French Oscars academy board resigns after Polanksi rowPolanski has been wanted in the US for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl since 1978 and is persona non grata in Hollywood. PARIS: The entire board of the Cesar Academy, which awards France's equivalent of the Oscars, resigned Thursday just two weeks ahead of its gala ceremony after more than 200 actors, producers, directors and movie personalities demanded "profound reform". The academy had come under fire after Roman Polanski's new film "An Officer and a Spy" topped the list of nominations for this year's Cesar awards, which will be handed out on February 28. A general meeting will be held after the upcoming awards ceremony to elect a new board and management who will work on implementing reforms and modernisation, it said. The inclusion of Polanski's film on the Cesars' shortlist was condemned by France's equality minister, women's groups and film critics, but the Cesar Academy said it could not be expected to take "moral positions" when evaluating films.

Source: Bangkok Post February 14, 2020 01:52 UTC