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.