Director Roman Polanski,
in a rare interview published
on Thursday, shares his
frustrations and feelings
about being the object of
hatred due to a complicated
legal case stemming from
a sex crime more than 30
years ago.
Polanski, 80, the Polish-French
director of films such as
"Rosemary's Baby" and
2002's Oscar-winning
"The Pianist," pleaded
guilty in 1977 to having
sex with 13-year-old Samantha
Geimer during a photoshoot,
fueled by champagne and drugs.
In an interview with Vanity Fair,
Polanski said he felt more
persecuted after he was
arrested in 2009 in Switzerland
at the request of the United
States than he did when he was convicted of the crime. "I didn't have that at all then. This was
much more like the assassination of Sharon and what happened afterwards," the director said,
referring to misleading rumors that he was involved in the 1969 murder of his wife, actress Sharon
Tate, and her friends, who were killed by the Manson family gang.
The interview comes ahead of a Showtime documentary, "Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out," by Marina Zenovich, to be aired on US television this month. Zenovich also co-wrote and directed the 2008 documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," which explored the impact of the sex crime
case and was used by lawyers to reopen the case after 30 years. Polanski served 42 days in jail
as part of a 90-day plea bargain in 1977, but he fled the United States in 1978 after believing the
judge hearing his case could put him in jail for up to 50 years. "It was such a shock to learn that
it's not finished, after they let you out of prison. Free! With your bundle under your arm, with the
lawyer waiting for you outside, standing there, in your mind it's all over, it's finished. And then the
judge changed his mind. And I have to go back to prison, and nobody knows how long. I just
could not go through that,"
Polanski said about his decision to leave the US for France. Polanski was arrested in 2009 en
route to the Zurich Film Festival, and spent two months in a Swiss jail. He was then placed
under house arrest at his chalet in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Gstaad. In July 2010 Swiss
authorities said they would not extradite the director to the United States. The veteran director
responded to reports that he was living as a fugitive in Europe, answering: "I was moving freely
for 32 years" between homes and projects in Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Tunisia.
Despite having left Hollywood four decades ago, the director still has his supporters, such as actor
Jack Nicholson, who is quoted throughout the Vanity Fair article, and his films are a regular on
awards and festival circuits. The full interview with Polanski will be in the October issue of Vanity
Fair, on newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on Thursday, and nationally on Sept. 10.
in a rare interview published
on Thursday, shares his
frustrations and feelings
about being the object of
hatred due to a complicated
legal case stemming from
a sex crime more than 30
years ago.
Polanski, 80, the Polish-French
director of films such as
"Rosemary's Baby" and
2002's Oscar-winning
"The Pianist," pleaded
guilty in 1977 to having
sex with 13-year-old Samantha
Geimer during a photoshoot,
fueled by champagne and drugs.
In an interview with Vanity Fair,
Polanski said he felt more
persecuted after he was
arrested in 2009 in Switzerland
at the request of the United
States than he did when he was convicted of the crime. "I didn't have that at all then. This was
much more like the assassination of Sharon and what happened afterwards," the director said,
referring to misleading rumors that he was involved in the 1969 murder of his wife, actress Sharon
Tate, and her friends, who were killed by the Manson family gang.
The interview comes ahead of a Showtime documentary, "Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out," by Marina Zenovich, to be aired on US television this month. Zenovich also co-wrote and directed the 2008 documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," which explored the impact of the sex crime
case and was used by lawyers to reopen the case after 30 years. Polanski served 42 days in jail
as part of a 90-day plea bargain in 1977, but he fled the United States in 1978 after believing the
judge hearing his case could put him in jail for up to 50 years. "It was such a shock to learn that
it's not finished, after they let you out of prison. Free! With your bundle under your arm, with the
lawyer waiting for you outside, standing there, in your mind it's all over, it's finished. And then the
judge changed his mind. And I have to go back to prison, and nobody knows how long. I just
could not go through that,"
Polanski said about his decision to leave the US for France. Polanski was arrested in 2009 en
route to the Zurich Film Festival, and spent two months in a Swiss jail. He was then placed
under house arrest at his chalet in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Gstaad. In July 2010 Swiss
authorities said they would not extradite the director to the United States. The veteran director
responded to reports that he was living as a fugitive in Europe, answering: "I was moving freely
for 32 years" between homes and projects in Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Tunisia.
Despite having left Hollywood four decades ago, the director still has his supporters, such as actor
Jack Nicholson, who is quoted throughout the Vanity Fair article, and his films are a regular on
awards and festival circuits. The full interview with Polanski will be in the October issue of Vanity
Fair, on newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on Thursday, and nationally on Sept. 10.
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