How Dare They Arrest Polanski!
by R.J. Thomas
While running the risk of turning this group blog into an All-Polanski-All-The-Time love fest, I thought it worth while to point out my favorite part of the petition currently circulating the mess halls of Sunset Boulevard. (I mean beside the fact that Woody Allen signed it (which is a cheap shot, I know, but much like my teenage years, I’ll take what I can get)).
Filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision. It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him.
In other words, “How dare they disturb the sanctity of a film festival!”
There is a special sort of comedy associated with this idea that only those who have run a film through the festival circuit can appreciate.
Bonus film geek reference of the day: Little did those fleeing fools in “Logan’s Run” know the sanctuary they were seeking could have been easily achieved by picking up an Arriflex.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
75 Comments
Could somebody please post a list of Polanski films that are so great he should be excused of his crimes? Other than Chinatown and maybe The Pianist, what's he done that's so amazing? They act like he's up there with Bergman and Fellini. Rosemary's Baby was ok but not a masterpiece by any stretch.
It's astonishing to me that these celebrities are upset more by Polanski's arrest than Theo Van Gogh's murder by an Islamic extremist.
France is getting ready to lose 1/10th of its tax base.
Knife in the Water, Repulsion, Cul-de-sac, and Macbeth are Polanski movies that I think have contributed to his reputation as a cinematic genius. That said, not one of them or even all of them together equal a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card!
A good point, but one stand requires courage, the other is just a way stick it to the great unwashed, you know, those people who live in flyover country.
I was looking forward to "The Pianist, part II", where the Szpilman cahracter, now played by Bruce Willis, goes after holocaust deniers with a chainsaw. Given Polanski's current legal woes, this movie will now probably not get made.
I was looking forward to "The Pianist, part II", where the Szpilman character, now played by Bruce Willis, goes after holocaust deniers with a chainsaw. Given Polanski's current legal woes, this movie will now probably not get made.
I was looking forward to "The Pianist, part II", where the Szpilman character, now played by Bruce Willis, goes after holocaust deniers with a chainsaw. Given Polanski's current legal woes, this movie will now probably not get made.
And they say sequels rarely live up to the quality of the original…
Why doesn't anyone mention The Fearless Vampire Killers. I believe that's also the movie that connected him to Sharon Tate.
Check out this unearthed video of Polanski on "To Catch A Predator."
http://www.thenoseonyourface.com/conservative-sat...
Great point. I've been asking "where's the justice for van Gogh" for awhile now. The process of muting criticism of Islam is rampant mainly by the threat of retaliation by a crazy Islamic lunatic. I've stopped refering to radical Islam because I believing more and more, all of Islam is radical and dangerous.
I agree with you. I never thought he was the brilliant artiste Hollywood claims he is.
Has anyone here ever *experimented* with quaaludes, the drug Polanski used to drug his victim? I have, once. Never again. That was also in the later 70's and WOW, horrible. It's like drinking a case of beer in about 5 minutes.
This old letch should do time for feeding that stuff to a 13 year old girl. That in itself is worth a year in jail.
[...] Heh! An interesting take on the audacity of his defender’s over at Big Hollywood. [...]
It's a little late in the game for Hollyweird to learn the meaning of "outrage"… much less "sanctity".
As, so go the fleeting fashions of the Hollywood elite. Those little ribbons are so passe. The new statement is a "Free Polanski" card or button, now that shows you really care and pay attention to the news!
Ah, so goes the fleeting fashions of the Hollywood elite. Those little ribbons are so passe. The new statement is a "Free Polanski" card or button, now that shows you really care and pay attention to the news!
Agreed. I took one with four beers. Drunkest I have ever been. I was hung over the day after the day after. I can imagine a 13 year girl would be barely conscious after half a lude and champaign.
Hollywood and its meaningless gestures to defend its Law of Relativism, once again, demonstrates its "Rights for me, but not for thee" attitude. Nauseating.
I'm proud to say I have never seen a Polanski film.
He did Rosemary's Baby (insert joke here) and Frantic, a good action thriller with Harrison Ford in it (sort of like Taken, which I liked mere, so never mind). I fully intend to Netflix his first film after he gets out of jail. I think you can differentiate, to a degree, the man from the artist. A perfect compromise would be to give him a lifetime achievement Oscar and then lock him up for the next few years.
[...] How Dare They Arrest Polanski! This entry is filed under America – Blogs, Big Hollywood. You can follow any responses to this [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michael Chavez and Michael Woodring. Michael Woodring said: "How dare they disturb the sanctity of a film festival!" http://bit.ly/Wbn05 [...]
[...] How Dare They Arrest Polanski! [...]
OK – so let me get this straight.
All of you who have supported Roman Polanski and have basically said what he did was not "rape rape" and he did nothing wrong to the 13 year old girl he had sex with and, he should not be prosecuted – right?
OK – now that we have that straight – I guess (according to you) it's OK to give 13 year old girls alcohol and drugs and have sex with them – right?
Cool – let's start with your daughters!
I can't twist myself into knots like that…
When I hear a Hollyweird minion state how they "poured their heart and soul" or some such drivel into a part, I have decided to condemn the whole package, since it comes from that black soul…
"Jeepers Creepers" comes to mind…
I liken The Hollywood Elitist Community to one of those large, dangerous 10,000 leg spiders. You think if you pull one of the legs off the spider is so massive it won't feel anything. WRONG! That spider either rolls up in a ball and plays dead or it goes completely insane.Too bad the massive, harmful, ugly spider that is Hollywood's Community Elite is of the latter variety. The correct thing to do is not to try and destroy it by pulling off one leg at a time but to corner the entire demonic venomous entity and and drop a large flat rock directly on it. How do we do that? Stop admiring them. Stop paying them. Stop watching them. Stop reporting about them. Treat them to silence.
Where can i get the names of these people that signed this petition, such as whoopi goldberg? I will never watch another one of their movies again.
I would like to see some proportionality.
If I can be criminalized for not buying health insurance, then this guy should get the death penalty for drugging and raping a minor.
We called them Disco Biscuits. Take one and dance all night with no inhibitions.
Polanski has Cinematic Immunity according to those in the know.
Who are you talking to, exactly? Nobody on this website has defended what Polanski did. I came the closest to it by bringing up a legal point that I considered to be valid, and I got hammered for that.
How's your reading comprehension these days? If you're reacting to the title of Mr. Thomas' short piece (above), I'd suggest you read the entire 150 word essay before you decide to comment on it. By the way, it was sarcasm.
If the limosine-liberals of Hollywood had their son or daughter raped in the same fashion, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
My comment was directed to any of the idiots that are supporting Polanski. I know they are following the threads and comments being posted online. I also think they should
really think about their support for this creep and I thought this was a good way to point out their hypocrisy.
And by the way, mine was not sarcasm!
The women's movement gave Bill Clinton a pass on all the bimbo eruptions by throwing all their sisters under the bus because he promised to keep abortion free and legal. Not surprising this crowd of reprobates is giving this slime the same consideration.
Just another example of how out of touch Hollywood is with the rest of the U.S., and how warped their perception is. Hollywood has become a cesspool of beautiful idiots.
Just another example of how out of touch Hollywood is with the rest of the U.S., and how warped their perception is. Hollywood has become a cesspool of beautiful morons.
Just another example of how out of touch Hollywood is with the rest of the U.S., and how warped their perception is. Hollywood has become a cesspool of beautiful, souless morons.
I was forced to watch his version of MacBeth while in college, and it was appalling. I'm not a fan of the play anyway, but the video was just gruesome. I realize that it was made shortly after the murder of his wife and child, but… it was a hard film to watch, and not the "it was so moving I could barely get through it" sense.
I enjoyed everyone of Tarkovsky's movies, especially "Nostagia." Could someone tell me if Polanski is even studied like Bergman, Tarkovsky, etc.? I mean, are there film as art courses dedicated to Polanski like there are to other really talented directors?
I have a great painter, with tatoos all over his arms, living in a double-wide trailer home. He's completely trustworthy and loves kids. If he did what Polanski did, he'd be thrown in jail and Whoopie, Woody Allen, and all the other hollywood idiots would have wanted to have him in jail for a very long time. But somehow, an insignificant director with the right connections is above the law and basic decency?
What the Hollyweird elite have done is set rape defense back 30 years. It took forever for a woman's charge of rape to be taken seriously and not have the victim treated like crap and in just 5 minutes Whoopi Goldberg set it all back to square one. Now if a woman charges rape, the perpetrator will be able to say it wasn't "rape rape", but consensual. You know, she said no, but that wasn't what she meant. Men will have to struggle with the question again, if she said no, did she really mean it. And a woman's sexual history will again be brought up in court and used against her (just like the girl's lack of virginity was brought up). They truly have no idea what their words mean, do they?
I'm reminded of that great ol' Cat Stevens tune, "I'm bein' chased by a Muslim fanatic; Muslim, Muslim fanatic," to the tune of "Moonshadow." You have to pronounce it Mooz-lim to make it work.
You gotta hand it to those Islamo-fascist bastards, tho; they're not fooled by pretty words and pictures, lol. They're all about protecting the "faith," never mind that they must kill a few artistic types in the process.
Not the same thing. Disco Buscuits are old school (90's) Exstacy, the real thing. Quaaludes were pharma strengh downers that rendered you unable to walk well muchless dance anywhere. I don't how I got home driving. Not really proudly I'll admit that I've done a huge rainbow of all types of drugs starting in the 70's and after 1 quaalude I NEVER wanted to do another, ever, and I didn't. The real ones were marked 714 on one side a kicked your ass.
In the ARTS, we have our own moral code. It is certainly more moral than those silly religous types that we disdain so openly.
Sure, rape could be considered in poor taste but we artists are so compassionate towards those of our kind, the 13 yr old girl in question simply doesn't rate.
I do wish you non-artists would get with the program.
Oh, yeah, what is this rape-rape crime Whoppi made up? Not sure I every heard of anyone being booked for that.
MY personal fury is directed at those monsters who excuse Polanski because he 'suffered through the Holocaust'.
All I can say is, travel to Amsterdam and stand at the grave of another 13 year old girl who hid for years in an attic until the Nazis dragged her out and put her in Bergen-Belsen. I dare you, Whoopie and Harvey Weinstein, to explain to Anne Frank's ghost that sodomizing a 13 year is okay because – 'hey, the guy lived through the Holocaust'.
So, if I get the free polanski, can I trade it in on something less sleazy, like a senator?
"Treat them to silence."
But then whoever will you rail against to make yourself feel righteous?
Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad, if they free Polanski, so long as they release him in an arena full of fathers with daughters and a large selection of broomsticks and Bowie knives. Roman wouldn't be roamin' any more, if you catch my drift.
" It took forever for a woman's charge of rape to be taken seriously and not have the victim treated like crap and in just 5 minutes Whoopi Goldberg set it all back to square one."
I know, right? I can't tell you how many times I've been SURE a case was going my way, only for the judge to stop the proceedings and announce that he needed to hear what the star of "Sister Act" has to say on the matter.
Yeesh. Everything is armageddon with some people…
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
"It is SO WRONG to use the Holocaust for a cheap, largely-unrelated emotional appeal… I mean, what would ANNE FRANK think!!??"
Boy, I hope next week's show is as good as this one has been…
I don't know that I've seen anyone arguing – either serious or in sum-total (i.e. it's not just one of many factors) that Polanski should be shown leniency strictly because of his talent. I wish someone WOULD argue it, because for anything other than rape I can imagine being fairly open to the idea… but only if it worked in REVERSE, too, i.e. much much harsher penalties for really really BAD filmmakers. I mean, under that system we'd just be one jaywalking charge away from finally solving humanity's Michael Bay problem. That's a win-win!
That was truly funny, LMAO. I've included that site in my blog links. Thanks for the laugh!
Excellent points, well said.
I'm in total agreement with all that has been posted re the Polanski contretemps. However, one minor aside: "Rosemary's Baby," to me, was a superb adaption of the Ira Levin novel, and yet having said that, isn't it more than a little interesting to realize that approximately one year after "Rosemary" was made, Polanski's wife and unborn child were butchered by the Manson freaks while he, Polanski, is safely out of the country, then just 8 years later, obviously still in grief & shock, he rapes and sodomizes a thirteen year-old girl who's pleading with him tearfully to not do it, and finally, the character played by Sidney Blackmer in "Rosemary" is named ROMAN.(the leader of the satanic cult)–all a coincidence? just sayin'–MARKRITE
I experimented with a wide variety of illegal drrugs in the 70's & 80's.
I remember Quaaludes, some were marked Rohrer (I believe) and others were marked Lemmon.
The funny thing about them was, as youngsters (teens) we were always told to NEVER, eat a whole one. So you always started out eating a quarter, or half of one, but inevitablly you'd wake up the next morning not remembering too much of anything from the night before……………………and the half you saved and put in your pocket………………………………………always seemed to have vanished by morning.
Funny how things always worked out that way.
Stop ogling them as they make their weaving way down the streets ! Make them wait in line for a good table, the cigarette machine, a coffee, the supermarkets.. It's easy. Treat them like the rest of us are treated! Some movie star gets tired of waiting in traffic and decides to smash somebody's windshield just for the hell of it? Throw his arrogant prick ass in jail and leave him there! Some asshole elitist thinks he can get away with violating another human being, taking away someone else's humanity because he thinks he's above the law? Show him he ain't and Show Him Quickly! There's only one wat to kill this hideous Nosferatu, Expose him to the light.
I dont think any filmmakers' word could excuse anything at all…why do even Hollywood people bring it up? "Chinatown" … was it great? I didnt think so. Ive seen better movies, and even if I thought 'Chinatown' was the best ever made I'd still send Polanksi to jail for what he did without even thinking about his work. Just keep telling yourself "It;s just a movie, it's just a movie"
Polanski, should be put in front of a firing squad, after his nuts are cut off. Now that would be a film !
They were Rorer 714s, and were dangerous as hell. I did half of one, and swore off them entirely.
The Quaalude connection of a friend of mine ingested too much of his own product. He was riding his motorcycle down a twisty road. The road twisted. He didn't, having a fatal accident (after sailing 50 feet through the air). Sad stuff, indeed, and Quaaludes were very powerful downers.
Polanski was a sorry bastard for feeding that child drugs and alcohol, then raping her.
shel
Express your opinion with your $$$. A great idea. $$$$ that IS where their interest lies.
–Pay attention to the Celebrities you Dummies!–
The role models of moral decency and relevant issues have spoken.
TV ads with the beautiful and talented- telling the brain dead multitudes how Wonderful Government run health care will be for the them.
Why should they not tell us, we certainly can't think for ourselves. For years we have been unable to decide what Jeans to wear unless they shoved their beautiful butts at us from billboards and magazine ads, covered by the Logo of the day. They tell us how to eat and what. What to watch and read. How to save the planet and decorate our homes.They have modeled for us in the movies how to have sex in the newest position, when and where it is appropriate. What drugs are cool and should we marry just to have families. With the superior intellect that is bestowed upon them when they have a box-office hit, they condescend to inform us how to raise our children and who to vote for in an election. Why should they not now tell us who and what is moral, under what circumstance the morality is upheld and when it is overridden by talent.
If we had any smarts at all we would beg them to be our Representatives, Senators and Judges when they retire from the screen, after all they know best and we are accustomed to listening to them.
Ron, as if whoopi will ever be in a movie again!!!!!!!!
The article is called "Naming Names: The Free Roman Polanski Petition" right here on Big Hollywood has every name you're looking for Ron.. I tried to link it in for you but no dice. The usual url deal didn't work.
shel
Boycott Hollyweird!!!
I don't care if polanski made the greatest movie ever. Even if the man found a cure to cancer, he is not above the law and justice. Nobody is, or atleast I thought that that is what this country is supposed to be about. Truth, justice , the american way and all. Polanski needs to go down.
They can all go to hell.
actually, I would pay to see that one.
Really lets you know that the "women's movement" isn't about women anymore.
It's very unfortunate but inescapable that this whole thing will become another screed against democrats/liberals/lefties/Obama/healthcarereform/etc… I'm a dyed-in-the-wool liberal lefty, card-carrying ACLU member, and I am absolutely appalled at the various defenses being thrown out there for Polanski. Some of them raise the "judge reneging" issue (it doesn't work that way folks…), the most hearbreaking are those posts that blame it all on the victim and her mother. I remember when "Against Our Will, Men Women & Rape" was published, I was in college and it was making the rounds. It's saddening to see how far we haven't come when fame is involved. It always seemed like a good thing to have Hollywood reliably on our side when we were out there fighting the good fight (for a lefty like me anyway.) I now feel like one of my good friends has been outed as a really disgusting moral reprobate, and a complete coward to boot. Thanks Hollywood for your past support, I wish it had been more than posturing and lip-service.
Joseph White
NYC
A word of advice: don't have Hollywood on your side on any issue. If it can't stand the light of day on it's own, it probably isn't a good issue to back.
I think Cokie Roberts said it best when she said, (paraphrazing) "he should be taken out and shot." Striking comments from a liberal and I must admit I agree with her.
Normally I would agree with you, but this girl first sampled a quaalude at 10 years of age. Also, her mother gave her a glass of wine before she allowed her daughter to go to a person's house without parental supervision for a 'photo shoot'. It is no surprise that she has wanted this case dismissed for years because a bright light shines on the questionable parenting skills of her mother.
Respectfully, I don't care if Mom dilluted it and put in her baby bottle and ya, what a crappy Mom, but a 44 year okd letch using a powerful drug as a tool to rape a thirteen year old (and not ~conventionally~, if you get my drift), is a crime and should be adjudicated appropriately. IMHO.
he is a great director, come on, dont be mean………..
so many angry neurotic peole!!!!!!!!! its scary…
I think he's pretty good and Rosemary's Baby is a classic (some of those shots are incredible) but Darrell Hammond, portraying Schwarzenegger on SNL, recently said it best (in Arnold's voice, mind you): "I am also a great fan of RP and his movies… but at no point when I was watching these films did I think 'these films are so good, I would be okay if the director of these films had sex with a thirteen-year-old girl!'" It's true!
You must be logged in to post a comment.