Roman Polanksi is toast.
The French director was nabbed in Switzerland on charges of rape and fleeing the country, as outlined in my previous post.At first, the French government was outraged that he was picked up at the behest of the American government without the French having been notified. They demanded his release and vowed to oppose efforts to extradite Polanksi to the US. Their protestations were joined by others, especially by Hollywood elites who normally claim to hold the moral high ground on women's rights issues. Apparently to them, a thirteen year old's rights are not nearly as sacred as their right to view "masterpieces" of film by this reprobate (who moved on after this sex crime by having a fling with a 15-year old Nastassja Kinski). Debra Winger scoffed that the arrest was a result of "philistine collusion." Who do these unwashed people who live in Fly-Over Country think they are, anyway?
When normal people (and even a few in the movie business) started to push back and call for Polanski to be held to the same set of standards that applies to everyone else, it seemed to break the lemming-like hold that Group Think has over the artistic. As the facts were revisited and discussed, support started to melt. (To read the transcripts of the grand jury testimony, see here for pages 1-18 and here for pages 19-36). Noted French director Luc Besson said that he loved Polanksi, but that the law was the law, and he should have to face the judicial system just like everyone else. Then others in the arts started to voice, however tepid, their desire that he not be freed.
And yesterday, the French government did a 180 from its initial calls that he be released, and said that they will support efforts to extradite Polanksi to the US. And for that, I stand up and say "Yay!" for France.
