One wonders how last year’s Oscar race would’ve played out differently if it had unfolded in the current, post-Harvey Weinstein climate. As Hollywood continues to unpack the endemic problem of sexism and assault found in all reaches of the industry, it’s making many reconsider how those who have been accused are treated, and the double standards that are in place.
During last year’s awards run, Nate Parker was initially seen as a frontrunner for multiple Oscar nominations in major categories with “The Birth Of A Nation.” The film was a Sundance darling, with Fox Searchlight paying a whopping $17.5 million for the picture. It was slated to be their Oscar player until details of Parker’s 1999 rape allegation came to light. The writer, director, and star of “The Birth Of A Nation” quickly hit the press circuit, doing interviews with “60 Minutes,” “Good Morning America” and “The Steve Harvey Show” to face the past head-on. However, he did himself no favors by blaming his age and wayward youth for putting him into the situation. He also blamed the media for reporting it but stopped short of apologizing for what happened. Needless to say, the Oscar chances for “The Birth Of A Nation” evaporated and Parker hasn’t really been heard from since.
Meanwhile, Casey Affleck went on an awards run for his performance in “Manchester By The Sea,” even as details of his settlement with the producer and cinematographer of his mockumentary “I’m Still Here” emerged, revealing allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. While Parker faced intense media scrutiny, Affleck skated by, going on to win an Oscar, and he’s since lined up a handful of projects — in short, his career has been unscathed.
The double standard is not lost on Armie Hammer, who co-starred in “The Birth Of A Nation,” and he reveals his complicated feelings about it all to THR:
The timing of the headlines “was orchestrated for sure,” says Hammer. “There was another person in the industry, who had a competing film for the Academy Awards, who decided to release all of the phone records and information. I’ve been told who did it — by several people.” (Hammer refuses to say who he believes it was.) He thinks the incident reveals a double standard. “Nate had the stuff in his past, which is heinous and tough to get beyond. I get that,” he says. “But that was when he was 18, and now he’s in directors jail. At the same time, the guy who went and won an Academy Award has three cases of sexual assault against him.”
I ask if he is referring to Casey Affleck, who was sued in 2010 for sexual harassment by two female crewmembers on the set of I’m Still Here and who won the 2016 best actor Oscar for Manchester by the Sea. “Yeah,” he says. (Affleck, in fact, had two civil suits filed against him, both of which were settled out of court and dismissed.) “And [Parker] had one incident — which was heinous and atrocious — but his entire life is affected in the worst possible way. And the other guy won the highest award you can get as an actor. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“I’m not saying Nate should not have been in trouble. I’m saying that they got in different levels of trouble,” Hammer elaborated. “And that’s the disparity. It’s like there are two standards for how to deal with someone who has this kind of issue in their past, you know?”
The actor also believes his invitation to join the Academy last year and what went down with “The Birth of A Nation” are not unrelated. “I always open my mouth too much, but fuck it,” Hammer said. “I think I got accepted into the Academy largely because of the way the Birth of a Nation thing was handled.”
Strong, candid words from Hammer, especially considering he could very well be on the Oscar hunt himself for “Call Me By Your Name” which opens on November 24th.