Hollywood

Polanski Wants Change of Venue

As if France weren't enough.

Fugitive filmmaker Roman Polanski wants a fair shake and he doesn't think he can get it in Los Angeles. So his lawyers are asking that a judge outside of the city decide his motion to have a 30-year-old sex offense case dismissed. Polanski's team is arguing that the entire Los Angeles County Superior Court system should be disqualified from the case because of statements made by court spokesman Alan Parachini. Last month after Polanski's lawyers announced their intention to file for dismissal, Parachini said that the famed director would have to personally appear at the hearings. Polanski's lawyers say that the statement shows the court has pre-judged a central issue of their motion. After spending 30 years in exile, Polanski is trying to get charges dismissed after what the defense has called "extraordinary new evidence" came to light in a 2008 HBO documentary.