Filmmakers often talk about how dire limitations fuel the most rewarding creativity. If that's the case, then Roman Polanski's upcoming film The Ghost should be the best of his career -- especially now that he's decided to finish it from a jail cell.
Ghost screenwriter Robert Harris says Polanski intends to continue working on the film during his extended residency in the Swiss slammer, where the director awaits word on his likely extradition to the United States. The goal is to have The Ghost ready for a planned Berlinale premiere next February. Picture has been locked for a while, according to most sources, but the sound mix, score and numerous other post-production tweaks remain. Harris is optimistic that Polanski can pass along his wishes through his lawyers, the mail, a covert laundry-sneaking operation, or whatever else the Oscar-winner can conjure from the confines of Zurich:
"He can make his wishes known from his cell. I don't think he can make phone calls, but he can communicate. What people think of the film is another matter. Whether the film can rise above the circumstances in which the director now finds himself I don't know. We will test to the upper limits the notion that there's no such thing as bad publicity."
Easy enough: Just get it to Pete Hammond and let the flies do the rest.
ยท Polanski is finishing latest film from his cell, says Robert Harris [Times UK via Vulture]