Polanski arrest derails 'Ghost'

Work on Roman Polanski's forthcoming film The Ghost has been halted following the filmmaker's arrest in Switzerland at the weekend.

The movie, an adaptation of Robert Harris's novel of the same name, stars Pierce Brosnan as a former British prime minister writing his memoirs on a remote island. A ghostwriter played by Ewan McGregor uncovers a conspiracy while working with the ex-PM.

The Oscar-winning director's agent Jeff Berg confirmed that shooting and editing had wrapped on Ghost, but scoring and sound mixing are yet to be completed. A distribution deal for the film has yet to be secured for the US.

"There is always interest in movies that Roman distributes," Berg told The Hollywood Reporter. "It should be accepted on its own merits, but we feel highly confident we'll find proper distribution."

Polanski was taken into custody in Zurich on Sunday on a 1978 US warrant, issued after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. He has been living in France for the past 30 years and was unable to travel to the US due to the warrant.

It was earlier reported that the 76-year-old will battle attempts by the US to extradite him to California.

Polanski's work includes The Pianist, Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby.