UPDATE: L.A. Judge Finds “Substantial Misconduct” In Polanski Case & Allows Fugitive Director Time To Return To U.S.

COMMENTS (19)

• Fat chance that will happen any time soon. Not when the man has a funded movie to direct. It’s a shame he can’t and won’t return, but if I had to choose between Roman coming back to solve this (which will lead to him being imprisoned) and making more films before he dies, I choose the films.

  Comment by DWSReader — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 4:12pm PST  Reply to this post

• good

  Comment by dave c — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 4:21pm PST  Reply to this post

• DWSReader,
  Well, the reason you choose films is because you’re a moron or maybe because you also like 13 year old girls, please crawl back in your hole.

  Comment by btlteamster — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 5:04pm PST  Reply to this post

• He can schedule his return for after the production, and the courts will accommodate him.

  Comment by lars — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 5:44pm PST  Reply to this post

• He a talent, but also a pedophile, time doesn’t change that. let him stay where he is.

  Comment by a DGA member — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 6:24pm PST  Reply to this post

• Why should he allowed to evade justice? because he happens to be famous, rich and successful?

  Comment by Noa — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 6:55pm PST  Reply to this post

• Anyone who saw that documentary about him that played at Sundance last year knows how corrupt the LA police were in this whole debacle. Polanski was going to do the time but then the asshole in charge bragged that he was going to completely go back on his word and throw Polanski in the clink for the rest of his life. So of course Polanski got the fuck out of Dodge. The asshole DA should have been kicked off the gig then and there. It’s Chinatown indeed.

  Comment by Mahogany — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 8:42pm PST  Reply to this post

• Wake up, Mahogany, and smell reality.

  The documentary was loaded in favor of Roman. ONly the L.A. Daily Journal had the whole story. The 13-year-old rape victim only came out in support of Roman years later after he gave her big money to settle her civil suit. The documentary conveniently left that fact out.

  Comment by Jake gittes — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 9:07pm PST  Reply to this post

• Mahogony – “go back on his word”? Or enforce the law? Don’t blame the DA for what he did in that hot tub.

  - oral, vaginal and anal sex forced upon a 13 year old who he fed a combination of champagne and quaaludes. More accurately, that’s what he did, but he was able to plead to a lesser crime.

  Originally he was charged with “rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance (methaqualone) to a minor”, he plead guilty to “engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.” This is all documented and is not in dispute.

  He disputes none of this…but he makes good films so you guys like him. DISGUSTING.

  Comment by BH — Tuesday February 17, 2009 @ 10:39pm PST  Reply to this post

• He’s hardly a pedo. The girl was a slut who was a regular on the party circuit and fucked several big named celebs, now she admits her mistake and wants Polanski back into the US.

  Comment by mooki — Wednesday February 18, 2009 @ 4:34am PST  Reply to this post

• Wow Mooki, surfing the web at 4am and calling a 13 year old a slut. You are the man!

  Comment by MikePFox — Wednesday February 18, 2009 @ 8:51am PST  Reply to this post

• At this point, Roman Polanski’s crime is irrelevant. When a judge can convict a criminal of one offense and sentence them for another, the justice system has gone haywire.

  If there was a problem with Polanski’s plea bargain, the prosecution should not have accepted it. It’s not up to the courts to adjust a sentence because someone feels the conviction wasn’t for a severe enough crime!

  That’s not justice, and if I felt I were at the hands of a judicial system with it’s mind on something other than justice, I’d run too.

  Comment by Tennyson E. Stead — Wednesday February 18, 2009 @ 9:16am PST  Reply to this post

• Just makes LAPD look stupid for still trying to go after him. They got a lot BIGGER crime to deal with in LA.

  Comment by Mark Hill — Wednesday February 18, 2009 @ 9:37am PST  Reply to this post

• Since when does a “documentary” become evidence in a criminal case?

  Comment by David — Wednesday February 18, 2009 @ 10:25am PST  Reply to this post

• I agree with David. Since when does a documentary clearly slanted towards Polanski become evidence. The man confessed, he chose to run. Nothing should change that but serving his sentence. He was not the victim.

  Comment by Elizabeth — Wednesday February 18, 2009 @ 12:00pm PST  Reply to this post

• I think the only thing the L.A. liberals are upset about is that Polanski did this to a girl and not a boy, because they can’t scream about gay rights.

  Comment by Brian G. — Wednesday February 18, 2009 @ 1:22pm PST  Reply to this post

• To add to David: this was a crime against society. Simply because the victim wants it dropped in no way means it should be.

  Comment by BH — Wednesday February 18, 2009 @ 2:46pm PST  Reply to this post

• I have always enjoyed his movies but he still deserves jail-time for his crime. Its incredible that people can defend him any way. As well as trash the victim.

  so if the president or any other “establishment” figure committed the same crime, would anyone really defend him? much less make a movie about him, and his possible unjust treatment by the “system?”

  it is so depressing and disturbing how movie and/or music stars are defended when they get caught with their hand in the proverbial immoral/unethical/criminal cookie jar. Its as if one set of standards applies to the rich, famous, & talented. Its as if the victim is the crime, and the criminal is the victim.

  really really sad…

  Comment by lu-ee — Thursday February 19, 2009 @ 6:34am PST  Reply to this post

• If the judge did a 180 and changed the plea bargain deal, then why not just have Polanski return to the US and spend the original time in jail that he agreed to?

  Oh, I remember now. It’s because he’s above the law. Yeah, that’s right.

  Comment by Michael — Thursday February 19, 2009 @ 9:05am PST  Reply to this post