Roman Polanski, or pardon me but your poll is in my neck.

Why do I suspect Niles is rapidly heading for 51...

Question. If I ban 51 people, do I get banned myself or do I have to cast the 51st vote against myself for it to count?

Woody Allen lolz. I wonder if his daughter/wife signed.

"You can't watch films knowing Roman Polanski is sitting in a cell 5km away"

What if he was 6km away?

"judicial lynching"

LOL

Oh fuck the law, it's not meant to be a value in itself

― Niles Caulder, Tuesday, September 29, 2009 3:14 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

no, youre right; its not meant to be a value in itself; theoretically its paired with "justice": the law applies (like ryan said about) equally and unequivocally to everyone, while the application of "justice" is specific and individual. the whole point of "law"; the whole, you know, foundation of its existence, is that you dont get to decide when it applies and when it doesnt, and "laws" dont care about how you were in the holocaust and your wife was murdered and you make great movies and your victim just wants to drop it.

people who are complaining about polanskis arrest seem to me to be confusing law with justice. polanski is getting arrested because he broke the law; the law is being applied to polanski in the same way it would/should apply to anyone, regardless of circumstance. now the case will be brought before a judge, at which point "justice" enters the equation. i imagine you would argue that "justice" will involve dismissal of the charges or some kind of soft censure; other would probably argue that "justice" involves a harsher punishment. but that's the whole point of "justice": its particular and distinct and requires that the holocaust and your murdered wife and your great movies and your victims desire to move on be part of the discussion.

to argue that the law shouldnt be carried out in this instance is to argue imo against the way law and justice work in a liberal society like ours--and maybe thats a conversation you want to have?

I misread that as "its particular and distinct and requires that the holocaust murdered your wife"

thats "german law"

"Yeah but that doesn't count because it was old school paedoing, before it got such a bad name"

http://tmwl.project76.tv/Images/NBYkXT_PeepShow4Blue.jpg

He may have put his peener in her anal, but at least he didn't kill her like Glenn Beck maybe didn't do either.

Maybe the Ninth Gate is the gate to prison, not Hell.

Has Jonny Depp signed the petition yet?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rm5M_p-9Cwg/RzbZjD93ssI/AAAAAAAAASo/tTtGleiKACQ/s320/Ninth+gate+-+Soundtrack.jpg

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/29/polanski.filmmakers.protest/t1home.freepolanski.gi.jpg

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/29/polanski.filmmakers.protest/index.html

I couldn't care less about his life, but if the victim doesn't care neither do I the end

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/931/fpol.jpg

Suggest ban for mismatching fonts.

It goes with the orange badge on pinstripes.

I think it's weird how many people seem up in arms about that SICK BASTARD child rapist this week, but didn't have anything to say about it last week or the last two decades.

yeah that is weird. did something happen recently that made this a hot topic? weeeeeirdddd.

Yes... Polanski was arrested in Switzerland last Saturday for extradition to the US.

I think jeff was being sarcastic.

I don't even know anymore.

it was sarcasm but it wasn't sarcasm-sarcasm.

I've been kind of pissed about it for a while. When I found out, I sold my Columbia House sealed Chinatown VHS for 1 dollar plus shipping fees on Amazon.

better to be a filth peddler than a holder of sympathizer video nasties.

I don't watch Sleepers or Powder either.

I remember that my friend Jennifer and I were the only people in the theater who laughed at the Roman Polanski joke in Beautiful Girls.

I just find the badges to be in incredibly poor taste. The guy is a fugitive child rapist, not Nelson Mandela. Sure, he's a friend and colleague to many of these movie folk, so naturally some of them will be in his corner, but a public campaign in support of him is fucked up and wrong.

this book was tight: http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/15950000/15957379.JPG

nobody who inspired a thread this great should have to face justice imo

It angers me when I read people rallying to his defense. He drugged and raped a 13 year old. No matter what else (great director, he hasn't done anything else wrong since doing the crime,...) lessens the rape. Nothing. Fuck him, the pedophile

Yeah,

"Oh, it's OK, he produced lots of great films while on the run. Not like Gary Glitter, who hasn't made any music since he ran off..."

Seventy-six years old, a survivor of Nazism and of Stalinist persecutions in Poland, Roman Polanski risks spending the rest of his life in jail

-- Bernard Henry-Levy

lol @ the most blatant example of "jews are and will be innocent of everything they are accused of everywhere forever and ever because of nazism" defense yet

― StanM, Tuesday, September 29, 2009 6:34 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ummmmm okaaaaay, INTERESTING take on BHL there.

Yeah, I'm the worst troll ever sometimes :-(

Just curious: Who are the vocal defenders of Polanski that say he shouldn't be sent to jail? I looked around but couldn't figure out which "Hollywood celebrities" have been willing to put their names to defending him publicly.

Personally, I think it's just to try him for the crime. Years in Europe != Time Served, and if he has extenuating circumstances (Nazis/Dead Wifes/Whatevers) that might mitigate the case, he can present that like any other defendant. If defenders are like, "I really love his films, and it's hard for me to reconcile that love with what I know about his crimes," that's one thing and I empathize with it, but if they're like, "He's old / He's too good a film maker / etc to be tried for his crimes..." that's totally bizarre.

Nevermind. Found a link.

Zachary Taylor, who was the pervert involved in Sleepers? Hope it wasn't Barry Levinson.

I understand the impulse to avoid these films. In my house, we don't watch Pee Wee or listen to the music of Elton John.

BHL still serves up a huge portion of emotional blackmail to make his 'special privileges' argument. DENIED.

As fantastic a filmmaker as I believe Polanski to be (and I'd argue that experiences in his early life enhance his practice in many ways) that in no way excuses him from a rape charge, even if the victim claims to have moved on. That's enabling behaviour reinforcing the idea that 'she'll get over it' and 'he'll get away with it' which IMO is fucking up rape conviction rates as it is. Also that whole rape-rape comment: was Whoopi Goldberg not a victim of same, and if so, WTF?

Maybe people are just really tired of having the "Can Art Be Valuable And Still Be Made By An Ethical Douchebag" conversation and were hoping to avoid seminar questions in the future like, "Why do we have to study Chinatown if Polanski was a rapist?" And, I gotta imagine, a lot of talented filmmakers probably see their own skill and talent as a sort of referendum on their own ethical/moral value (not unlike millionaires who believe they're wealthy because Jesus loves them), and so a talented filmmaker who is a total sleazebag might be problematic to that vision.

Tho that's all challops cause it's probably just bros defending bros, and God knows petition signer Woody Allen doesn't have a flawless record in the creepy sexual department.

Chinatown is all about totally unscrupulous people so being directed by Captain Rapey adds a layer; sometimes the only thing of value an ethical douchebag leaves is art.

I think it's weird how many people seem up in arms about that SICK BASTARD child rapist this week, but didn't have anything to say about it last week or the last two decades.

Ummmmm....the thread was revived cuz of the news?

Yeah, no one's saying we should destroy his films. Of course, if they do, I will come down hard on such douchery with a walloping ban suggestion.

Oh god: someone try to watch Sharon Tate's sister speak, zombie-like, to Matt Lauer. She insisted that the "encounter" was "consensual."

Lauer is such a coward that he can't even say, "Have you read the transcript?"

I ban Matt Lauer.

What's kinda fucked up is:

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #482 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV) for Rosemary's Baby.

The highest ranking for Chinatown is in the 1,000s, but there are 4 or 5 different versions of that you can buy.

maybe they're assuming rosemary's baby is an erotic study of said infant.

Yeah, no one's saying we should destroy his films. Of course, if they do, I will come down hard on such douchery with a walloping ban suggestion.

― boring movies are the most boring (Eric H.), Wednesday, September 30, 2009 12:16 PM (37 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i realize that in france the sick practice of "auteurism" has led to directors having certain legal "rights" in relation to films on they have worked, but i'm fairly sure that the best films that bear the name "polanski" are safely owned and controlled by the good people at paramount, or viacom, or gulf & western, as it might be.

Perverts.

Oh god: someone try to watch Sharon Tate's sister speak, zombie-like, to Matt Lauer. She insisted that the "encounter" was "consensual."

― Roman Polanski now sleeps in prison. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, September 30, 2009 7:21 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I saw this this morning, it was on at my gym. It was almost sad how bad a job she did in defense of Polanski. I think the whole point of statutory rape laws is that a 13 year old is not legally capable of giving "consent" to an adult to have a sexual encounter. People like Whoopi Goldberg and what's her name Tate do not seem to understand this. It IS rape because its impossible to give consent.

it was also rape because the girl said "no," over and over and over again

someone try to watch Sharon Tate's sister speak, zombie-like, to Matt Lauer. She insisted that the "encounter" was "consensual."

Funny how she's always going on about "victim's rights" any time one of Manson family goes up for parole, but when it comes to a child rapist it's totally a-ok if he never has to answer for his crime.