The Chinatown and Rosemary’s Baby director was ejected from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the same time as shamed comedy actor Bill Cosby, who was jailed last September for sex offences. A lawyer for Polanski, who fled the United States after being charged with the alleged rape of a 13 year old girl in 1978, claimed that he was expelled “without warning” and with no chance to respond or to appeal against the decision. Harland Braun filed a writ on behalf of the French-Polish filmmaker at the Los Angeles Superior Court and will pursue legal action against the Hollywood institution on grounds that his expulsion was unfair. The Academy responded within hours, saying its removal of Polanski from its ranks will not be reversed.
It said: “The procedures taken to expel Mr Polanski were fair and reasonable. The Academy stands behind its decision as appropriate.”
Polanski, 85, who won a best director Oscar for The Pianist in 2002, was told of his ejection in a letter citing the need to respect “human dignity”.
Documents say the intention of his legal action is to “redress the Academy’s improper administrative action” to “summarily expel” Polanski.
Braun said: “We are litigating the fairness of their procedure. They threw him out without warning and without giving him a chance to respond. There was not even any notice of why, after 40 years, on the same day as Cosby.”
Polanski, who has been married three times, was voted out of the Academy last May, receiving an unsigned letter from the organisation which has been made available to the court.
The letter states: “The board continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy’s values of respect and human dignity, and is categorically opposed to any form of abuse and harassment.”