POLANSKI'S BIG FAT OSCAR NIGHT

BTW, has anyone wondered why she picked this particular time to forgive him?...Lemme see....What words could a rich director and his rich friends use to persuade a working class young lady to pubicly declare her forgiveness?

Booman, It seems to me that if a girl can surprise a man about her age after the fact of engaging in sexual acts, that it would be just as easy for the man to be deceived as far as taking drugs with her was concerned. I think it's leading language to say that he "lured" her, as one of the Washington Post articles said. It seems to me that this same principle would apply to the type of sexaul activity one would engage in, as well. So do we really know if he lured her, or if he drugged her on purpose to take advantage of an underage girl, or if he was deceived? He was perhaps too willing to believe, but you know how that happens. Of course he may also have lured her on purpose in order to molest an underage girl, it is a possibility, but is it a certainty?

Honestly, Larry, The Greek Twins actually "came out of" Cyprus, near Larnaca, but had Greek passports, Greek parents, Greek names, and Greek as a first language. We met during a motorsport event on The Isle of Mann, and had some time to kill during a spot of inclement weather. We were more or less distracted from the motorized competition for some period of time beyond that required for the weather to settle. Fluorescent paint tastes like chalk dust, BTW.

Booman, I never called Polanski's crime "minor." Go back and check what I wrote. Please do not put words in my mouth.

It may or may not be relevant that this 13 year old victim was a) not a virgin and b) was sexually involved with an 18 year old man at the time of the incident. Therefore, she may very well have led P to believe that she was a consenting partner. If you know the details of the story her mother didn't raise a cry of rape until several days had passed.

And finally, since I don't have a daughter, I don't know how I would feel. But I do know that if my daughter was as willing to forgive and forget as this victim is, I as her father would have to feel the same way.

Timberlandko--boasting about one's sexual exploits strikes me as the height of vulgarity and tackiness.

So it would be Larry, were it explicit, and perhaps even if merely implied. As I mentioned, detailed expansion on the theme strikes me as impolitic. Any reference to sex in my recent posts would be a matter of inference, as opposed to any direct reference. Sorry if you're bothered by your interpretation of the remarks. Both humor and insult frequently are matters of personal perception ... a state of affairs, it seems to me, you yourself, among others, exploit from time to time.

Timber,

Re: the Greek twins...........my respect for you has just risen to new heights. A person must know how and be willing to have fun.

Larry,
...If you'll go back to page three(3) of this topic, you'll find that apparently while you were away from your PC, someone made a post in your name, stating that ordinarily a person wouldn't recieve jail time for the "MINOR CRIME THAT POLANSKI COMMITTED, WHICH IS VICTIMLESS, AND NON-VIOLENT," Whoever posted this, did it on March 26, 2003, at 3:59, EST.
...As for the rest of your statement, I'll have to keep my word, and and not challenge your reply, for I'm sure, you are an honorable man.

Booman, I did not write what you have quoted me as writing. You have deliberately distorted it. What I DID write was that ordinarily a first offender would receive probation "for as minor a crime as statutory rape"--minor compared to a violent offense like felony rape, robbery, or manslaughter. I was making a comparative point, not an absolute one. Polanski's original plea bargain was to a charge of statutory rape, which is not a crime that most courts in most jurisdictions treat with great severity, so far as I know, certainly not with a first offender. I repeat, what he did was scummy, but it wasn't the crime of the century.

OK, Timberlandko, it's all in MY head...one last crucial point--were these twins over the age of consent or do we have to add you to the Roman Polanski walk of shame?

Valid, civily stated rebuttal, Larry. I believe you take the point.

Well, actually, I was referring to your prior post, Larry, not the one that interposed. As I said, I think it impolitic to render graphic detail of such things. If you must know, all parties were in their twenties, and some fingerpainting was involved. Lets leave it at that and return to the issues surrounding Mr. Polanski's perceived indiscretion and the appropriateness of the approbatipon he has been accorded in some quarters. My youth had highlights, sure, but movie folk are so much more interesting to a broader audience

I accept your compliment on my rejoinder to Booman, which I assume is the post you were talking about.

Do I need to add that Polanski is a cinematic genius, one of the handful of truly enormous talents left in the world today? That his films have for over 40 years enriched the human race? That his death will be a loss to film lovers and culture in general? That THE PIANIST is nothing short of a masterpiece, the only great new film I have seen in the new millennium?

I guess nobody in this discussion cares about the fact that the man is a great artist.

Actually, Polanski is on my own Short List, and The Pianist is a wonderful film, and certainly the effort of a master of the art of movie directing.

Now that (alas) Kurosawa, Fellini, and John Huston are dead, there are very few living Master Directors. Polanski is indubitably one.

I lived in Hollywood in the 60's so if one believes that Polanski is the only one who ever committed something any more disturbing than a majority of the people in the industry, they just arrived from Mars. He got caught and there is still a cloud over the whole affair that will likely never part. That he directed and produced films of the highest artistic value to be called the fine art of cinema cannot be shorted because of this sad and sorry incident. Knowing what some mothers will do to get their daughters (or sons) some exposure (sic) in Hollywood, the jury is still out on this one. I don't believe it could be adquately litigated at this point in history and I was sad to see this thread get side-tracked into a fruitless discussion of morality.

...I am such a putz.My humblest apologies Larry, you said "for as minor a crime as statutory rape", and I quoted you as saying," minor crime that Roman Polanski committed." I wasn't even close!

LW, it would be so difficult to discuss his genius and not discuss his downfall as well. More than likely, if it wasn't for the scandal we wouldn't STILL be talking about him right now. His publicist is probably loving all of this.

And to further both EOE's, and LW's points, Look at R&B singer R. Kelly. He is alledgedly in videos having sex with, and PISSING (!)on underage girls, but his latest CD is doing great. And hey, the songs I've heard are great.

Just to set the record straight, here's the quote in question. Just so we're all on the same page...