Indie shingle ThinkFilm has picked up the domestic rights to
Marina Zenovich’s polarizing documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.
The picture made quite a stir at Sundance this past January with its objective
exploration of its mercurial subject.
The film examines the infamous 1977 statutory rape trial
that forced the often brilliant filmmaker (and occasional child molester) into
self-imposed exile to France
in lieu of jail time. It is a story of sex, lies, corruption, and myth that is
still a matter of discussion 30 years on. Not coincidentally, ThinkFilm
president Mark Urman served as Polanski’s publicist for much of the 90’s and
was actually interviewed for the film. Though his segments were left on the
cutting room floor, I’m sure having the inside track to the rights of one of
the year’s hottest docs more than made up for it.
HBO is set to air the doc on June 9 with ThinkFilm handling
the theatrical rollout beginning in New
York on July 11. The film should hit your local art house
theatre over the summer and home video in the fall. A pre-broadcast airing run in NY-LA back in March makes the picture viable for a possible Oscar nomination at next year’s awards. The Weinstein Co. holds
international distribution rights.
