POLANSKI'S BIG FAT OSCAR NIGHT

I believe Polanski will be fine where he's at, staying out of the milieu of Hollywood and will give us more films as memorable as "The Pianist." He's represented at least four times in my favorite one-hundred films -- I can watch "Chinatown" purely for the enjoyment of the composition of each shot, the handling of color and music, the way the characters move in the scenes even though I know the dialogue nealry by heart. The woman he alledgedly raped was on Larry King and had no animosity towards him and would not press for prosecution if he did return. Anyway, hurray for the Academy for coming to their sense and although I was not dissatisfied with "Chicago" winning the big one, "The Pianist" truly deserved it. Of course, it won at Cannes and you don't suppose there's some backlash against the French among some Academy voters? The only political statement was from Michael Moore and he was booed for bringing it up, pro or con on the war. That's Moore for you. Adrian Brody's acceptance speech brought tears to my eyes and was the post potent anti-war statement of the entire affair.

BTW, it is a flawless script.

A man who has sex with a thirteen year old is a piece of garbage. He may be talented but he's still garbage.

Eoe--the 13 year old girl was a) not a virgin, and b) dating an 18 year old boy when Polanski had sex with her. I wouldn't get on my high horse about it if I were you.

Lightwizard--yes, the script is a gem. Are you starting to be affected by my and Kurosawa's argument about the central importance of a good script???

Larry, ever heard the expression "two wrongs don't make a right?" His involvement with that girl was the act of a louse. Period. Maybe, at 13, she didn't know it was criminal but Polanski, a grown man, certainly did.

Eoe--I agree that what Polanski did was scummy. But he did jail time and I think he has certainly been punished enough by now. Also, the girl herself, now a grown woman, says she doesn't want him punished further. Surely that should carry some weight with you?

What jail time?

Polanski is a wonderful talent. I'm not sure anything would be gained by his physical return to the U.S. He clearly is able to do extraordinary work regardless of his location.

Eoe--don't you know that Polanski was in jail in California for several months at the state prison called Chino? He only fled the country when the trial judge announced that he was going to be resentenced far more harshly. I might have done the same thing myself under the cirucmstances. You really should know all the facts before condemning the man.

Lead me to a link, Larry. Everything I read states that he "jumped bail" and "fled the country rather than face charges".
us.imdb.com/Bio?Polanski,+Roman
encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761582077

I do agree Polanski made a tragic mistake, one that many who have skeletons in their closet have managed to keep hidden. He didn't get away with it (the judge was in favor of deportation and was never clear as to his motives for a more serious sentence) and we've only heard the side of the story that there wasn't some dishonest, especially about age, from the "victim." It never qualified him as being a child molester in my opinion but then nobody knows if this was the only offense. I've always been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and in matters sexual, it really is between the parties affected.

As far as film goes, he's one of the few true directorial geniuses -- his lesser films look like masterpieces compared to the Hollywood output year after year.

And I do believe Polanski had a lot to do with that flawless script.

However, I don't remember his spending more than one or two nights in jail after surrendering:

http://www.vachss.com/mission/roman_polanski.html

LW, thanks for the link.

My recollection may be inaccurate BUT I read Polanski's memoirs and in them he stated that he spent several months in jail pre-sentencing.

The judge in the case stated publicly that he was going to give Polanski the maximum sentence even though Polanski had already served jail time because he wanted to "make an example of a celebrity." The maximum sentence could have been up to multiple years. Polanski, understandably, became alarmed and fled. I might very well have done the same thing myself in P's shoes.

BTW, Eoe, Polanski was not charged with violent rape. He was charged with statutory rape and ancillary charges. He did not force the girl to have sex as she has recently admitted on national TV. I think we have had all the moralizing we need, and more, about Polanski for 25 years. If everyone in Hollywood who practiced unconventional sex were banned from the industry, you wouldn't see too many movies or TV shows.

And tell us again why that would be a BAD thing, larry?

Polanski must be a very creative fiction write even in his own biography:

http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/oscars/cl-ca-baker2feb02,0,4850751.story?coll=cl-movies-features

Lightwizard, your reading skills need improving. The LA Times story TWICE spoke of "additional jail time" that Polanski was subject to. Additional means in addition to...in addition to the time he already served, the time in Chino which I mentioned in my earlier post. You CAN read, can't you?