Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer" was shut out of the Oscar nominations, and the writer-director likely wouldn't travel to the United States for the ceremony if he was in the running – but the Henri Langlois Awards, which were held in France on Monday night, reemphasized that the controversial filmmaker doesn't need to leave Europe to win awards this season.
Polanski was honored with a career tribute at the ceremony in Vincennes, which also gave prizes to the Christopher Thompson film "The Last Summer Tour" and the Bertrand Blier drama "The Clink of Ice," actor Michael Lonsdale ("Of Gods and Men"), actress Gisele Casadesus and animator Michel Ocelot.
The Oscar-winning director appeared in person to accept his award, as he did two weeks ago at the Ceremonies des Lumieres in Paris. (left; photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images.)
The Henri Langois awards are named after the French archivist, cinephile and scholar who founded the influential Cinematheque Francaise, for which he was given an honorary Academy Award in 1974.
Though it was ignored by the Oscars, "The Ghost Writer" has fared well on the European awards circuit. On December 4, Polanski's film was the big winner at the 23rd European Film Awards, where it won four, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (Ewan McGregor). Polanski himself won for directing and co-writing the film.
The controversial director will have one more chance to pick up honors on February 25 at the Cesar Awards, which are often referred to as France's version of the Oscars. "The Ghost Writer" is nominated for eight Cesars, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Polanski is also a nominee for Friday's Scripter Awards, an honor given out by the USC Libraries for the best film adaptation of a literary work.
