The scandal caused by Adèle Haenel, who noisily left the Césars room as Roman Polanski won his fifth trophy as best director for I accusemay have ultimately had more repercussions than she herself imagined.
Since his departure from the United States to escape prison, in January 1978, the Polish filmmaker who became French naturalized two years earlier has always benefited from enormous support in France. He was able to make his films there, collect prestigious awards (Palme d’or at Cannes, directing and best film prizes at the Césars – as well as at the Oscars – for The pianist in 2002) and make people forget about his legal past.
Even his arrest in Gstaad, due to an American extradition request, had not succeeded in making him lose his allies. But this time, the #MeToo movement and the anger of part of French cinema has obviously changed the situation. While he is currently filming in Gstaad The Palace, a black comedy about a Polish hotel in the Swiss city, its producer, Luca Barbareschi, complained in the columns of Variety to have been released in France. “I managed to mount production in a year without France since France did not want to invest a single euro in Polanski.”
Worse for him: he fears that the 17 million € drama led by Fanny Ardant, Mickey Rourke, John Cleese and Oliver Masucci will be boycotted by theaters across Quiévrain. “If the film does not come out in France, it is a crimehe blurts out. If you consider that I accuse hasn’t been shown in English-speaking countries, that terrifies me.”
According to the producer, many actors also refused to participate in The Palace. Who, in case of failure, could therefore mark an end to the filmography of the 88-year-old filmmaker.