• Home
  • Movie News
  • Movie Trailers
  • Reviews
    • Cinema Reviews
    • Home Entertainment Reviews
      • Blu-ray Review
      • DVD Review
  • Competitions
  • Features
    • Interview

Movie Muser

Have your say about cinema

Polanski Asks To Be Sentenced In Absentia – It seems the director has accepted he’s going back to the US

7th January 2010 By Tim Isaac

When Roman Polanski was initially arrested in Switzerland a few months ago, it seemed he was going to fight tooth and nail not to be extradited to the US, which wants him to face charges of having sex with a minor that he plead guilty to in 1978 but then fled the country before sentencing.

However in recent weeks it seems he’s accepted his fight against extradition will fail and he’s now trying to ensure he spends as little time in jail as possible. A couple of weeks ago he asked a Californian Court for charges to be dropped, but while the judges agreed there seemed to be some dubious goings on at his original trial involving the judge, they said the case needed to be investigated more before they could think about dropping the charges, and that Polanski would need to show up to court if he wanted judicial relief.

Now Polanski is trying another move, with Variety reporting that the Rosemary’s Baby helmer is asking to be sentenced in absentia, while he waits to see the outcome of his appeal against extradition. The move would suggest the director expects that he will get sent to the US, but being sentenced before this happened would minimise any jail time, as it would mean he wouldn’t have to wait in prison while a new trial was ordered or legal moves were made to have the case dropped.

What isn’t clear is whether this suggests that Polanski won’t now seek to have the charges dropped, but will instead plead guilty and argue that he’s already served his time, having spent time in jail in the late 70s, as well as his imprisonment following his Swiss arrest. When Polanski’s lawyers went to court last month, the judges suggested that if he plead guilty he may not have to serve any more jail time, and it seems this could be the route he’s going for.

Related

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:

Filed Under: Movie News

Search this site…

Get Social

RSSTwitterFacebook

Get new posts by e-mail

Get the latest in our daily e-mail

Latest Cinema & Home Ent. Reviews

Mortal Engines (Cinema Review)

Anna and the Apocalypse (Cinema Review)

Suspiria (Cinema Review)

Overlord (Cinema Review)

King of Thieves (Cinema Review)

Isle of Dogs (DVD Review)

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Cinema Review)

Tomb Raider (Blu-ray Review)

The Bridge 4 (DVD Review)

My Friend Dahmer (Cinema Review)

Latest News & Trailers

Detective Pikachu Trailer – Pokemon is going live action with Ryan Reynolds

Toy Story 4 Teaser Trailer – Woody & the gang are coming back once more

Aladdin Teaser Trailer – Guy Ritchie directs Disney’s latest live-action adaptation

New Glass Trailer – The worlds of Unbreakable and Split meet

Aquaman Extended Trailer – Jason Momoa goes to war under the seas against Patrick Wilson

New Overlord Trailer – Soldiers take on Nazi-created zombies in the JJ Abrams produced movie

The Mule Trailer – Clint Eastwood is an octogenarian drug runner opposite Bradley Cooper

Vice Trailer – Christian Bale transforms into former Vice President Dick Cheney

Mary Queen of Scots Trailer – Saoirse Ronan & Margot Robbie get Elizabethan

New Mortal Engines Trailer – London is literally on the move in the steampunk fantasy

Handpicked MediaHandpicked MediaCopyright © 2025 Muser Media · Powered by WordPress & Genesis Framework · Log in
Movie Muser is a member of The Handpicked Media network

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT