By Thomas Adamson
PARIS (AP) --The entire leadership of the Cesar Awards, France's version of the Oscars, has stepped down in a spat over both its opaque decision-making process and controversial director Roman Polanski, whose new film leads this year's nominations.
The decision by the academy's influential board to resign en masse came Thursday evening, just two weeks before the glitzy 2020 award ceremony.
Multiple nominations for Polanski's "An Officer and a Spy" triggered calls by feminist groups for a boycott of the awards as an expression of outrage against the ceremony and the director. He was accused of sexual assault by a French woman just three months ago, allegations he denies.
Nominating Polanski's movie in 12 categories this year represented a last straw for the already-roiled academy board, who had expressed frustration over the closed nature of the age-old award's decision-making structure.
"To honor the men and women who made cinema happen in 2019, to find calm and ensure that the festival of film remains just that, a festival, the board … has decided to resign unanimously," the academy said in a statement.
"This collective decision will allow complete renewal," it added.
Polanski has been a fugitive from the U.S. for more than four decades after pleading guilty in 1977 to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. He fled the U.S. in 1978. But in November, French daily Le Parisien reported claims from a French woman that she was assaulted at age 18 in 1975 by Polanski at his chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland.
Several interviews with actors Jean Dujardin and Louis Garrel were cancelled because of the controversy, but yet it did nothing to lessen the movie's meteoric rise to the top of the Cesar's nominations list.
The awards ceremony is set for Feb. 28.
The unprecedented walk out comes just days after hundreds of French cinema figures published an open letter in newspaper Le Monde, branding the Cesar Academy "a vestige of an era that we would like to be over." They claimed in the letter to have "no voice" in how the "elitist and closed system" operates.
"Why can't the 4,700 members of the academy vote to elect their representatives, as is the case at the Oscars, BAFTAs and European Academy of Cinema?" the signatories said.
The academy pledged to "modernize" the awards, and make the voting body — which is 65% male — more diverse.
“Scandal” cast will reunite for online script reading for hurricane relief in western North Carolina
The cast of ABC's hit political drama "Scandal" may need to brush up on their snappy, speedy delivery known as "Scandal-pace," because they're reuniting for a good cause. Its stars including Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn and Bellamy Young will take part in a live virtual script reading on Nov. 17 to raise money for hurricane relief in western North Carolina.
Beginning Friday, fans can go online and donate to reserve a spot for the online reading. Proceeds will benefit United Way of North Carolina. Everyone who donates will be able to take part in a virtual pre-event with the cast and Shonda Rhimes will give an introduction.
Additional guest stars will also be announced. The online fundraising platform Prizeo is also holding a contest where one person who donates online via their site will be selected to read a role from the script with the actors. The winner should not worry about the "Scandal"-pace, assured Young over Zoom.
"Whomever the lucky reader is can read at whatever pace they want," she said.
Young, who played Mellie Young, the first lady and later Republican presidential nominee on "Scandal," was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. She came up with the idea for the effort with a friend and took it to her fellow "Scandal" actors, who all jumped on board. Young said this is the first script reading the cast has all done together since the show ended after seven seasons in 2018.
Which episode they will be reading has not been announced yet.
Young said it's "been devastating" to see so many parts of her hometown badly damaged by Hurricane Helene, which ravaged western North Carolina one month ago.
To research the best use for donations, Young spoke with numerous political leaders, including North... Read More