Roman Polanski busted

Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland on a
decades-old arrest warrant stemming from a sex charge in California, Swiss
police said Sunday.

Polanski, 76, was taken into custody trying to enter Switzerland on Saturday,
Zurich police said. A spokesman for the Swiss Justice Ministry said Polanski was
arrested upon arrival at the airport.

CNN News article:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/27/zurich.roman.polanski.arrested/index.html


BBC photograph from 2003
Harrison Ford presents Roman Polanski with the Oscar that Polanski won for "The Pianist"

Search baby search!

http://raven.theraider.net/showpost.php?p=445261&postcount=2

I'm not sure what that means.

I posted without making any jokes or other remarks.

Makes you wonder about the statute of limitations.

Why pursue an old man over crimes committed decades ago?

Were they really crimes?

Or have they been exaggerated in today's world?

Just asking. Not taking a position one way or the other.

Monkey, my good man, your sense of irony is fantastic.

"8 year olds, Dude, 8 year olds"

- Walter S.

roundshort said:

"8 year olds, Dude, 8 year olds"

- Walter S.

Click to expand...

LMAO!

monkey said:

Makes you wonder about the statute of limitations.
Why pursue an old man over crimes committed decades ago?
Were they really crimes?
Or have they been exaggerated in today's world?
Just asking. Not taking a position one way or the other.

Click to expand...

I don't know you yet, Monkey; if you're serious, joking, or whatever, I can't tell. So I'll answer this one cold and straight.

If you're going to play devil's advocate, or even just pose neutral questions, do your reading first, and pick subjects that have actual gray areas. It's all in black in white, dude. Has been since day one, and there are no facts in question on this case.

Not only did he commit a crime (as defined by our legal system), he was already convicted in a court of law (statutes of limitation only apply to prosecution, which was completed within the proper amount of time). He then committed another crime by fleeing the jurisdiction to avoid due punishment. All moral judgements aside, the laws of the United States at that time were violated. Thus, yes, they were crimes, and no, not exaggerated in today's world.

Now, if you are taking a swing at the idea that the age of consent varies by country, culture, and historical time period (and is therefore arbitrary) - I'd have to call this poor timing / placement. Without stating my views on that one, I'd have to suggest that this is not the sort of place for such a touchy subject.

Actually I don't really know all the facts in this case.

Simple question: how old was the girl?

Click the first link in this thread. They sum up the whole deal quite nicely.

OK, so she was 13 years old.

That's wrong. That is a child.

I was misinformed on this. I thought the girl was quite a bit older.

You have to wonder why a successful film director couldn't find a girl who was at least 18. You have to assume it is because he WANTED a 13 year old, which is wrong.

So I change my opinion on this matter. I hope they nail him.

But why is Harrison Ford presenting him with an Oscar?

monkey said:

But why is Harrison Ford presenting him with an Oscar?

Click to expand...

My guess is because Polanski directed him in Frantic, and they seem to have become friends in the process.

I am sorry, this guy needs to go down. What he did was wrong, and he was convicted. So the chicken sh** ran. How can anyone stand behind him and reward him? Because it happened 30 years ago . . . To me, this is no good. Good for the Swiss!

roundshort said:

I am sorry, this guy needs to go down. What he did was wrong, and he was convicted. So the chicken sh** ran. How can anyone stand behind him and reward him? Because it happened 30 years ago . . . To me, this is no good. Good for the Swiss!

Click to expand...

I have to agree, although there might be some problem as his plea bargain was overturned by the judge...(originally) and he fled after "facing up to it", trying to cut a deal. Don't think this makes it any worse or better but with lawyers who can really know?

i hope he gets busted too. he deserves it.

deckard24 said:

My guess is because Polanski directed him in Frantic, and they seem to have become friends in the process.

Click to expand...

This is the one thing that urks me about Ford.

Martin Scorsese wants Roman Polanski released from a Swiss Jail, oh so does Woody Allen.

More than 100 other filmmakers and actors have signed a petition voicing their objection to Polanski's arrest on 32-year-old charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Gave a 13 year old booze and qualudes and they don't think it's rape?


Woody Allen, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Martin Scorcese, David Lynch, Wong Kar Wai, Harmony Korine, Stephen Frears, Alexander Payne, Michael Mann, Wim Wenders, Tilda Swinton, Julian Schnabel, and Pedro Almodovar are among the 100 and counting film industry figures who have signed the petition...

Chris Rock:

"People are defending Roman Polanski because he made some good movies?!? Even Johnnie Cochran don't have the nerve to go, 'Well, did you see O.J. play against New England?'"

Woody Allen
Wes Anderson
Darren Aronofsky
Jonatham Demme
Stephen Frears
David Lynch
Martin Scorsese

Full list: (it might have been quicker to name who didn’t sign the petition)
Fatih Akin, Stephane Allagnon, Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar, Wes Anderson, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alexandre Arcady, Fanny Ardant, Asia Argento, Darren Aronofsky, Olivier Assayas, Alexander Astruc, Gabriel Auer, Luc Barnier , Christophe Barratier, Xavier Beauvois , Liria Begeja , Gilles Behat, Jean-Jacques Beineix, Marco Bellochio, Monica Bellucci, Djamel Bennecib, Giuseppe Bertolucci , Patrick Bouchitey, Paul Boujenah, Jacques Bral, Patrick Braoudé, André Buytaers, Christian Carion, Henning Carlsen, Jean-michel Carre, Mathieu Celary, Patrice Chéreau, Elie Chouraqui, Souleymane Cissé, Alain Corneau, Jérôme Cornuau, Miguel Courtois, Dominique Crevecoeur, Alfonso Cuaron, Luc et Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Jonathan Demme, Alexandre Desplat, Rosalinde et Michel Deville, Georges Dybman, Jacques Fansten, Joël Farges, Gianluca Farinelli (Cinémathèque de de Bologne), Etienne Faure, Michel Ferry, Scott Foundas, Stephen Frears, Thierry Frémaux, Sam Gabarski, René Gainville, Tony Gatlif, Costa Gavras, Jean-Marc Ghanassia, Terry Gilliam, Christian Gion, Marc Guidoni, Buck Henry, David Heyman, Laurent Heynemann, Robert Hossein, Jean-Loup Hubert, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Gilles Jacob, Just Jaeckin, Alain Jessua, Pierre Jolivet, Kent Jones (World Cinema Foundation), Roger Kahane, Nelly Kaplan, Wong Kar Waï, Ladislas Kijno, Harmony Korinne, Jan Kounen, Diane Kurys, Emir Kusturica, John Landis, Claude Lanzmann, André Larquié, Vinciane Lecocq, Patrice Leconte, Claude Lelouch, Gérard Lenne, David Lynch, Michael Mann, François Margolin, Jean-PierreMarois, Tonie Marshall, Mario Martone, Nicolas Mauvernay, Radu Mihaileanu, Claude Miller, Mario Monicelli, Jeanne Moreau, Sandra Nicolier, Michel Ocelot, Alexander Payne, Richard Pena (Directeur Festival de NY), Michele Placido, Philippe Radault, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Raphael Rebibo, Yasmina Reza, Jacques Richard, Laurence Roulet, Walter Salles, Jean-Paul Salomé, Marc Sandberg, Jerry Schatzberg, Julian Schnabel, Barbet Schroeder, Ettore Scola, Martin Scorsese, Charlotte Silvera, Abderrahmane Sissako, Paolo Sorrentino, Guillaume Stirn, Tilda Swinton, Jean-Charles Tacchella, Radovan Tadic, Danis Tanovic, Bertrand Tavernier, Cécile Telerman, Alain Terzian, Pascal Thomas, Giuseppe Tornatore, Serge Toubiana, Nadine Trintignant, Tom Tykwer, Alexandre Tylski, Betrand Van Effenterre, Wim Wenders.

Isabelle Adjani
Antoine Aronin
Paul Auster
Morgane Beauverger
Candice Belaisch-Goldchmit
Yamina Benguigui
Pascal Bruckner
Jessika Cohen
Philippe Corbé
Jean-Paul Dayan
Katarina De Meulder
Arielle Dombasle
Nathalie Faucheux
Corinne Figuet
Pierre Forciniti
Louis Garrel
Albert Gauvin
Johanna Gozlan
Davide Homitsu Riboli
Taylor Hackford
Isabelle Huppert
Neil Jordan
Thierry Kamami
Milan Kundera
Gaelle Lancien
Claude Lanzmann
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Sam Mendes
Camille Meyer
Patrick Mimouni
Yann Moix
Mike Nichols
Sandra Nicolier
Marie Nieves Perez Neël
Salman Rushdie
Carine Sarna
Ysabelle Saura Del Pan
William Shawcross
Olivier Soares Barbosa
Steven Soderbergh
Nil Symchowicz
Danièle Thompson
Eugenia Varela Navarro
Diane von Furstenberg
Scott Foundas
Margaret Walker
Elsa Zylberstein

Rocket Surgeon said:

Martin Scorsese wants Roman Polanski released from a Swiss Jail, oh so does Woody Allen.

More than 100 other filmmakers and actors have signed a petition voicing their objection to Polanski's arrest on 32-year-old charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Gave a 13 year old booze and qualudes and they don't think it's rape?

Click to expand...

And this is exactly why so many people think Hollywood is morally bankrupt!

I don't know all the details of the case, but from what I've gleaned, it looks like Polanski should be busted. I personally don't see how having to live in his native country for the last 30+ years, after fleeing the USA after being convicted, is enough to say "he paid his dues"?

deckard24 said:

And this is exactly why so many people think Hollywood is morally bankrupt!

I don't know all the details of the case, but from what I've gleaned, it looks like Polanski should be busted. I personally don't see how having to live in his native country for the last 30+ years is enough to say "he paid his dues"?

Click to expand...

It's going to be tough for guys like Harrison Ford and Johnny Depp to deal with reporters questions!

Did anyone think Hollywood wasn't morally bankrupt?!?

Rocket Surgeon said:

It's going to be tough for guys like Harrison Ford and Johnny Depp to deal with reporters questions!

Did anyone think Hollywood wasn't morally bankrupt?!?

Click to expand...

It might be tough for Ford and Depp to field questions, but that doesn't seem to change the fact that they're are just playing it safe, and avoiding making a stink. That is of course, if they actually disapproved of Polanski's actions. From what I can tell, they all just seem to be buddy buddy with Polanski after having a working relationship with him, and now feel bound to defend him regardless of his guilt.

Ford seems to be the kind of guy who doesn't really take stands, unless he's a part of a larger majority. For example, he's apparently quite the marijuana fan, and Bill Maher not too long ago outed him, and made the comment that he wished Ford would be more outspoken about it.