At the beginning of December, Roman Polanski’s bid to return to the U.S. seemed possible. Citing judicial and prosecutorial wrongdoing revealed in Marina Zenovich’s documentary, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” Polanski’s U.S. lawyers filed a complaint to dismiss the statutory rape case filed against him some thirty years ago (Polanski has been exiled in France ever since he fled the country in 1977 after he felt convinced he would not receive a fair trial; he is still technically a fugitive of the United States).
Now his lawyers want the case moved completely out of L.A., according to Variety and they have filed documents outlining all the reasons why that court should be disqualified from weighing the director’s decades-old case.
A hearing to have the sexual misconduct case dismissed had been set for Jan. 21. Polanski’s people said the court expressed a “predetermination” on the issue when it indicated that the director would have to show up in person at the hearing.
According to Variety, Polanski does not seem “eager” to return to the U.S., but would like his name cleared. The 72-year-old director is also apparently working on a new film called, “The Ghost.”