US court rejects Roman Polanski’s bid to rejoin Academy

LOS ANGELES: Director Roman Polanski’s legal battle against his expulsion from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was thrown out by a Los Angeles judge Tuesday.

The “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby” filmmaker fled the United States in 1978 after admitting to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.

He was expelled from the Los Angeles-based Academy, which awards the Oscars, four decades later amid the #MeToo movement, and filed a legal petition to force the prestigious organization to reverse its decision.