Roman Polanski‘s attorney says the director was blindsided by a decision to expel him from the organization that bestows the Academy Awards.
Attorney Harland Braun says Polanski will ask the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to conduct a hearing so Polanski can make his case to remain in the prestigious body.
Braun says that Polanski’s team was prepared to present academy officials a case for the Oscar-winner to remain in the organization but they were never given the opportunity.
The organization announced Thursday that Polanski had been expelled by its board of governors after a vote Tuesday. The board also expelled Bill Cosby.
Braun said he plans to ask the academy to reinstate the director, who remains a fugitive after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977.