'Wanted and Desired' director responds to Polanski prosecutor bombshell

By Matthew Belloni

Marina Zenovich, director of the HBO documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," has come out swinging against the statement yesterday by Polanski prosecutor David Wells that he lied to Zenovich about colluding with the judge in the original Polanski trial. Here's the full statement:

“I am perplexed by the timing of David Wells’ statement to the press that he lied in his interview with me for the documentary ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED. Since June of 2008, the film has been quite visible on U.S. television via HBO, in theaters and on DVD, so it is odd that David Wells has not brought this issue to my attention before.

    “For the record, on the day I filmed Mr. Wells at the Malibu Courthouse, February 11, 2005, he gave me a one-hour interview. He signed a release like all my other interviewees, giving me permission to use his interview in the documentary worldwide. At no time did I tell him that the film would not air in the United States.

    “Mr. Wells was always friendly and open with me. At no point in the four years since our interview has he ever raised any issues about its content. In fact, in a July 2008 story in The New York Times, Mr. Wells corroborated the account of events that he gave in my film.

    “I am astonished that he has now changed his story. It is a sad day for documentary filmmakers when something like this happens.”