The anti-Roman Polanski movement in France might not be as intensely supported as in the US, but it’s definitely been picking up steam the last year or so.
Regardless, Polanski has been sent a message by the Cesar Awards, aka the French Oscars: he can be nominated for a Cesar in the future, but he won’t be allowed to attend the ceremony. The Cesar have officially banned anyone “indicted or convicted for sexual violence.”
There has been renewed consideration about Polanski, a director that Hollywood has honored for decades, even though he plead guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old minor by the name of Samantha Geimer. Over the years, many Hollywood celebrities have defended Polanski, or simply worked with him, separating art and politics, but the tide has changed dramatically since #MeToo.
Geimer has spoken about the handwritten apology Polanski sent to her: “It was really meaningful to the other people around me who care about me, which then made it really meaningful to me. Anything that can make my mom feel better is something I’m grateful for,” she said.
Geimer has called for people to move on, even saying that Polanski should be forgiven. In 2018, Esquire condemned Polanski for even contemplating making a new movie; However, Geimer quickly lashed back at them:
“Roman hardly needs a #MeToo comeback. This is all you’ve got Esquire, attacking a man who has apologize and made amends years ago?” she tweeted. “Pleaded guilty served his time,” Geimer continued. “Abused along with his ‘victim’ by the same insane judge. I’ve grown up, why can’t everyone else.”
Polanski has stated that the #MeToo movement was just part of the “mass hysteria that occurs in society from time to time. Sometimes it’s very dramatic, like the French Revolution or the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre in France, or sometimes it’s less bloody, like 1968 in Poland or McCarthyism in the U.S. Everyone is trying to back this movement, mainly out of fear. I think it’s total hypocrisy.”
In 2020, Polanski won Best Director at the Cesars for his film, “An Officer and a Spy.” Protests ensued and the Cesar administration was ousted. This new edict is the result.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.