Kleber Mendonça Filho and actress Sônia Braga, "Aquarius"

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Actor Ryan Gosling and director Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"

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Director Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"

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Actress Riley Keough, "American Honey"

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Actress Sasha Lane, "American Honey"

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Actors Raymond Coalson, Sasha Lane, Riley Keough and McCaul Lombardi "American Honey"

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Director Morgan Spurlock, "Rats"

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Director Morgan Spurlock and Producer "Rats"

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Producer Jeremy Chilnick, "Rats"

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Director Chan-Wook Park, "The Handmaiden"

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Director Adam Leon and actors Grace Van Patten, Michal Vondel and Callum Turner, "Tramps"

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Actress Grace Van Patten, "Tramps"

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Actor Callum Turner, "Tramps"

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Actor Michal Vondel, "Tramps"

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Director Adam Leon, "Tramps"

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Director Claude Barras, "My Life As A Zucchini"

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Director and actor Nick Cannon, "King of the Dancehall"

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Actress Natalie Portman, "Planetarium" and "Jackie"

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Actress Natalie Portman, "Planetarium" and "Jackie"

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Actress Lily-Rose Depp, "Planetarium"

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Actor Emmanuel Salinger, "Planetarium"

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Director Rebecca Zlotowski, "Planetarium"

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Director Rebecca Zlotowski with actors Natalie Portman, Emmanuel Salinger and Lily-Rose Depp, "Planetarium"

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Actors Kathryn Hahn, Gaby Hoffman, Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass with creator Jill Soloway, "Transparent"

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Actor Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"

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Actress Gaby Hoffman, "Transparent"

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Actor Jay Duplass, "Transparent"

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Actress Amy Landecker, "Transparent"

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Actress Kathryn Hahn, "Transparent"

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Creator Jill Soloway, "Transparent"

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Actress Isabelle Huppert and director Mia Hansen-Løve, "Things to Come"

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Actress Isabelle Huppert, "Things to Come"

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Director-producer Fisher Stevens, "Before the Flood"

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Actor and director Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Actor and director Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Actor and director Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Actor and director Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Jennifer Connelly, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Jennifer Connelly, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Jennifer Connelly, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Uzo Aduba, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Uzo Aduba, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Dakota Fanning, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Dakota Fanning, "American Pastoral"

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Actors Uzo Aduba, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning and Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Actors Uzo Aduba, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning and Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Producers Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Fan BingBing and Director Xiaogang Feng, "I Am Not Madame Bovary"

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Director Xiaogang Feng and actress Fan Bingbing, "I Am Not Madame Bovary"

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Actors Guo Tao, Dong Chengpeng, director Xiaogang Feng and actress Fan Bingbing, "I Am Not Madame Bovary"

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Director Oliver Stone, "Snowden"

Also Read: ‘Snowden’ Toronto Review: Oliver Stone Plays It Aesthetically Safe

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Director Oliver Stone, "Snowden"

Also Read: ‘Snowden’ Director Oliver Stone Accuses Modern Hollywood of ‘McCarthy Era’ Self-Censorship (Exclusive Video)

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Director Oliver Stone, "Snowden"

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Actor David Oyelowo, "United Kingdom"

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Actor David Oyelowo, "United Kingdom"

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Director Amma Asante and actor David Oyelowo, "United Kingdom"

Also Read: ‘A United Kingdom’ Review: David Oyelowo Drama Is a Ho-Hum Crowd Pleaser

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Director Amma Asante, "United Kingdom"

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Director Amma Asante, "United Kingdom"

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