‘Venom’ and ‘Birds of Prey’ Cinematographer Arrested After Allegedly Attacking Public Officials in Poland

Venom cinematographer Matthew Libatique may have landed himself in some hot water.

According to the Polish outlet TVN24, Libatique was arrested in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Tuesday, for allegedly assaulting public officials. Libatique, who was attending the Camerimage Film Festival, was said to be “staggering” outside of his hotel, which led to him attacking paramedics and police officers.

“The patient suddenly became aggressive toward medical rescuers, used offensive words and hit the head of the emergency medical team,” Krzysztof Wisniewski, an emergency official, told TVN24.

According to Wisniewski, one of the paramedics sustained several injuries, including a broken tooth. The cinematographer then allegedly attacked several police officers, once they arrived on the scene.

Libatique is best known for his Oscar-nominated work in Black Swan, as well as work on A Star is Born, Mother!, Iron Man, and Iron Man 2.

“Mr. Libatique was involved in an alleged incident that led to his detention and being held on a potential charge of assaulting a police officer and a paramedic here in Bydgoszcz.” the Camerimage Film Festival said in a statement. “This is now a legal matter that the festival is not in a position to discuss. We can make no further comments at this time.”

TVN24’s reporting suggests that Libatique will face two charges related to the assaults, and that Bydogszcz authorities are filing an application to detain him for three months. If Libatique is found guilty, he could face up to three years in prison for assaulting a public official on duty.

Interestingly enough, this arrest could very well have an effect of some sort on Libatique’s next entry in the superhero realm, the upcoming DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey. In an interview last month, Libatique confirmed that he was in “early discussions” to serve as the film’s cinematographer, something that had seemed to be set in stone in the weeks since.

“It’s with Warner Brothers, and the director is Cathy Yen.” Libatique explained. “Who directed a film called Dead Pigs which is a Chinese film. I’m excited. It’s, in the superheroes genre but this time it’s in the DC universe, not the Marvel universe. Margot Robbie is set to star and I’m excited for that. And then it has a little bit of origin story in it, so it makes it intriguing and it’s very early though, so early discussions.”

If Libatique does end up being detained in Poland for the next three months – or gets wrapped up in some sort of other legal trouble because of these charges – it could put his involvement with Birds of Prey in jeopardy, as the film is expected to begin production in January.