A screening for director Roman Polanski’s latest film was canceled in Paris Tuesday evening after about 40 protesters toting red smoke canisters and carrying signs bearing the names of women who claim they were sexually assaulted by the Oscar winner blocked the theater’s entrance for about an hour, according to reports.
ROMAN POLANSKI ACCUSED OF 'EXTREMELY VIOLENT' RAPE OF FRENCH WOMAN IN 1975 WHEN SHE WAS 18: REPORT
The protest resulted in the cancellation of the screening of the Italian-French film “An Officer And A Spy” at Le Champo cinema in Paris. The film’s official premiere went off without a hitch across the city at the UGC Normandie cinema on the Champs-Elysées, Variety reported. Polanski, 86, attended that event, alongside his wife Emmanuelle Seigner and actor Jean Dujardin, both of whom star in the film.
In a story published last week in Le Parisien newspaper, French photographer Valentine Monnier, now 62, accused Polanski of raping her at his ski chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, in 1975 when she was 18. Polanski has denied the allegations. His French attorney, Hervé Témime, said Polanski is considering legal action against Le Parisien.
The director known for his work on "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and other films pleaded guilty in 1977 to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in California. Polanski, who was born in Poland, fled the United States in 1978 before his sentencing and has lived in exile in France for four decades.
The French Film Guild (ARP) said in a statement that it plans to consider a new rule in its next board of directors meeting that would exclude any member found guilty of a sexual offense and suspend any member indicted for the same reason, Deadline reported. Polanski is a current member of the guild.
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The French film company Gaumont told Variety that it still plans to release “An Officer And A Spy” in theaters across the country despite the allegations against its director. Several promotional appearances on television have been canceled since Monnier’s rape claims against Polanski were published last week.
The film first debuted at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year where it won the Grand Jury Prize, Deadline reported. It received nominations for four European Film Awards last week.