When Roman Polanski was jailed in Switzerland a couple of weeks ago, pending extradition to the US to face statutory rape charges that he fled from in the 1970s, it was quickly announced that work on his upcoming movie, The Ghost, had been put on hold.
However it now turns out that despite his current circumstances, Polanski is still working on the movie from his jail cell, and hopes to have The Ghost ready in time to premiere it at next February's Berlin Film Festival.
The film follows a ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) who's brought in to work on the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan), but who discovers secrets that put his life in danger.
All filming was completed before Polanski was arrested, but Polanski hadn't quite finshed editing the movie and work still needs to be done on things like the sound and music. At the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Robert Harris, who wrote the script for The Ghost based on his own novel, said Polanski had been giving instructions to the film's composer, Allexandre Desplat, from his cell.
The Guardian quotes Harris as saying, "I don't think he can make phone calls, but he can communicate." All those involved in the movie realise what an awkward situation the director's arrest puts The Ghost in, with Harris adding that, It is a nightmare looming that the director might be in jail at the time [of the film's release]. But we will just have to cope with this as the situation develops. I'm sure he would want the film to go ahead, having worked on it for two years."
There is a very good chance Polanski won't be released before the film's premiere, as if he continues to fight extradition, it could take several months until the outcome is known. Most people expect him to lose his battle, which would result in him spending even more time in prison in America.