Roman Polanski Update, His Latest Film in Limbo

Published by Jeff Leins on September 29, 2009

Following his arrest in Switzerland on Saturday, Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski has filed an appeal against his extradition to the United States while he remains in a Swiss jail for the “next few weeks,” officials said.

If L.A. prosecutors have their way, Polanski will be transported back to California for sentencing on a 31-year-old charge of “unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor” and his subsequent flee from the country.  (For more details on the 1978 plea bargain, click here.)

In the past few days the Hollywood elite have come to his defense by signing a petition for his immediate release.  The 138 names of film industry types include Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Tilda Swinton, Monica Bellucci, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, John Landis, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.  The petition reads, “It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him.”

These celebrities seem more focused on Polanski missing out on his Zurich Film Festival lifetime achievement award than the fact that he drugged and raped a 13-year-old less than a lifetime ago.  Sure, he’s an accomplished filmmaker, but it doesn’t excuse him from punishment.  Scorsese is one of the best directors of all-time, but if he randomly killed someone he’d be in prison.

Meanwhile, a few other filmmakers are already capitalizing on his arrest.  Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired director Marina Zenovich has gone to Switzerland to further cover the case.  It’s unclear on whether she’s planning a sequel to the critically acclaimed documentary.  Polanski’s personal friend Brett Ratner has also expressed interest in filming his take on the story with an interview from Roman himself, something the other film lacked.

Finally, in an unsurprising announcement, Polanski’s latest film The Ghost has been put on hold while the legal matter is sorted.  Photography with stars Ewan McGregor, Tom Wilkinson, Kim Cattrell, and Pierce Brosnan has been completed, but there is “several months worth of work” left before its ready for theaters.  Most of the editing is finished, but sound mixing and music were left undone.