polanski arrested again

Btw, the only film I own is Chinatown

Therein lies a clue to the question, “What is good about The Tenant?” The music .

Apparently he had no idea she was 13. He was under the impression she was 11.

Elvis is King: I cited that old joke about Polanski a couple of pages ago. I guess neither one of us is very original.

Great minds think alike, and fools seldom differ.

lmao, he’s everywhere these days

Elia Kazan.

I just thought I’d throw that out there.

What about Elia? I know he ratted out people and named names during the McCarthy era. He made great films, but what a dirty thing to do. Oh whatever tho.

LOL the only polanski film I own is cul-de-sac.

I love Elia Kazan…………………’s films.

Every time I see this thread come up I think he’s been arrested again – 12 times in the last hour – when will he stop being arrested !!!

dp

I like how enthusiastic some people are on this case. However, I still think this is a stupid arrest, and a stupid attempt to cultivate something which the victim wishes to drop ( “drop all charges” ). Yes, the 13 year old drugged girl over whom Polanski did a complete sentence for wishes to drop charges now that they’re both older.

Polanski is often overlooked for his crimes because of his art, which is the most consiously acceptable thing to do for the public because most people are up in the air about the situation. He has one of the most interesting life stories in film history, if not the most interesting, and this often leaves room for an attempt to build a sort of respect for the person/image.

I definitely wouldn’t say Polanski is a douche bag, or is bad because he evaded the law (flawed because look at the enforcement of this particular case) and enforced a law suit against a crappy magazine that’s bent on making the most personal matters public bullshit. I wouldn’t say he’s shit mainly because I don’t know him. His friends are against the arrest, and he somehow managed to hold a steady marriage after those years, so maybe he’s not terribly terrible. Having survived the holocaust and losing his wife and kid only makes his arrest sillier since it was at his own film festival that he finally finds the possible ruin of his life and career.

I can see why Blue K gets so worked up. Stop making excuses for the man. My dad left me as a kid, does that make it okay for me to impregnate a girl and skip town? No.

The man did a crime, stop giving him a pass.

Your example makes no sense, but whatever. Not only did he commit a crime, he pleaded guilty to it, and served 42 days. He only fled because the judge lied to him.

Shotzi: Are you secretly Roman Polanski?

“I think there’s evidence that indicates Polanski didn’t know the age of the girl. I really doubt he gave a shit, though.”

I think this kind of matters. I confess to not knowing much about this case but a few questions are essential:

1. Did he drug her?
2. Did he rape her?
3. Did he suspect she was under 18?

The third one is important because, as with the Rob Lowe case from a few years ago, when this question is ignored it is implied that a decent 40 year old man wouldn’t even go near an 18 year old without asking for a birth certificate. I realize Polanski was in a brightly lit house but if you go into any nightclub and think you can be sure you know the 18 year olds from the 13 year olds you’re kidding yourself. Maybe he knew and didn’t give a shit or maybe he didn’t but either way I think the question is important because i remember seeing the girl from the Rob Lowe thing and feeling like he was completely railroaded based on our society’s selective morality rather than on his having done anything wrong. Angelica Houston may simply be trying to help a friend but I would need to see a picture of the girl at the time before I can get worked up either way.

Blue, I am not making excuses for Polanski based on his films. I think this question is important for any case. Some 13 year olds look much older than their age and I don’t necessarily think someone should go to jail for questionable judgment, although I know this happens all the time.

@ Mike, oh, I definitely know that you aren’t the kind of meathead who’d try to make excuses for a filmmaker’s misconduct based on their films.

The girl did testify in detail about how Polanski offered her a Quaalude and she took it. She described everything, even including what the pillbox looked like. She also said that they drank champagne together. After they had gotten into the hot tub, she got out, and repeated told him that she wanted to go home. He didn’t take her home, and started performing “cuddliness” (lol, her word in court) on her. She told him to stop. Then he started having intercourse. Again she told him to stop. He asked her if she was on the pill, she said no. And then he decided that he better play it safe and put it in her anus. Her testimony is on The Smoking Gun website. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskib17.html

I don’t know if Polanski denies any part of her testimony. But we do all know that he plead guilty. Does what I just described sound like rape to you, Mike?

And some people keep claiming that Polanski has already done his time because he served 42 days in jail and there was a plea bargain for a 90 day sentence. Umm… in which universe does 42 = 90? LOL.

Re some underage girls looking 16, 17 ,18, whatever; if in doubt, leave it out. There can be a defence based on being misled, eg someone who has fake i.d to get into an 18+bar, be served alcohol etc, but i guess that would be relatively rare. And from what Blue K says, this wasn’t even consensual. Even if it had been that would still be sexual abuse of a minor, according to US law. Polanski’s quality as a film maker is irrelevant, just as it would be say for many other distinguished professionals. What i also find objectionable is the judge’s conduct, without which the punishment would have been over long ago, and there wouldn’t be the issue of Polanski’s age and water under the bridge now. And the arrest timing seems odd

“And some people keep claiming that Polanski has already done his time because he served 42 days in jail and there was a plea bargain for a 90 day sentence. Umm… in which universe does 42 = 90? LOL.”

They released him after 42. He didn’t escape and he wasn’t required to go back for the remaining 48 – it was for psychiatric evaluation. They all decided that that time he spent in jail was enough, but the judge changed his mind afterwards and wanted to punish him further.
I have no right to say whether it was enough of a sentence for the crime in question considering I don’t have insight into the circumstances, and frankly, neither does anyone else who wasn’t involved, but that isn’t the issue.

Someone mentioned earlier in a post that Angelica Huston said the girl looked 18. That’s wrong, she actually said the girl looked 25.

Extenuating circumstances Blue K. Extenuating circumstances. No case is all black and white.

Eh…even if she was over 18, her testimony and his guilty plea point towards rape.

Strawdawg, judge for yourself if you would consider this girl to look like 25. (That picture is indeed all black and white.) Maybe I´m wrong, but she looks like 13 to me.

Apursansar, that is kind of ridiculous don’t you think. If you can find a picture of her on the night in question at Nicholson’s house, I’ll get back to you.

The schoolbooks are a nice touch though.

Can we get real.

Well, I don´t consider basing one´s opinion on an actual photo more ridiculous than basing it on an assumption by Angelica Huston, but since you seem to be rather looking for a way to excuse his behaviour won´t I try to convince you. The photo is from 1977 by the way.

I hope that when Polanski goes to prison, he gets treated like The Colonel from Boogie Nights.

“Jack, are you my friend? Jack?”

So you’d rather compare a photo that COULD very well look NOTHING like the actual girl (because you don’t know) than an eye witness account?.

This is the problem with juries. They aren’t rational and make decisions completely based on emotions, not facts.

And no, I’m not trying to excuse his behaviour. I’ve said all along that he was being railroaded by a fame seeking judge. But I’m sure you know that because you read all my posts, right?

Man I love that picture. Couldn’t you find one where she has a teddy bear in her arm?

Yes, I read all your posts before posting, I generally do. And I completely agree that a fame seeking judge had no right to make this a reputition case against a film director. I don´t agree that someone saying the girl would have looked older than 13 (which might or might have not been the case) changes anything concerning the assault, and it shouldn´t even be brought up in this discussion.