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

French drop Polanski release call

From wikipedia: "All parties expected Polanski to get only probation at the subsequent sentencing hearing, but after an alleged conversation with LA Deputy District Attorney David Wells, the judge "suggested to Polanski's attorneys that he would send the director to prison and order him deported".[46] In response to the threat of imprisonment, Polanski fled the United States."

Reading this thread is like being stuck in purgatory, with everyone having the same conversation over and over and over...

It's more like being stuck in purgatory, tbh, what with everything being said more than once.

There seems to be a curse on Polanski's post-rape moviemaking, has he really made a good one since then? I haven't seen Tess. I have seen The Pianist, but I didn't find it as good as everyone said it was.

― Zelda Zonk, Wednesday, September 30, 2009 2:45 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

polanski's 80s output is crap (pirates and frantic), but aside from that his filmography is pretty solid. true, he never made another great film, but name another 70s titan who did? there are plenty of good and/or interesting post 70s polanski flicks, bitter moon and death and the maiden are way underrated.

I enjoyed his film of the Ninth Gate (more so than the pretentious book it's based on), but I still think he should be banged up in noncecamp.

yay katha pollitt

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/anotherthing/479379/roman_polanski_has_a_lot_of_friends

man i hope some celebrities actually stand up and start talking shit against polanski. got a lot of respect for some of the signers to that petition but they're fucking up on this issue, to say the least.

well there's one at least...

French film-maker Luc Besson, who directed the 1994 movie Leon, has also refused to lend his support.

Speaking to French radio station RTL, he said: "I have a lot of affection for him, he is a man that I like very much ... but nobody should be above the law.

"I don't know the details of this case, but I think that when you don't show up for trial, you are taking a risk."

Despite that, Mr Polanski has no shortage of supporters, including at least 110 film industry figures who have signed a petition calling for his release.

Among them are Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and David Lynch, as well as Wim Wenders, Pedro Almodovar, Tilda Swinton and Monica Bellucci.

Actor Peter Fonda said he thought "celebrating the arrest of Osama bin Laden and not the arrest of Polanski" was far more important.

The big problem I have with this whole thing is that, even if you think Polanski was actually targeted by a famewhore mom and her scheming vixenette, it doesn't change the fact that he drugged and had sex with a 13-year-old girl and plead guilty to a crime; you don't get to plead guilty and then run away from sentencing unless you die.

agreed, but i really hope those celebrities don't turn out to be mel gibson, patricia heaton, stephen baldwin, ron silver etc etc

xps

The big problem I have with this whole thing is that, even if you think Polanski was actually targeted by a famewhore mom and her scheming vixenette, it doesn't change the fact that he drugged and had sex with a 13-year-old girl and plead guilty to a crime; you don't get to plead guilty and then run away from sentencing unless you die.

B-b-but he's an artist. Who has the priviledge of making films!

French film-maker Luc Besson, who directed the 1994 movie Leon, has also refused to lend his support

Who else then?

some euro politicians i believe (it's from the "French withdraw support" link)

What's everybody's take on Polansky in 'A Pure Formality'?

Bitter Moon is definitely as interesting as the bulk of his pre-rape movies.

I like how his career is now divided into pre- and post- rape periods.

Oddly enough, there's more rape in the pre-rape movies.

I think of his career as early films/hollywood/exile/80s crap/90s return to form

but it's not all that neat

anybody who's looking for a polanksi film to view through the filter of recent events should check out death and the maiden, essentially an account of a woman violently confronting her rapist.

and bitter moon is one of the blackest comedies ever made

...but not particularly good.

i thought it was terrible as well. tess was the first exile picture, right? i saw that in a theatre a few years back, beautiful film but loses it near the end.

Isn't Tess some sort of raper-caper too?

Actor Peter Fonda said he thought "celebrating the arrest of Osama bin Laden and not the arrest of Polanski" was far more important.

thanks peter fonda

Did he catch OBL!!????!??

The Polanski arrest is just the law grinding on as usual. As it should. Only reason it made news is the he's-a-bigger-celeb-than-Gary-Glitter factor. Otoh, an OBL arrest would be a hallelujah day.

from kevin smith's twitter:

Via @JoeyFace42 "Please don't be one of those FREE POLANSKI people" Look, I dig ROSEMARY'S BABY; but rape's rape. Do the crime, do the time.

lol @ "raper-caper"

"celebrating the arrest of Osama bin Laden"

lolz yeah I'm sure the Los Angeles DA's office will get right on that

I was thinking about how all these silly pleas for Polanski's freedom hinge on some kind of dramatic miscarriage of justice against him - that he didn't get a fair shake from the judge etc. And then I think "yeah, gee you know if there's one group of people in this country who are always getting screwed by the legal system, it's RICH WHITE FAMOUS MEN." WTF people.

like OJ

when will our country's vicious persecution of rich white guys finally be stopped

whoa whoa whoa guys, we have to catch Osama bin Laden first

Would he show up for a lifetime achievement award in Switzerland?

it's the "he's suffered enough" bit that gets me -- as if fleeing the country to avoid incarceration was some sort of noble self-imposed exile

he's suffered the adulation of the French

Sort of weird (though, I guess, unsurprising) how "Hollywood Liberals" act as a union, closing ranks around one of their own. Like a police force in response to an allegation of brutality. Sucks, though, that as an American liberal, this is one of the cards your team gets dealt. Suppose a lot of conservatives felt that way about Bush, Palin, etc...

hey Cheney just shot that guy in the face by mistake!

cheney didnt even know the guy was 67!

lets be realistic here he knew going in u dont fuk w/cheney

he was totally asking for it by sticking his face in front of that shotgun anyway

I heard his mother encouraged him to do it, she thought it would help him get ahead in politics

I think Peter Fonda's point was that if you aren't doing the most important thing ever, you shouldn't be doing anything. No effort should be put into law & order other than catching Osama Bin Laden. Then the whole military, police and intelligence apparatus can switch over to Polanski. Maybe another target first, regrettably it's not clear from the quote. I think that's what he's saying.

Bad news for 13 year old girls then

i think the important thing to do now is celebrate the arrest of osama bin laden

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2008/10/20/alg_garza-champagne.jpg

http://www.phototravelpages.com/wallpapers/fireworks_niagara_1600.jpg

Polanski has also been living in caves on the pakistan/afghan border since he fled justice

http://www.lumpen.com/magazine/92/OBL.jpg