Polanski reacts to Oscar victory

In his first public comment since winning the best director Oscar on Sunday for his World War II drama “The Pianist,” Roman Polanski issued a statement from Paris saying he was “deeply moved to be rewarded for the work which relates to the events so close to my own life, the events that led me to comprehend that art can transform pain. I believe this still holds true today. My most heartfelt thanks to the members of the academy for this wonderful award.”

The film is based on the life of Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, but Polanski also used events from his own life -- he survived the Holocaust as a young boy in Poland. Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978 after pleading guilty to charges of having sex with an underage girl.