
courtesy of Fox Searchlight
Fox Searchlight is closing a record-breaking deal to acquire worldwide rights to Nate Parker’s “Birth of a Nation” for $17.5 million, an individual with knowledge of the situation has told TheWrap, which first reported Fox Searchlight’s whopping bid.
The sum is believed to be the most paid for any film in Sundance history, and reflects a bidding war driven by deep-pocketed streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon.
The deal calls for a wide release from Fox Searchlight, which has proven it can handle racially-charged dramas, having released Best Picture winner “12 Years a Slave.”
“Birth of a Nation” received multiple standing ovations during its debut at the Eccles during the Sundance Film Festival on Monday and could be an awards contender next year.
WME Global handled the bidding war, which also included the Weinstein Company, Sony and Netflix. The latter offered $20 million to outbid all of the traditional distributors. In the end, the filmmakers took less money, but went with a proven entity — indie powerhouse Fox Searchlight.
“Birth of a Nation” arrives at a time when Hollywood is eager to embrace an empowering story from a promising director of color, coming on the heels of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy that ignited due to a lack of diversity among this year’s Oscar nominees.
“Birth of a Nation” stars Parker as Nat Turner, who led a 48-hour slave rebellion against his white masters. Armie Hammer and Aja Naomi King co-star alongside Jackie Earle Haley and Jayson Warner Smith.
Catch our exclusive interview with Nate Parker below:
Sundance 2016: Photos from TheWrap's Portrait Studio Presented by KIA (Photos)
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Ellen Page / Actress / "Tallulah"
Photos by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Markees Christmas / Actor / "Morris From America"
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Carla Juri / Actress / "Morris From America"
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Craig Robinson / Actor / "Morris From America"
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Craig Robinson & Markees Christmas / Actors / "Morris From America"
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Abigail Spencer / Actress / "Rectify"
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Abigail Spencer / Actress / "Rectify"
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Abigail Spencer / Actress / "Rectify"
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Ant Timpson, Tim League / Producers / "The Greasy Strangler"
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, Elijah Wood / Producers / "The Greasy Strangler"
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Danny DeVito / Actor / "Wiener-Dog"
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Danny DeVito / Actor / "Wiener-Dog"
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Gus Halper / Actor / "Goat"
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Gus Halper / Actor / "Goat"
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Gus Halper / Actor / "Goat"
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Gus Halper / Actor / "Goat"
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Ben Schnetzer / Actor / "Goat"
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Nick Jonas / Actor / "Goat"
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Nick Jonas / Actor / "Goat"
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Austin Lyon, Nick Jonas, Gus Halper, Danny Flaherty, Jake Picking, Brock Yurich, Ben Schnetzer / Actors / "Goat"
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Nick Jonas & Ben Schnetzer / Actors / "Goat"
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Riley Keough / Actress / “Lovesong,” "The Girlfriend Experience"
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John Legend / Producer / “Underground”
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John Legend, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Alano Miller, Jessica De Gouw, Aldis Hodge / Producer & Cast / “Underground”
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Aldis Hodge / Actor / “Underground”
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Emma Greenwell / Actress / “Love and Friendship”
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Timothy Simons / Actor / "Christine"
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Michael C. Hall / Actor / “Christine”
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Michael C. Hall / Actor / “Christine”
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Andre Hyland / Director & Writer / “The 4th”
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AnnaLynne McCord / Actress / “Trash Fire”
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Adrian Grenier, Angela Trimbur, AnnaLynne McCord, Richard Bates Jr. / Cast and Director/Writer / “Trash Fire”
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Matt Ross / Director/Writer / “Captain Fantastic”
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Viggo Mortensen / Actor / “Captain Fantastic”
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Rob Zombie / Director, Producer, & Writer / “31”
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Rob and Sheri Moon Zombie / Writer, Director and Actress / "31"
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Daniel Radcliffe / Actor / “Swiss Army Man”
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Norman Lear / Subject / “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You”
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Anderson Cooper / Journalist & Subject / “Nothing Left Unsaid”
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Lily-Rose Melody Depp / Actress / “Yoga Hosers”
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Lily-Rose Depp / Actress / "Yoga Hosers"
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Austin Butler / Actor / “Yoga Hosers”
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Spike Lee / Director / “Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall”
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Natasha Lyonne / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Chloë Sevigny / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Chloë Sevigny / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Chloë Sevigny / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Chloë Sevigny / Actress / “Antibirth”
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Jenny Slate / Actress / “Joshy”
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Jenni Konner, Lena Dunham, & Jason Benjamin / Producers & Director / “Suited”
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Katie Couric / Producer / “Under the Gun”
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Photos by Corina Marie Howell
Jena Malone, Riley Keough, So Yong Kim, Ryan Eggold / Actresses, Director/Writer/Editor, & Actor / “Lovesong”
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Nate Parker / Actor / "The Birth of a Nation"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Sarah Gadon / Actress / "Indignation"
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Sarah Gadon / Actress / "Indignation"
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Clea DuVall / Director / "The Intervention"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Amy Seimetz / Actress / "The Girlfriend Experience"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Kyle Chandler / Actor / "Manchester By the Sea"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Thomas Middleditch / Actor / "Joshy"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Lucas Hedges / Actor / "Manchester By the Sea"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Kevin Smith / Writer & Director / "Yoga Hosers"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Harley Quinn Smith / Actress / "Yoga Hosers"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Alison Brie / Actress / "Joshy"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Jena Malone / Actress / “Lovesong”
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Mary Stuart Masterson / Actress / "As You Are"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Justin Long / Actor / "Yoga Hosers"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell
Austin Lyon / Actor / "Goat"
Sundance 2016: Ellen Page, Craig Robinson, Nick Jonas, Abigail Spencer and Danny DeVito are among the stars who sit for our camera
Ellen Page / Actress / "Tallulah"
Photos by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap