West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Train of Thought => Topic started by: Elano on September 27, 2009, 12:22:40 PM
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Three decades after he fled the United States following his arrest for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl, Roman Polanski was taken into custody in Zurich this morning and faces extradition to Los Angeles.
Polanski, the famed film director whose career continued to flourish even after fleeing for Europe, was arrested as he arrived in the Swiss city to accept an award at the Zurich Film Festival.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office learned last week that Polanski had plans to travel to Zurich this weekend, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors sent a provisional arrest warrant to the U.S. Justice Department, which presented it to Swiss authorities. On at least two previous occasions, the district attorney’s office has received reports that Polanski had travel arrangements to countries with extradition treaties with the U.S. and prepared paperwork for his arrest, Gibbons said.
“But in the end, he apparently found out about it and didn’t go,” she said.
A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that the U.S. Marshals Service had come close to arresting Polanski half a dozen times or so over the past few decades -- though several of those opportunities presented themselves in the last two years.
"For one reason or another, it just didn't work out," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing. "There are so many variables."
The source said Polanski always was very careful about when and where he traveled. But as new questions arose in recent years about the fairness of his case, the source said Polanski appeared to become more at ease about travel.
Thomas Hession, head of the Marshals Service's Los Angeles office, would not comment on specifics of the case but said authorities moved quickly on each lead. "Any time information was developed, the L.A. County district attorney's office and the Marshals Service immediately acted on it."
Asked if prosecutors would ask that Polanski be sentenced to time behind bars if he were returned to the U.S., Gibbons said, “We’ve always maintained this is a matter between Polanski and the court. … We initially recommended prison time for him, but I can’t see into the future.”
An attorney for Polanski, Chad Hummel, declined to comment. “Right now, we’re not in a position to say anything,” he said.
Polanski, now 76 and a married father of two, asked the court to throw out the entire case based on new allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct detailed in an HBO documentary last year. The L.A. district attorney’s office argued that he could not make such a request while a fugitive, and an L.A. judge earlier this year agreed. A 1997 attempt at settling the case also failed.
Polanski was arrested 31 years ago at a Beverly Hills hotel after a 13-year-old girl accused him of sexually assaulting her during a photo shoot at actor Jack Nicholson's house.
A 1978 arrest warrant, issued after he failed to appear at his sentencing on the statutory-rape conviction, is still in effect, and he would be taken into custody upon arrival on U.S. soil. The director of "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" has not returned to the U.S. since then but continues to work as a director, winning an Oscar for "The Pianist."
Polanski’s stay in Switzerland could be brief if he opts to return to Los Angeles.
“If he agrees with an extradition, he could be sent to the U.S. in the next days,” said Guido Ballmer, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police.
But if Polanski declines to come back without a fight -- perhaps a more likely scenario given his three decades as a fugitive -- the court process could be quite lengthy, Ballmer told The Times.
The appeals process has several layers and could last months, if not longer.
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Roman Polanski could remain in Switzerland for months if he decides to fight extradition to Los Angeles, where he faces a rape conviction.
The film director has eluded U.S. capture for 30 years. A 1978 arrest warrant, issued after he failed to appear at his sentencing on the statutory rape conviction, is still in effect. The director of "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" has not returned to the U.S. since then but continues to work as a director.
If he continues to fight, the court process could be quite lengthy, said Guido Ballmer, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police.
In that case, Ballmer said, U.S. authorities have 60 days to file formal papers requesting his extradition. Polanski can ask the Federal Penal Court of Justice to reject those papers and, if he is denied, appeal to a higher court, the Federal Court of Justice.
If he is denied there and ordered extradited, he can appeal that decision to the two courts again. Ballmer said it was impossible to estimate how long Polanski’s case could take.
Unlike in the U.S., however, any legal wrangling in Switzerland would take place outside of public view.
“There is certainly no public court meeting. It’s basically paperwork. The judges are talking to lawyers, to Mr. Polanski as well,” Ballmer said.
Despite the layered appeals process, Switzerland has extradited fugitives to the U.S. before. In 2005, the government sent a former Russian nuclear minister to the United States to face charges of stealing $9 million in American aid that was supposed to be spent on improving safety at Russian nuclear plants. That process took five months.
It is still possible the director will opt to allow extradition. “If he agrees with an extradition, he could be sent to the U.S. in the next days,” Ballmer said.
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It took them long enough.
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why do i have a feeling that the real crook here is...
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZZ-CqtHjAnk/R1fqfgzyeGI/AAAAAAAAIzM/fg-Jh8go2Gk/s400/Jack+Nicholson+gossip+news+times+square+gossip.jpg)
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why do i have a feeling that the real crook here is...
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZZ-CqtHjAnk/R1fqfgzyeGI/AAAAAAAAIzM/fg-Jh8go2Gk/s400/Jack+Nicholson+gossip+news+times+square+gossip.jpg)
he's the number 1 sinner in hollywood no doubt ;D
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It boggles my mind how some people in hollywood are trying to ride with this dude,i mean have they forgotten that he raped a 13 year old girl?
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^ For real. He forcibly anally sodomized a 13 year old child??
(http://www.cynchronicity.com/smileys/jail.gif) and let him get a taste of his own medicine.
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what did he exactly do...fucc her in the ass?
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It boggles my mind how some people in hollywood are trying to ride with this dude,i mean have they forgotten that he raped a 13 year old girl?
Because they're fuckin scum. Despite fucking a 13 year old, he lived a good life for the past 30 years. Now his time is up.
Time for you to get fucked now Polanski.
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what did he exactly do...fucc her in the ass?
The records of what the girl says is disgusting. Don't know where to find them, but it's gross.
This guy better get his 100 years that he deserved.
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And how you allow this shit to happen in your home???
Shit, I woulda went lookin' out for this man my damn self. What did Jack Nicholson have to say for himself?
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I don't understand why half of hollywood is defending this guy.
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I don't understand why half of hollywood is defending this guy.
They're fags.
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First france comes out and says that they're not happy about polanski being arrested,now this:
Filmmakers demand Polanski's release
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/29/polanski.filmmakers.protest/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/29/polanski.filmmakers.protest/index.html)
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allright I found the indictment news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/polanski/capolansk31977iind.pdf. Looks like he ate her pussy out and then fucced her pussy like a madman. Yeah and he also drugged her and gave her booze. It's funny how many people support this nigga. Even Scorsese. I'm not surprised Woody Allen supports him though. Isn't he still fuccin his daughter?
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What did Jack Nicholson have to say for himself?
I don't think Nicholson is involved....
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Fuck the French government too then for protecting a pedophile. And especially fuck Hollywood for defending this prick.
Ya know what's funny? If any of us had sex with a 13 year old girl, we would all be sent to prison and hated by nearly everyone. Just because this guy happened to be a talented filmmaker doesn't mean he shouldn't be punished. Fuck him.
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I agree. Makes you wonder though you know about people like Scorsese and Nicholson. People everybody loves you know. What kind of a judgment do these muthafuccas have?. Them dudes aint exactly role models are they. At least not anymore.
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What did Jack Nicholson have to say for himself?
I don't think Nicholson is involved....
he said he wasn't home...but then again..this is the same man who once said "you only lie to two people in your life...your girlfriend and the police" which I actually happen to agree with.
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Them dudes aint exactly role models are they. At least not anymore.
If you look @ actors or celebrities in general as role models....uhm.....there's something wrong imo
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Them dudes aint exactly role models are they. At least not anymore.
If you look @ actors or celebrities in general as role models....uhm.....there's something wrong imo
no i never personally have but a lot of people and especially in the media look at these people like they are role models or are supposed to be role models. even the celebrities themselves try to appear as if they are role models. look at muthafuccas like tom cruise. this muthafucca come on talk shows like he's the second coming of christ or some shit. talking like he know all the answers. sean penn is another muthafucca. trying to get everybody involved and shit. having meetings with castro and chavez. the sad part is lil kids buy into all this shit. they read what they media be printing and think this is all cool. i aint sayin all them celebrities is bad but somethings wrong.
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Them dudes aint exactly role models are they. At least not anymore.
If you look @ actors or celebrities in general as role models....uhm.....there's something wrong imo
no i never personally have but a lot of people and especially in the media look at these people like they are role models or are supposed to be role models. even the celebrities themselves try to appear as if they are role models. look at muthafuccas like tom cruise. this muthafucca come on talk shows like he's the second coming of christ or some shit. talking like he know all the answers. sean penn is another muthafucca. trying to get everybody involved and shit. having meetings with castro and chavez. the sad part is lil kids buy into all this shit. they read what they media be printing and think this is all cool. i aint sayin all them celebrities is bad but somethings wrong.
you parents should be your role models...
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I agree. Makes you wonder though you know about people like Scorsese and Nicholson. People everybody loves you know. What kind of a judgment do these muthafuccas have?. Them dudes aint exactly role models are they. At least not anymore.
They've probably done the same shit, that's why they sympathize with him. I don't see any other way you could side with Polanski.
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I agree. Makes you wonder though you know about people like Scorsese and Nicholson. People everybody loves you know. What kind of a judgment do these muthafuccas have?. Them dudes aint exactly role models are they. At least not anymore.
They've probably done the same shit, that's why they sympathize with him. I don't see any other way you could side with Polanski.
most of them were/are drug buddies...
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I agree. Makes you wonder though you know about people like Scorsese and Nicholson. People everybody loves you know. What kind of a judgment do these muthafuccas have?. Them dudes aint exactly role models are they. At least not anymore.
They've probably done the same shit, that's why they sympathize with him. I don't see any other way you could side with Polanski.
most of them were/are drug buddies...
True. They were doing it big riznave style before any of us were born.
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I agree. Makes you wonder though you know about people like Scorsese and Nicholson. People everybody loves you know. What kind of a judgment do these muthafuccas have?. Them dudes aint exactly role models are they. At least not anymore.
They've probably done the same shit, that's why they sympathize with him. I don't see any other way you could side with Polanski.
most of them were/are drug buddies...
True. They were doing it big riznave style before any of us were born.
nah,not raves.
just big orgies,drugs and hard liquors.....pills were for pussies.
have you ever read the john belushi biography ?
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FUCK the system.
First these fuckin' people let Phillip Garrido out of prison, a rapist pedophile sentenced to 50 muthafuckin' years and let him out after 10, aight, and now PEOPLE are fuckin' defending this demonized ass nigga. Is you serious? What the fuck is going on?
These dudes NEED life. Life in prison. The fuck man. What's going on?
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Should great artists be treated differently from ordinary mortals? Does a musician, painter, writer or filmmaker who creates soul-stirring and sublime works deserve a free pass, special dispensation, a get-out-of-jail card, so to speak?
I raise these questions in regard to Roman Polanski, the French-Polish director who soon may be deported back to Los Angeles to face the consequences of a crime he committed in 1977, then fled from -- but not in connection to his sordid legal situation.
Rather, these are questions that Polanski addresses himself in “The Pianist,”(2002_film) his 2002 film about the brilliant Jewish-Polish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman. Through a combination of his own intelligence and animal guile, and other people's (mainly) good intentions, Szpilman somehow was able to survive the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II(1939) while millions around him perished.
"The Pianist" is a haunting drama that won Polanski the Oscar for best director. It may be the most emphatic and comprehensive statement on the human condition from a director whose career has generated "Knife in the Water" (1962), "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), "Chinatown" (1974) and "The Tenant" (1976).
So what is "The Pianist" saying about moral behavior, and the role of the artist in society? And what, if anything, can be inferred from it about the moral vision of the complex, controversial man who directed it?
Polanski's vision of the ethical laws governing the universe is anything but reassuring. In his movies, justice and logic ultimately have little to do with an individual's fate. Crime and punishment are dished out more or less arbitrarily. Survival is fluky, freakish, and often paid for with drastic moral compromises.
His sensibility unmistakably stamps Polanski as a postwar European auteur, heir to the existential musings of Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, as he has acknowledged. His absurdist view of existence, combined with his meticulous sense of craft, renders his movies cold to the touch, not warm and fuzzy, in the preferred Hollywood manner.
The key elements of Polanski's personal narrative hardly need repeating. But in sum they remain shocking and disturbing: his youthful escape from the Krakow ghetto while his parents were sent to Nazi extermination camps (only his father survived); the sadistic murder of his pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, by members of the Manson gang in 1969; and his conviction for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, the case for which he is still a wanted man in Los Angeles.
That's a lifeline that, in the abstract, sounds as surreal as almost anything Polanski has cooked up in his films. If an agent pitched it to a roomful of studio executives, they might dismiss it as too improbable to play in Peoria.
Yet Polanski's life story has long been catnip to movie critics and armchair Freudians looking for clues to interpreting his films. It practically could be a parlor game: Can you spot the director's true self in his movies? At times, Polanski has appeared to encourage such speculation by appearing in many of his films. He played the title character in "The Tenant," an isolated Polish exile living in Paris who arouses the irrational suspicions, fears and eventually the pathological loathing of his neighbors. In "Chinatown" he cast himself as a vicious "midget" (Polanski is short) who slices open the nose of private eye Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) right when he's stumbling on the truth behind a very dark secret.
"Granted that it's too easy and a cliche to connect your work with your life in such a direct manner," the Australian critic Clive James demurs to Polanski in the opening frames of "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," the probing documentary by director Marina Zenovich that first aired on HBO last year. But if, as James suggests, it would be flippant to draw glib clinical conclusions about Polanski (or any auteur) based on the content of his or her movies, it would be obtuse not to take note of some of the ghastly parallels between the facts of Polanski's life and the shadow worlds of his films.
Pauline Kael, longtime film critic of the New Yorker, perceived shades of the Manson Family's slayings in the gruesomely staged slaughter of Lady Macduff and her entourage in Polanski's "The Tragedy of Macbeth" (1971). In its online biography of the director, the New York Times asserts that "the tawdry details of Mr. Polanski's behavior" in the sex-crime case, some of which were revealed in grand jury testimony made public only a few years ago, "were matched by accounts of official wrongdoing that occasionally seemed to mirror the tone" of the civic dirty dealings of the 1930s portrayed in "Chinatown."
So where does "The Pianist" fit in Polanski's self-referential spectrum? Steven Spielberg reportedly offered Polanski the opportunity to direct "Schindler's List." But Polanski opted for "The Pianist" after purchasing the rights to Szpilman's memoir, praising the book as "very dry, without sentimentalism or embellishments."
Indeed, the film for much of its running time maintains an emotionally neutral, morally nonjudgmental tone that is all the more effective in contrast to the chilling events it depicts.
In the movie, several people intervene to spare the life of the desperate musician played by Adrien Brody, including Polish Underground activists, fellow Jews and, in the story's most bizarre twist, a Nazi officer. Several of those who help to save Szpilman from certain death sacrifice their own lives in the process.
"The Pianist" suggests that both civilization and human identity are fragile constructions at best, as Brody's character is transformed from a highly cultured cosmopolitan into a haggard, hunted man living by his wits. After he's miraculously spared from being herded onto the Nazis' concentration camp-bound trains, he takes part in helping to arm the resistance fighters who stage the Warsaw uprising. Later, he expresses his guilt for not having gone down fighting alongside them.
The more socially palatable and therefore conventional message of Spielberg's "Schindler's List" and his other World War II-era opus, "Saving Private Ryan," is that any given human life is neither more nor less valuable than any other. All lives and deaths are, or should be, invested with dignity and love. But in the far bleaker worldview of "The Pianist," some lives, justifiably or not, prevail over others, and death and suffering are as often grotesque, random and meaningless as they are noble, purposeful or humanizing.
Although it depicts numerous acts of courage, mercy and decency, "The Pianist" is far more concerned with the paradoxes and contradictions of human behavior. It's a movie in which even Nazis are shown as both cultured and thuggish, civilized and barbaric. So are their victims, albeit to a far different degree. What matters, in the end, is who stays alive, who's still around when the chaos subsides and order (or at least the illusion of order) is temporarily restored.
It's not hard to imagine that Polanski saw aspects of himself in Szpilman. "[Polanski] has a strong vision of death and sadness inside of him, but since he has such energy, such working power, such desire to do extraordinary things, he prevails." So remarks Pierre-André Boutang, identified as "Polanski's friend" in Zenovich's documentary, in an interview meant to contextualize the director's decision to flee the United States. He could be describing the character in "The Pianist."
The crucial difference, of course, is that Szpilman was a victim of the abominable, criminal actions of others. Polanski, in the case for which he remains in the docket of world opinion, was the perpetrator. The pianist's actions in saving himself were defensible; those of Polanski, in the opinion of many, were utterly reprehensible.
Yet however we judge Polanski as a human being, it's worth noting that in "The Pianist" he doesn't make the claim that artists deserve special consideration. In the director's universe, no one merits preferential treatment any more than they necessarily deserve the injustices that befall them. If anything, his movies simply argue that judging any individual's life and actions should be done with caution, in a world where terrible things both within and beyond our control can happen to virtually anyone at any time, and often do.