But the Moral Police of the World wants blood. (In one of those ironies we can only appreciate in retrospect, this documentary, which presents an energetic case for the defence of a sex offender, was produced by the Weinstein Company.). Perhaps the judge got away with what Polanski was accused of. Tom Tykwer Part of me feels extreme disgust right now because I think that the pass many are giving to Polanski is a reflection of a misogynistic culture that deep down believes a woman (or in this case, a girl) always wants it. It was stupid To take a childhood from a person is the worst thing there is. Those that signed the petition, I would - Le Bureau National du SFA She is not an adult. Pascal Thomas I will never again be able to speak to, or look at, Mike Nichols, Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese or any of the other names I recognize here without wanting to scream obscenities at them. but this summer,when right when i turned 14 i gave in and had sex with a 27 year old man. But he doesnt mention that in his book. How else will they have their entertainment? Polanskis own attitude has remained bullish; in October last year he gave an interview in which he focused his ire on the judges who let him down. The following is the SACD petition, followed by a list of names of people who had signed it as of tonight. Free shipping for many products! Alain Corneau Thanks to #MeToo and the Time's Up campaign, we are now living in a dramatically different climate when it comes to discussing sexual harassment and assault. In September 2009, Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police on a warrant for his 1977 sexual-abuse case. Fonda made his professional. furthermore, the reason the victim wants the charges to be dropped is because this case has been haunting her since she was 13- she is in her 40s now and she wants to get on with her life. What was done to that 13 year old victim should not be perpetrated on any child. Anyone whose name is on this petition, is supporting an admitted (he did admit it) rapist/child molester. Polanskis autobiography was written seven years after his arrest, and his account of the crime does not smack of a man overly burdened with feelings of guilt. It makes me sad to know so many people who I look up to in the field of the arts are supporters of rape. In 2018, Argento apologised and expressed regret for signing the petition. The case is not a case of morals. Actually, the film Wanted and Desired has notable inaccuracies and neglects to include the grand jury testimony which is readily available to the public. If you are rich, white, and especially if you are famous, the system in extremely biased in your favor. And here is another Free Polanski petition, this one organized by writer/philosopher Bernard-Henri Lvy. The judge certainly didnt give A DAMN about the girl. This girl was very sexually mature for her age, even the judge said the prosecutrix was a well-developed young girl, who looked older than her years, and regrettably not unschooled in sexual matters. This was clearly a case of consensual sexual relations. As to the victim wanting to drop the case, it is because she is tired of all the publicity her family gets every time Polanski whines about not being able to go to a certain country to film. Those people dont want justice or protection of children. If youre not going to enforce laws, then whats the point in having any? Prefer the fantasy of one his films? What purpose does it serve to lock up Mr. Polanski when the prison space could be used to protect the public from violent offenders? Defending Polanski in the face of his full admission of drugging and raping a 13 year-old, fleeing charges because he thought he was too important to face the consequences of his actions, boasting to Martin Amis that EVERYONE wants to F*** little girls! and complaining how HE is the victim (in true sociopathic form) by not being able to work in Hollywood for 30 years, while never ONCE saying that what he did was unfathomably wrong, has nothing of importance to say about humanity. (Page 13), On march 13, 1977, the day you had sexual intercourse how old did you believe her to be?, Are you pleading guilty Freely and voluntarily?. None of my business. This list is a paltry portion of the total number of A-list film celebrities with their names on the petition. He is a convicted child molestor. And please dont take the whole But but hes so charming and he gives to charity! defense. One admitted they regretted their previous support, given the new allegations, but couldnt bring themselves to say so publicly. Laissez cet homme exceptionel tranquil; a sera plus raisonable, moins obstin et plus gnreux. Harmony Korine He would just be more careful.There are men who go unrevealed for years, even die before anyone finds out about them and here you have a man who was exposed and you support him?Yes he should be free to continue to do what he likes. No one should have pity for him - his suffering is completely self-inflicted. This kind of hypocrisy about Polanski makes you wonder how serious the industry really is about dealing with this problem, as it claims to be. Luc et Jean-Pierre Dardenne He engaged in non-consenting sex acts with a child. Gilles Behat See you at your inbox! By trying to send Roman Polanski to the lions despite all the legal arguments, is something that unfortunately gets and will get more and more out of proportion. Posting their names publicly in support of Polanski speaks loudly regarding their . As much as I've been repulsed by Polanski's 1977 rape of a 13-year-old girl, I've been absolutely flabbergasted and offended by the list of Hollywood elites and celebrities who have recently signed a petition demanding his release. Roman Polanski is a French citizen, a renown and international artist now facing extradition. What happened to the feminists?, Wow, Laslavic- you are one classy guy!(/sarcasm). I dont tacitly approve of rape, said Meryl Streep. If Polanski had attended his sentencing hearing instead of fleeing the country, the whole thing would have been over after hed served his time. Jerry Schatzberg A host of directors and actors followed Weinstein, signing the petition for Polanski, including Natalie Portman, Tilda Swinton and Emma Thompson. Too icky, I suppose to add the details of your purported heros heinous crime. After Roman Polanski 's 2009 arrest in Switzerland for the 1977 rape of a 13-year-old girl, more than 100 actors and directors united to release a petition urging for his . HES SUFFERED ENOUGH. He never admited to raping anyone. Tony Gatlif Once again, shame on all who signed this petition and feel Polanski shouldnt be punished! Im so glad Roman has so many supporters that he can rape and sodomize, but are any of you 13 because thats target age we need. Radu Mihaileanu There was that applause from Hollywood luminaries when he won the 2003 Oscar (Polanski, of course, did not attend the ceremony, as he was still officially on the lam). Mashable is a registered trademark of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without express written permission. The whole world will be so much safer if Polanski ends his days behind bars. Polanski is a child rapist probably a serial child rapist. Roman Polanski at a court appearance in Los Angeles in 1977. This is how Gailey recalled the crime: He placed his penis in my vagina. I foolishly went along. . Sandra Nicolier He never admited to raping anyone.. Broadly reached out to Almodovar to ask if he regrets supporting Polanski, but he declined to reply by the time of publication. Gee, she got so uptight about cancer-adled, bedridden Sharon Atkins potential release saying she hadnt paid for her crime (and I agree, by the way). He only confessed to a lesser charge through a plea agreement. Jean-Jacques Annaud High-profile actors like Kate Winslet and Adrien Brody continued to work with him. On Tuesday, Natalie Portman apologized for signing the 2009 petition in support of Polanski. He presented to them the new Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the embassy, Ms Judith Baroody. Will you too?' It was not just statutory rape, it was rape-rape because she said no! Also an artist and a film lover. I dont know what the rationals might be for those who seek his pardoning, be it moral ambiguity, sycophancy, going along with what they see as hip or simply the belief that the group they belong to is somehow superior and has a right to use common people for their own amusement, but it would be a mistake to give the law a pass to accommodate this utterly reprehensible man. Any notion that because a person puts up a huge bail, s/he definitely will not flee is an utter fallacy, whether or not in view of past conduct. What happened to the feminists? I start by emailing Zenovich to ask if she feels attitudes towards Polanski have changed since she made her movie and its follow-up, Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out, about the Zurich arrest. Roman Polanski committed several horrific crimes over the course of several hours, admitted his guilt, then fled the country when his plea bargain fell apart. Because you know, rapists are never charming, are they? Hiding under the same moldy rock they hid under during the OJ trial? etc. Sigourney Weaver, Harrison Ford, Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kate Winslet and many more have appeared in Polanski movies in the decades since his conviction, and questions about why they were working with a convicted child rapist were seen as tacky, proof of a rigid mind more focused on gossip than art. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. Someone I respected gave it to me, and said, 'I signed this. the two of them have . ", Mashable Australia's Web Culture Reporter.Reach out to me on Twitter at @Johnny_Lieu or via email at jlieu [at] mashable.com, "I take responsibility for not thinking about it enough. He then had sex with her, drove her home and, the next day, was arrested. He is a great artist, no doubt about it, but he commited a crime against a child and needs to be prosecuted. By his cowardice and lack of morality he has kept the case and the pain of his victim alive all this time. its shameful,to say that i consented it. But Gailey became so frightened by the attention the case attracted, because of Polanskis fame, she tried to withdraw from it entirely. We should not however allow him to ever enter this country again. Hope Polanski gets his! Elie Chouraqui I find it hard to believe that you would find it an acceptable excuse if it was your child who was sodomized. Michael Mann Polanski, you sense, has never even tried to understand this.) After Tate was murdered in 1969, when Polanski was 36, he spent time in Gstaad, where he slept with schoolgirls aged 16 to 19, who were, he writes, more beautiful, in a natural, coltish way, than they ever would be again. Jetter Roman Polanski aux lions malgr les arguments legaux, cela prendra des proportions de plus en plus exagers. Alongside Asia Argento and Emma Thompson, Natalie Portman remains one of the few celebrities to apologize for signing the petition. Jeanne Moreau There are some quibbles about who said what, but the generally agreed facts are as follows: in March 1977 Polanski, who was then 43, took a child, Samantha Gailey (now Geimer), who he knew was 13 years old, to Jack Nicholsons house to take photos of her for a magazine. - la Cinmathque Franaise Laurent Heynemann He must be brought to justice. She said regardless of the fact she knows him and the terrible things he has been through, a crime is a crime," Hayward-Tapp told the Independent in 2009. An earlier version said that three more allegations emerged against Polanski last year. He never contested that his victim told him no repeatedly, or that he drugged her. Jean-Jacques Beineix In 2018, Dolan apologised and expressed regret for signing the petition. Hes an animal because of what he did to a child; hes a coward because he didnt take his punishment like a man with character. They protect their own, I protect my own. I have read the facts and testimonies of the case. We lived in a different world, and that doesn't excuse anything. because its just too banal and trivial to enforce our laws? Terry Gilliam - lAPI (Association des producteurs Indpendants) (Association of Independent Producers) A pedophile. Woody Allen Serge Toubiana "We talked for 15 minutes and by the end she [Thompson] said she would get her name removed. I live in LA, Im a liberal, and I am appalled by the signatures of people whose work I respect on the petition. Polanski is a child molester. Do you have kids??? Details of the assault. He admitted to raping a child at the age of 13, fled the country and lived like a King in France, and he shouldnt be punished because he makes good movies??? Vangelis, By trying to send Roman Polanski to the lions despite all the legal arguments, is something that unfortunately gets and will get more and more out of proportion. "It should just be that everyone can empathize with everyone. At the end of the day Polanski fled not because of a legal transgression on the part of the California justice system but because he thinks hes above the law and does not have to answer to a code of ethics that conflicts with his selfish and perverse tastes. Jacques Fansten Roman Polanski is a French citizen, a renown [sic] and international artist now facing extradition. Even the girl now a woman who accused Polanski of rape says the case should be dropped. But mainly I heard people insist their friend is not a rapist. - la SACD David Heyman Polanski showed not even the slightest sign of regret, but stated in an interview that everybody wants to sleep with young girls or whatever. Barbet Schroeder Jean-Loup Hubert Instead, he describes trying to arrange a date with her. but the fact that he drugged her,and had anal sex with her ruins it. Too bad theyre selling their souls to be there. Jean-Michel Carre The right thing is different for different people. Claude Lanzmann Do you understand the court will make no decision regarding probation and sentencing until the judge reads all of the reports, Do you understand at the time of your sentencing, the prosecutor may argue that you should go to state prison or be incarcerated in the county jail?, (to Polanskis attorney) Have you explained to your client all of the possible outcomes? Roman Polanski is a French citizen, a renown and international artist now facing extradition. The judge in Polanskis case acted like a common crook. Finally, to those of you suggesting that Polanski got unfair treatment: I suggest you follow up on watching documentaries with some actual research on the justice system in Los Angeles County. In 1977, Roman Polanski was convicted of unlawful sex with a minor and fled the US rather than face jail time. Raphael Rebibo Emir Kusturica Wong Kar Wa To not feel remorse. Adrien Brody with Polanksi, during filming of The Pianist, 2002. But you can have your eyes opened and completely change the way you want to live. I am sure his methods may have changed but sex offenders rarely offend just once. Artists are not above the law in any country. And yet Polanskis name is mentioned only sporadically, even though he is the only one with an actual conviction. Ask any rape victim and we will tell you that we would give anything if the rapist had been prosecuted and locked up forever before we were victimized by them! I wrote about the documentary for this paper when it came out, as it struck me as astonishingly exculpatory. I didnt know. i was somewhat sexually active at that time but still a virgin. Jean-Marc Ghanassia Marco Bellochio Even after Mary posted the facts of the case, you still call this a bloodhunt. I have too much to say to put it in a short comment - but I have posted on this issue on my personal blog : But it seems to me that Hollywood must be a very dangerous place for a child these days as so many of its big names appear to endorse paedophilic activity. His arrest follows an American arrest warrant dating from 1978 against . Is this a world gone mad!!! Patrice Leconte Thats why even though there are many other bad things in the world, this one IS important. Kingsley, who has worked with Polanski multiple times, would need to pass. The issue is effective consent not whether you like or dislike someones sexual preference or activity. The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox. The judge went back on his word because he was afriad of public opinion like yours. I know that before today, when Roman Polanski had only pleaded guilty to raping that 13-year-old girl in 1979, and been accused of raping that 16-year-old girl in 1986, it was like, Big deal . I very much regret it, Portman said. Socially conscious & political cinema. It will be much wiser, less obstinate and more generous to leave this exceptional man alone. And not just when it comes to lurid, sex-laced cases, but that seems all most people care about. Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen want Roman Polanski released from a Swiss Jail.The two directors and more than 100 other filmmakers and actors have signed a petition voicing their objection to . But apparently, you artists arent supposed to be subjected to the rules and expectations we mere mortals face. Jacques Fansten The talent of Roman Polanski is not questioned. He blamed jet lag. Fanny Ardant Great.. Only one persons behaviour is at issue here, Roman Polanski and he deserves to be in prison because he drugged, then raped, then sodomized a 13 year old girl despite her pleas for him to stop. Jean-Charles Tacchella Well, so do I. If he believed her to be old enough, why did he drug her? Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Oscars 2023: Best Picture Predictions I express my deepest respect to those who were brave enough to sign the petition and withstand the blood-seeking mob. "I take responsibility for not thinking about it enough. Sam Gabarski Do a search online and youll find the filmmakers site for the film. His plea bargain didnt fall apart. The filmmaker had been detained over a 1977 underage sex case from the U.S., which he plead guilty to. Please somebody start a petition against Roman Polanski and the rest of his kin. Bertrand Tavernier Film-makers 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 film-makers, is used by police to apprehend him., Related Michael Mann, Tilda Swinton, Vangelis, Christophe Barratier, Lynch, Scorsese, Allen, Louis Garrel, Ludivine, the divine Jeanne Moreau. When Polanski was arrested in Zurich in 2009 in a failed attempt by the US to extradite him, more than 100 celebrities signed a petition demanding his release. This does not make what Polanski did any better! "All I can say is jetlag and lateness. How is this even up for debate? He never was. Mario Monicelli A petition has been circulated on behalf of Roman Polanski henceforth, to my mind, "RoPo" and signed by A-list movie directors (Pedro Almodovar, Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Wong Kar. The victim wants the case dropped, but oh no. - The crew of Polanskis latest film, Ghost Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Stuck on 'Quordle' #401? Roman Polanski is an ADMITTED child rapist. As a result, her attorney arranged the plea bargain, in which five of the charges were dropped and Polanski pleaded guilty to statutory rape, which was the least serious charge against him. And yet only a decade and a half earlier, Streep had stood and applauded when Polanski won best director at the 2003 Oscars, not so much tacitly approving rape as explicitly celebrating a convicted child rapist. Jean-Paul Salom Given. Charlotte Silvera Its despicable that some Hollywood stars would rather support a pedophile then uphold a serious charge such as rape of an underage girl. In 2018, Portman apologised and expressed regret for signing the petition. We worship/ed those artists just as they worship Polanski. We'll give you the hints and tips you need (and also the answers). The judge went back on his word because he was afriad of public opinion like yours. And I still have a good lot of movies to see. Jerome Cornuau Sure, admire his work. When Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in 2009, where he was jailed for two months and then put under house arrest (the house, in this case, being a chalet in the Alps), Debra Winger claimed the whole art world suffers. - lUnion des producteurs de films Filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision. A shameful chapter indeed - let us hope it will soon be brought to a close. Why should he be treated any differently from other members of the clergy? The man is an animal and a coward. The fact that Polanski assumed that he could travel without hindrance shows only his blatant disregard for the law of any country. Every story has more than one side. said that Polanski is "very clearly not a predator" and had a rant about how he is a family man. We lived in a different world, and that doesn't excuse anything. One of the petition's signatories was Natalie Portman, who told BuzzFeed(Opens in a new tab) she "very much" regrets putting her name on it. Though he was released from custody by July 2010, over 100 members of the film industry . Gailey sensed something different. Giuseppe Tornatore Id say that a number of these (American) one-hit wonders and struggling Indie folks appear to want to install themselves in more-accomplished company. Jean-Paul Rappeneau Patty Jenkins Told Chris Pine to Try Directing: 'You Gotta Do Something Besides Wait in Your Trailer' On Sunday night, at the London Critics Circle awards, only months after defending Polanski and Allen, Winslet spoke tearfully about bitter regrets I have at poor decisions to work with individuals with whom I wish I had not. The rest say they are too busy. That does not change that he committed statutory rape against a 13 year old, drugged her, and fled the country. Betrand Van Effenterre The fact is that he raped her and pled guilty. Unless the Puritans secretly championed the rights and autonomy of women. Someone I respected gave it to me, and said, 'I signed this. Accept Read More. Mr. Polanski is not a threat to anyone. By their extraterritorial nature, film festivals the world over have always permitted works to be shown and for filmmakers to present them freely and safely, even when certain States opposed this. In 2009, when Polanski was arrested at a Zurich airport in a failed extradition attempt, over 100 Hollywood celebrities signed a petition calling for his release. If only anyone had known about Weinstein they would never never! Paolo Sorrentino Although the Spanish director signed the 2009 petition supporting convicted child rapist Roman Polanski, Almodovars been scathing when it comes to criticising Hollywoods institutional sexism. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images. When he then learned she was only 15, he continued to sleep with her for several months, he wrote. Broadly reached out to Cruz to ask if she regrets supporting Polanski, but she declined to reply by the time of publication.