Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) - full transcript

In 1977, Roman Polanski was arrested in Los Angeles on charges he gave drugs and had sex with a 13-year-old girl he was photographing for Vogue. Eleven months later, having pled guilty to one count, he fled to Europe before sentencing. This film examines that year-long period, using archival footage of the media frenzy and of Polanski's life before the charges, clips from his films, and contemporary interviews with many of the principles - attorneys, the victim, and Polanski's friends and associates. Polanski remains enigmatic, but portraits emerge of the machinations of justice and of a judge more interested in his image than his word or the law.

...of "Ben hur,"
you mean?

Granted that it's
too easy and a cliche

to connect your work
with your life

in such a direct manner.

Let me take the example
of "Chinatown."

"Chinatown" is really a movie

about justice not winning.

Is that what you
had come to believe?

No, not at all.

But if you want your film
to serve any purpose,

if you want to show injustice



or corruption of Los
Angeles in that period,

you have to show that
injustice somehow won

and leave them

with a feeling of frustration.

I hope you don't mind if
I just reach across here

and grab a couple of these nuts.

Me too.

Anyway, that's... that's fiction.

And I think this
probably may be still

in the land of fiction,
edging toward fact.

When they...

When the newspapers and
the magazines and the books

talk about you and little
girls, all right,

is there anything in it?



Well, I like young women,
let's put it this way.

I think most of men do,
actually.

Yeah, but the question turns on how
young, doesn't it?

Well, yes.
Here you've come

to a concrete case

for which I have been
behind bars.

That's what you want
to talk about.

But what exactly

would you like me to tell you?

Mr. Polanski!

A question here,
Mr. Polanski!

The Los Angeles
police department

today announced the arrest
of Raymond polanski

as a result of a complaint

filed by the mother
of a 13-year-old female.

It was a year of anxiety,

a year of drama for me,

and I thought
that was simply enough.

Enough is enough.

And that was
my decision to leave.

You ran away, Roman.

You ran away.

Well, I, as you say, ran away,

because I think

that I was very unfortunate

to have a judge

who misused justice.

And he was playing with me

for the period of a year.

I think that I was
some kind of mouse

with which

some abominable cat

begins a sport.

Get that out of our face.

Please please.

We're trying to get through.

People were not in the habit

of calling me
at 2:00 in the morning.

So I was sleeping.

I picked up the phone

and they said,
"Roman's been arrested."

And I said, "what for?"

And they said,
"rape."

I said...

I just could not...
It just made no sense.

I mean, this is somebody

who could not be
a rapist, you know?

I mean, it's somebody I know

really really well.

- I was working west L.A.
- homicide

and I also handled sex crimes.

And I came in to work

and I had a crime report
on my desk

of a rape
that had been reported.

And Roman polanski was
the named suspect in it.

After I received the report
I started the follow-up.

I went to interview
the victim and her mother.

I did an extensive
interview with them,

made sure that any
physical evidence

would have been recovered
from her that she had,

and then I went

and talked to the district
attorney's office.

Vannatter came into the office

and we sat down and
he ran the case by me.

He showed me the incident
report, a crime report

taken by a couple
of patrol officers,

which is a narrative
of the facts and stuff.

Time was kind of of the essence,

so we got the search warrant.

It was for two locations...

It was for
Jack Nicholson's house

where the crime occurred

and also for polanski's suite

on the second floor of
the Beverly Wilshire hotel.

Me and my partner,

along with a narcotics officer,

proceeded with the search
warrant to the hotel.

We were walking in
and he was walking out

with a group of people,
obviously going out for the evening.

And I told Phil,
I said, "there he is."

And we stopped

because he would have
walked right on by us.

So we said, "Mr. Polanski, l.A.P.D.
We have to talk."

And he came out and he says,
"is this is gonna be

more than a few minutes?
If it is, I'll let my people go."

We said, "yes, it's going to
be more than a few minutes."

We proceeded up to his room and
completed the search warrant,

which... we did find
the camera equipment,

the film that we
ultimately had developed.

And it did show nude
pictures of the victim.

Totally nude?

Well, she was in a spa.

You could see the upper
portion of her body.

You couldn't see her whole body

because she was in the water.

But they were nude pictures.

Polanski was nervous.
He was upset.

And he is one of those
people that just talk.

And I suspect

he figures,
"well, if I talk and talk

I can probably talk my
way out of this thing."

He was like on a hyper high.

And he's constantly talking,

constantly fidgeting.

And he didn't perceive
having intercourse

with a 13-year-old girl
as against the law.

That was not in his culture.

You know, "so what?"
Type thing.

He didn't realize, I guess,

the laws of our country

as compared to other countries.

I'm not so sure that
Mr. Polanski was aware

of what being arrested
in America meant.

I know it's a very large
piece of news for all of you.

It's a lot of sensational stuff.

But try to go beyond it
and understand my position.

It's not the best
type of publicity,

not something I desire.

I have not much to tell you
except that I'm innocent.

When the case arrived here

there was an absolute
mob of publicity...

The associated press,
u.P.I.,

"New York times,"
"Los Angeles times,"

celebrity mags,
German reporters,

French reporters,
British reporters.

I had never seen
a media feeding frenzy before

and this courtroom embodied it.

You couldn't meet anybody,

whether he was known
or not known at all

who didn't have an opinion
about this case.

And it was one of
the biggest cases.

I didn't work
for weeks and months

on anything else but this case.

As the case progressed,
I was struck...

You know, how could
the same man be

two different things to two
different sets of press?

The European reporters
looked on polanski

as this tragic, brilliant
historic figure.

Here was this man

who had survived the holocaust,

who had survived
the gassing of his mother

and then had come here

and developed his own voice,

had maintained his integrity

against the power
of the Hollywood machine.

And the American press
tended to look at him

as this sort of
malignant twisted dwarf

with this dark vision.

Roman was the perfect
villain for them.

He was a foreigner.
He had a thick accent.

He made lots of money
in the movie business.

He was short.
He was perfect.

In California at that time,

had he not been who he was...

In other words, a famous

controversial director

with the legacy

of his wife's murder behind him,

the whole thing would have been

completely different.

Roman polanski is 32.

He has just completed
his fourth feature film,

"the vampire killers,"

set in the snow-covered
mountains of transylvania.

He both directs

and plays one
of the leading parts.

Hold it, boys.

Sharon, Sharon.

Looking at him, not at me.

Okay?
Yeah.

You know where.

Yeah.

Roman polanski
was born in France

of Polish parents.
They left there when he was three

and went to live in Poland.

I don't know, I think
I'm a nomad, you know?

But I...

I'm really strongly attached

to Polish background.
I've grown up in Poland.

My mother was killed
by Germans very soon

and my father was taken
to the concentration camp

after two years of war.
And then I was by myself.

One of the first films I've seen

was "snow white," you know?

And I think it influenced me

enormously forever.

And as you see, it's an enormous

influence in my work

like "repulsion"
and "cul-de-sac."

I always wanted
to be a director.

I knew I wanted to make movies.

I knew I wanted to be
a part of it.

I knew I wanted to create this.

An American producer
of Polish origin

suggested that I come to London

and make a film there.

London was fabulous.

You cannot imagine what it meant

for someone who lived

in the grey, drab

communist reality.

It was a very civilized
way of living,

rooms always full
of friendly faces.

You saw your friends every day

and there were lots of them...

Life without limits.

I got a phone call
from a friend of ours,

a mutual friend
who was a film producer.

And he said,
"I've got this friend"

who's coming to London

and he doesn't speak
any English.

"Can you take care
of him?"

I said, "sure,
send him round."

Roman was totally exceptional.

I was really drawn to him,
and so was everybody else.

Already an established
film director...

No one in London
had heard of him.

Few people had seen his films.

Yes yes yes.

Go, go again.

That was funny.

From coming as
a complete unknown,

I would say within six months

everybody knew him.

He was a charismatic fellow.

There are very few directors

who have Roman's personality

and also his appetite for life...

His appetite for life.

They met in London

because of a film that he made

called "the dance
of the vampires."

She was a remarkable person...

Beautiful, gentle,

unsophisticated

in the best sense of the word,

really a genuine human being.

They were great together

and of course it created
this fantastic love affair.

And it truly was a love affair.

Look, it all started
so long ago.

My real problems started then,

with the murder of Sharon Tate.

I was all right with the press

before that.

They... they wouldn't let it go.

So it's just the story
that will never go.

- Pardon me?
- Why did you want a gag order?

We didn't ask for a gag order.

Who did, Mr. Dalton?

No one asked for a gag order.

Then why did the judge
bring it up at this stage?

Well, maybe the judge
can answer that.

The topic of publicity
was discussed

and certain measures
were discussed

to try to control the publicity,

but no one asked
for a gag order as such.

There was an hour-long
discussion in the chambers.

Did that deal principally
with publicity problems?

Yes, a great part of it did.

What do you see as the problems

with publicity right now?

Well, the problem
with publicity is

there's been too much of it.

And of course for me
to go on television

and complain about publicity
is a little inconsistent.

Excuse me.

I've never spoken publicly

about this case before.

But if the story is to be told,

I want it to be told factually.

I know the facts.
I was there.

Can you give us your reaction

to the delay of
the start of the trial?

- My reaction to it?
- Yeah.

Well, I'm pleased.

In what way?

Well, there's a good deal
of work-up

that goes into any major case...

People have the right

to their own opinions
about what happened,

but they don't have the
right to their own facts.

The fact of polanski

leaving the country and so forth

seems to have eclipsed

the really important part
of this case

about what actually happened
to the system of justice.

I remain astounded

after all these years.

This case will never leave me.

Defense attorney Doug Dalton

had a very lincolnesque
quality about him,

dignified,

not given
to flamboyant gestures.

He doesn't raise his
voice in the courtroom.

He maintains this calm demeanor.

And he was the master
of negotiations.

The fact that Doug
Dalton was the attorney

indicated to me
that there would be

a negotiated plea arrived at

between the prosecution,

the defense and the judge.

Douglas Dalton was
a first-class lawyer

but he was definitely matched

by Roger gunson.

The district attorney's office

put gunson on the case...

A 37-year-old,

very straight-thinking mormon.

We are concerned with protecting

the privacy of the girl...

The complaining witness
in this case...

And it's my understanding
that there have been

foreign reporters
and investigators

who have attempted to contact
her and have interviews...

Gunson was the model
of rectitude.

He had that same kind of

handsome-schoolboy,

sparkling good looks
as Robert redford.

The rumor in the district
attorney's office was

that they picked gunson
to handle the case

because he was a mormon

and because he was the only
member of the d.A.'S office

who hadn't had sex
with an underage girl.

I heard some jokes about
why they gave it to me,

but I can't imagine
those are accurate.

There were a lot of prosecutors

who had an interest
in high-publicity cases.

Although I had had one
very high publicity case,

I was not one
that looked for them.

They were the perfect attorneys

to handle a case like this

where the evidence
and the players

were sensational,

were dramatic, flamboyant.

So you want two attorneys

who kept an even keel.

They were in that regard

very strikingly different

from the judge in the case.

When the grand jury

came back with the indictment,

judge rittenband,
who was very interested

in handling celebrity cases

obviously saw it

and realized that he wanted it

and went to the presiding judge

and said, "hey,
I want this case."

He was of course the senior
judge in Santa Monica,

which was the choice
location for any judge

because that's where you get

a lot of these
high-publicity cases.

Judge rittenband had handled

a Cary Grant paternity suit.

He had handled, well,

the Priscilla and Elvis divorce,

the Marlon Brando custody suit

that went on forever.

There were quite a few.

I spoke to judge rittenband

very frequently.

And he liked

being among the stars

but I don't think
he was starstruck.

Rittenband loved the press,

always had comments
for the press.

He wanted to shape

the way the press covered him.

Sitting up there on the bench,

he acted like a director,

a tyrannical director
calling the shots,

telling people when
to make their entrances,

what to say,
where to position themselves.

Well, we misspoke
ourselves, your honor.

There's obviously other
basis for the motion.

Yes, we don't need that anymore.

There were a lot of similarities

between judge rittenband
and Roman polanski.

Not too tall in stature.

He liked the ladies
and he loved to dance.

He had his friends
in the movie industry

which he'd see every day

at the hillcrest country club.

When I first met him

I was answering phones.
And he used to say

"I'm going to hillcrest.
I'm going to hillcrest."

And finally I stop and I says,

"what is going on
at hillcrest?"

You know,
"is your wife there?"

Because I didn't know
if he was married or not.

And he said,
"oh, I'm not married."

And I said,
"oh, okay."

I was 20 years old.

He was 34 years older.

He was 54 when I met him.

And we became friends.

Oh, golly,

practically every evening
he'd come here

and he'd sit over in that chair.

And he loved champagne.

So I'd get champagne
by the case.

"Judge rittenband," I said,

"what would you at your
age do with a girlfriend?"

He said, "I'd do the
same thing that you did"

and probably better."

And I said,
"tell me about it."

He said, "I got one that cooks"

and one that does
the other things."

Rittenband was known
as a hammer.

That means that
he was a tough judge

and a tough sentencer.

If you didn't make a deal

and you didn't have
the deal in place

when you went in there,

you were in trouble.

I don't remember any judge

that liked publicity
like rittenband did.

He had his bailiff
maintain a scrapbook

that went back many years

and if an article
appeared anywhere

about something involving
Lawrence j. Rittenband

it wound up in the scrapbook.

It was kept
somewhere in the court,

I think in the bailiff's desk,

and on occasion

would come out...
And be displayed.

Judge rittenband
was receiving requests

from people all over the world,

from news agencies

wanting one of the seats
in his courtroom.

He was soliciting reservations

for each one of these chairs.

So it was going to be
a real circus.

If you gentlemen would
just stand still,

Mr. Polanski
will stay here

and you can get your shot.

Because another trial
in the same courtroom

is taking much longer
than expected,

the rape trial of Roman polanski

has been delayed
until August 9th,

exactly eight years to the day

his late wife,
actress Sharon Tate,

was brutally murdered.

At that time rape victims' names

didn't get reported
in the press,

much less the names of minors

who were involved in sex cases.

But with the European
press there,

her name would come out,

exposed in the press,
her background exposed.

The fact that she had
had a prior relationship,

that she had taken
quaaludes before...

All of this
would have gotten out

and would have
forever haunted her.

Once we knew her name,

we knew where her school was,

we knew where her house was.

The French competition
were after this girl.

They were hunting this girl.

It was awful.

Everybody knew at school.

People came to school
with cameras

and things were being
said and printed.

The worst part was,

no one believed me.

Everybody thought
I was making it up.

It was so traumatic,

starting that night when
my mom called the police.

And the police come over and
they take you to the hospital,

then they take you
to the police station.

And the next morning we're getting
up at 6:30, we're going to court

where they're gonna sneak
you in and all these men

are gonna ask you
exactly what happened.

Then they're gonna

sit a lady behind you
you can't even see,

because then there's
a lady there.

All that stuff was so traumatic

that I never even had a chance

to really, you know,

worry about, you know,

what happened
that night with him.

It was like...

It just...

I had to worry about
surviving the next day.

The facts indicate that
before the alleged act

in this case

this girl had engaged
in sexual activity.

That's contained in reports
that we now have.

We want to know about it.
We want to know who was involved when.

We want to know
why these other people

were not prosecuted.

And this is a thing
we want to fully develop.

I would just as soon

have walked away from it
the next day.

But you can't stop it
once it starts.

I mean,

I just...

I just went in my room,

pretty much,
and just turned it off.

In "Chinatown,"

he exposed the dark side
of corruption.

In "repulsion,"
he explored a warped mind.

In "Rosemary's baby,"

he examined the occult.

Now something altogether new,

altogether chilling...

No one does it to you
like Roman polanski.

I wanted to find more out

about Mr. Polanski.

And luck have it,

the nuart theatre
right down the street

on Santa Monica boulevard

had a polanski film festival

right after the indictment

and before trial.

Murder and treason!

What have you done to its eyes?

Forget it, Jake.
It's Chinatown.

Every Roman polanski movie

has the theme...

Corruption meeting innocence
over water.

I says, "oh, well,
that's sort of what we have here..."

Corruption, Roman polanski,

meeting innocence,
the 13-year-old girl,

over water, meaning the jacuzzi.

I felt I was going to be able

to pretty well convey
to some jurors

that this happened

and he had directed a scene

very similar to this
in his real life.

You'd better have
your legs tied down

in case of convulsions.

"Rosemary's baby"
was such a great movie

and was so well made

that people took it
for the real thing.

This is no dream!
This is really happening!

After that Roman had
this reputation

of maybe having been
a little bit

in league with the devil
himself.

It didn't hurt him.

People were very intrigued

and it was
kind of sexy in a way.

He had a tremendous power
over people.

You had to fall in love
with him, you know.

It was completely infectious.

There was no resisting him.

And every day was so vibrant

because he felt so passionately

about what he was doing

and he was on an adventure.

One of the things that
you are renowned for

is your recklessness.
You say that you're a reckless person.

- Do I say that?
- You say that very frequently

to all sorts of people you talk
to, though clearly

you're going to deny every
single syllable of it tonight.

- Really?
- Mm.

I mean, are you
a reckless person?

Are you afraid of anything?

I am reckless,
but I don't tell people about it.

Roman found California
fantastic.

Of Los Angeles he says...

Everything is easy here.

You want to learn karate...
You can learn karate.

You want to play chess...
You can play chess.

You want to drive racing cars...

You can drive racing cars.

Everything is accessible
in this town.

"Rosemary's baby"
was a huge hit.

Roman was on top of the world.

Nothing could have been better.

He was in love with Sharon.
They were having great parties.

He was going all over the world.

When he was the toast
of the industry,

he was hanging out
with all the people

that everybody wanted
to hang out with.

Everybody wanted
a piece of Roman

because the work
was so original.

- Roman, Sharon.
- Hi.

This is the very
beautiful Sharon Tate

who I am sure
you've seen in films.

And her husband,
very talented Roman polanski,

best known for his original
film "knife in the water,"

which he wrote and directed.

And he's also responsible
for "Rosemary's baby,"

the picture.

And I think a little
later we'll get a chance

to sit down and
talk a little bit

- about sex and films.
- Anytime.

Certainly it was a happy time

for all of us.

Roman was happy.

He was with beautiful Sharon.

Everyone loved her.

He loved her.
I loved her.

We all loved her.

He was so insecure
about so many things.

Knowing about his childhood...

He didn't have
the blueprint for life

that others had.

One hoped for Roman, you know,

that this brand-new life

with a woman who loved him

and who seemed so right for him,

with a baby,

that there would be
this security

that he had not had in his life,

and in a new homeland.

I mean, the future was his,

we thought.

And then everything
just collapsed.

Well, we were preparing a film

that I was going to produce

called "the day
of the dolphin."

We were writing
the script in London.

Roman was a perfectionist.

He was always,
"we'll finish it in a couple of days

and then do the rest
in L.A."

It was a Saturday.

And the phone rang
and I picked it up.

It was our agent bill tennant

who was on the phone.

And I immediately realized

that something was
terribly wrong.

I mean, he was a very
stable kind of guy.

He was absolutely distraught.

And I said,
"what is it?"

And he said, you know,

something like "they're all dead.
They're all dead."

I realized something
awful had happened

and I gave the phone to Roman.

And...

I've never seen
anything like it.

You know, I saw somebody

just disintegrate
in front of my eyes.

This was at the home

of movie director Roman polanski

and it was his wife Sharon Tate
who was one of the victims.

She too had
repeated stab wounds.

One of the victims had a
hood placed over his head.

And the word "pig" was
written in blood on the door.

- We flew to L.A.
- the next day.

He was devastated,

devastated to a point

that I've never seen
any other human being

in that kind of condition.

And I remember

picking up
the sunday newspapers.

I was already reasonably aware

of how the press functions.

Their business is
selling newspapers.

The story was basically

how Roman had flown
to Los Angeles,

murdered them all
and then come back.

I mean, this was actually

in the newspapers,

in the headlines.

The nature of the murders,

you know, satanism,
"Rosemary's baby,"

"this is the guy who made
'Rosemary's baby.'"

he knew so much about it.
He couldn't have known

so much about it without
actually being involved in it.

And so he must have been
part of the cult.

And there was a cult.
And they were murdered.

"And who gets murdered
in this kind of way?"

It was a typical example

of the victim's
being responsible

for their own death.

It was shocking.

It was truly unbelievable.

The last day I talked to her

was a few hours before
the tragedy happened.

You are certainly curious

about my relationship
with Sharon

within last few months.

I can tell you
that the last few months

as much as the last few years

I spent with her...

Were the only time

of true happiness in my life.

And facts
which will be coming out

day after day

will make ashamed

a lot of newsmen

who for a selfish reason

write unbearable for me,

horrible things

about my wife.

After Sharon was murdered

really everybody was
totally freaked out.

It was a very weird time,

the highest paranoia,

the transition

of this sort of hippie
kind of existence in L.A.

To this brutal awakening

of an understanding

that these kind of absolutely

horrible events can happen.

No one locked their doors.

No one thought about
that there was

any kind of threat.

That ended at the end
of the '60s

and simultaneously

changed everything
overnight in L.A.

It was the end
of a fairy tale, really,

in Roman's life,

in everybody's life.

He would have been
a father of a son

who would have now been,

what, 30 years old?

Maybe he would have had
other children,

probably would have continued

living in California.

Who knows?

How does one survive?

When you know his childhood...

He's a very very strong
human being.

I think that the idea

of the magnet of tragedy

started after the Tate murders.

He was living out in Malibu

and the neighbors were all,
like, horrified

because somehow if he was
in the house next door

there was going to be
another mass murder.

I mean, people are
just too weird.

I tell you, it's crazy.

- Hold it there, kitty-cat!
- Hold it.

Hello, Claude.
Where did you get the midget?

You're a very nosy fellow,
kitty-cat.

Do you know what happens
to nosy fellows?

Huh? No?

Wanna guess?
Huh? No?

Okay, they lose their noses.

Next time you'll lose
the whole thing...

Cut if off and feed it
to my goldfish.

Roman was different

when I met him
on "Chinatown."

He was still a guy
that loved life.

There was just
this real dark shadow

that he had to deal with
every day...

That, you know,
there were people who were constantly,

"so what was it like, you know,

when Sharon...
When your wife was killed?"

Do you hate certain
members of the press

for the way you were treated

after your wife's murder?

Well, yes, to be honest, I do.

But I wouldn't call it
a hatred now, you see.

It's somehow evolved
to just indifference.

And I simply don't read it
and try to avoid it.

Yeah.

But in general,

I despise the press tremendously

for its inaccuracy,
for its irresponsibility

and for its

often even deliberate cruelty.

And all this is
for lucrative purposes.

If one of your complaints

is the way the press
misrepresents you...

And that is one of your
complaints, isn't it?

Then surely it would be
a good tactic

to give them the minimum
possible target.

Yes, but then you have to...

You have to change
your lifestyle

completely and go into hiding.

It seems like, say,
six months after the murders

you're in the alps
and consorting

with these girls from the
finishing school and so on.

I can see how you would sort of

try to lose yourself like that.

But is it wise to say so?

Yes, it is wise to say so.

Why not?

Why wouldn't it be
wise to say so?

That's the way it was.

And that's the way it is.
You know, I mean, just...

Different people
have different way

of seeing life
and relationships.

It's not necessarily the
same with you than me.

And people react

in different ways to grief.

Some go to a monastery,

others start

visiting whorehouses.

He decided he was gonna survive,

and the way he was gonna survive

is through his talent
and having fun.

Whether it was dinner for four

and he was holding court
with some idea he had,

or whether it was a group

of 30 or 40 or 50,

he liked to be
the center of it all.

He was a wonderful host,

almost like a dance master.

He kept it all sort of stirred.

It gave him enormous pleasure.

And after Sharon

I think he didn't want
to be alone too much.

It's not so good to be alone.

Everybody knows

the best way to get
close to your dream

is to get to know
a star, a real star.

Polanski after "Chinatown"

was not only a real star,

he was "the Roman polanski,"

a big name.

She wouldn't mind
being discovered

by a man like Roman polanski.

After all, she had seen
in the French "vogue"

pictures of nastassja kinski

who was 15 when she started

her affair with Roman polanski,

or Roman started it with her.

And everybody had the opinion

if polanski wouldn't have done

this photo layout
with nastassja,

she would have never become

such a well-known young star.

He was a friend of a guy

my sister was dating.

And he wanted girls to model.

And I was modeling and acting

and wanted, you know,
to be in the business.

So that was a great
opportunity, you know.

We signed right up.
"Sure, have my pictures taken

by Roman polanski.
Sounds great."

Susie gaily,

the mother
of the alleged victim,

introduced herself

as an actress to polanski.

And she had done
some work in films.

Well, I was innocent, see.

And that's the truth.

What else can I say?

I remember vaguely

meeting the mother
at some party...

You know,
like, "hi."

And then I was away

and then heard
about all of this.

But just in what I was told

and what I read,

I kept going back
to the same question...

"why did the mother

bring her 13-year-old
daughter into this group?"

Especially if she had
spent time with them

and all the things
that she said subsequently

were true... wouldn't you keep

your 13-year-old daughter
away from that?

You know, this was a guy

that had a pretty
wild reputation.

He was known as a womanizer.

He's a partygoer.

He certainly had a lot
of women over the years

and he loved young women.

Why would her mother allow her

to be alone with polanski?

I don't like... you always
get the "where was your mom?"

It's like, you know,
give my mom a break.

You know, it's not her fault.

And so...

You know, I don't like hearing

anybody's opinion on it.

Like, every time
someone brings it up,

and they're doing their little,
you know, banter on t.V.

It's like, you weren't there.
You don't know.

What are you talking about?
You're saying how I felt,

what happened,
how you feel about polanski.

You have no idea.
And you're on the news

making all these statements

and thousands of people are
listening to you and... shut up.

Another hearing
on the admissibility

of the Beverly Wilshire
hotel records

has been set for next Friday.

From Santa Monica,
fernell Chapman,

news center 4.

I was instrumental

in arranging the plea bargain

because as I looked

at this family and Samantha,
I thought...

At the time some
people knew her name

and some of the kids at
school knew who she was.

I thought it was important

to try to maintain
her anonymity,

anonymity which
would have disappeared

if the case had gone to trial.

And so I tried to persuade
the district attorney

who had a new
plea bargaining policy,

a tough plea bargaining policy.

I said, "I'm not gonna do it."

I have no interest
in doing it."

And so what he decided was...

He says, "well,
I'm gonna do it myself."

The l.A.P.D. Brought

the evidence envelope

to this courthouse building

and brought it in,
actually, to this room.

There were about
five, six or seven men

standing around,

looking, peering down

at this evidence envelope

and someone takes it
and turns it and opens it

and out falls

these little girl's panties.

And so there was

this enormous court battle

over property
that belonged to her

as to what was
to be done with them.

And judge rittenband decided

to cut it in half

and give half to the prosecution

and half to the defense.

The defense expert went over
and put on his latex gloves

and came back and then started

operating on these
copper panties.

If you can imagine the humor

of about seven men
sitting around a table...

...trying to identify
any stains

and to make sure that
the cut, or the piece,

includes part of that stain.

And they were fighting...
"no no, it has to be"

just a little to this way.
No, it should be over here.

"We shouldn't cut that way
at all, we should cut..."

so finally they made the cut.

What we understood was

that Dalton was going
to take his half

and submit it to a lab.

I also understood that the lab

was about to give
its report in two weeks.

And two weeks
and three days later

Dalton called me on the phone,

clearly now, I think,

having the results
of the lab report,

saying, you know,

"what do you think would happen"

if we pursued a plea bargain

"with the prosecution?"

At which point...
At that point I realized

that now polanski
had an interest,

that the stain in the panties

was going to be brutal
evidence for them.

The prosecution
had loaded polanski up

with multiple charges.

The only one
he was willing to admit

and to plead guilty to

was that he had had

consensual sex with the minor.

Mr. Dalton asked,

"could it be a misdemeanor..."

and I says, "no."

"... That he not go
to state prison?"

I says, "no, that's got
to be open."

And so he agreed to all those

and we agreed that it'd be
unlawful sexual intercourse...

The lowest count

that related to the gravamen.

The agreement was

that polanski would plead guilty

to the one count,

that he would be sentenced

based upon the probation report

and the argument of counsel.

At that time the sentence

for unlawful
sexual intercourse was

what they characterized as
an indeterminate sentence,

so you're sent to state prison

for anywhere from six
months to 50 years.

I checked and
there hadn't been anyone

sent to prison for a
conviction of this offense

in the year preceding

Roman polanski's case.

I thought it was
a very good disposition,

for the reason
that it vindicated

the family and the girl

and it exposed
Mr. Polanski

to significant time in custody

based upon a probation report.

By entering his guilty plea,

polanski avoided going to trial,

a trial that was
to have begun tomorrow,

the eighth anniversary
of his wife's death

at the hands of
the Charles manson family.

Standing with his lawyer
Douglas Dalton,

polanski was asked by deputy
district attorney Roger gunson

to what count he pleaded guilty.

"I had intercourse"

with a female person,
not my wife,

"who was under
18 years of age."

"How old did you think
the girl was?"

"I understood she was 13."

The plea bargaining
was the result

of a request by attorney
Lawrence silver,

representing the girl's family.

Silver asked
judge Lawrence rittenband

to accept the plea
and protect the girl

from the glare of publicity.

"A stigma would attach
to her for a lifetime

and justice is not made
of such stuff."

Judge rittenband
in accepting the guilty plea

ordered polanski to be
examined by two psychiatrists.

Sentencing will come after that,

when the judge could
declare the director

a mentally disordered
sex offender.

That could result in commitment
to a state mental hospital.

Other possible sentences include

one year in county jail,

up to 50 years
in a state prison,

deportation or probation.

We took our chances,
obviously, here

because we had no idea
or no way of knowing

what the probation department
would conclude.

Judge rittenband appointed me

to evaluate Mr. Polanski
for purposes of determining

whether he was at that time

a mentally disordered
sex offender,

which was a legal term

having to do with an individual

who, by reason
of a mental disorder,

was predisposed

to the commission
of sexual offenses

that rendered him a danger

to the health and safety
of others.

He was a very congenial

but somewhat reserved guy

who was very straightforward

in the interview.

As experiences go,

Roman polanski has had more

than what would impact
on a dozen people,

in terms of his life
as a child, confusion.

And ultimately he gets
what he feels

is a stable relationship

and that's taken away from him

at the snap of a finger.

He had difficulty

in developing relationships
with women after that.

I think he felt
very very hesitant,

maybe out of fear.

My opinion paralleled

the recommendation

of the probation department.

I didn't talk about whether he
should or should not go to jail.

I really focused solely
on the psychiatric issues.

And it was my opinion
that Mr. Polanski

did not qualify as a mentally
disordered sex offender

and should not be
handled as such.

My feeling was

the guy belonged
in state prison.

Rittenband had asked me
about it.

I said, "judge,
you're gonna give this guy probation."

He said, "no no, I want
to send him to jail."

I said, "you'll never do it."

Because the first thing
that's gonna happen

"when you sentence him is,
he's gonna appeal it."

"I'm gonna give him
a year in a county jail"...

That would be the sentence
they'd appeal immediately.

"I'm gonna give him weekends
in a county jail"...

Immediate appeal.

No matter what the sentence was

if it included a day in jail,

Dalton, and correctly so,
would have appealed it.

And it's gonna go all the way up

to the state supreme court.

He has the money
and he'll take it

to the U.S. supreme court
if he thinks he can.

He says, "well, what am I
going to do?"

The judge called me
into chambers.

He looked at me and said,

"dick, tell me,

what the hell do I do
with polanski?"

I went, "whoa, your honor",

that's your decision,

that's not mine.
I'm a reporter.

"I can't advise you
on something like that."

I hadn't been covering
courts that long,

but I knew a decision by a judge

was supposed to be
a decision by a judge

and was not to take in
any advice

from any other person

other than what was there
in the law books,

what had been entered
into evidence in the case.

He says, "well, what am I
going to do?"

Or what should I do?"

I said, "you know,
what you should do"

is send him up
for 90-day observation."

A "12.03.03"
is a diagnostic study

where a defendant
on a felony case

is sent to chino
for a 90-day observation.

It's like an in-depth
probation report.

And he said, "well,
what will that do?"

I said, "it's not
a final sentence."

He can't appeal it.
He has to go."

We were very pleased

when we got
the probation report.

It recommended
that polanski serve

no time in custody

and receive a straight
probationary sentence.

However, we received a call
from judge rittenband

asking us to come to chambers,

that he wanted to discuss
the matter with us.

A probation officer,
Roger gunson and I

all went into his chambers

for a meeting.

At that time the judge said

he was not going to follow

the recommendation
of the probation department.

He had decided

that as punishment for polanski

he was going to send him to
the state prison at chino

for a diagnostic study.

Gunson and the probation
officer both protested.

I told him that the law was

that the diagnostic study

was not to be used as punishment

or as someone's sentence.

The courts are not
supposed to use that.

And his response was,

"I don't want
to send Mr. Polanski"

to county jail

because I don't want
to be responsible

"if he were to be injured
or killed."

I said, "judge,
we had not expected this."

Polanski is engaged right now

in directing a large movie

that involves many people,
millions of dollars.

"This is going to cause
a tremendous hardship."

And he suggested

that I request a stay,

the "stay" meaning "to defer"

or put off this diagnostic study

in order for polanski to be able

to complete his work
on the film.

What he wanted to do was

have us go out into open court

and pretend as though...

I don't know if he used
the word "pretend,"

but not to divulge that we knew

what was going to happen.

He said, "I want you to go out",

gunson, and you argue

that polanski should be
placed in custody.

And Dalton, you go out
and you argue

that he should be
put on probation.

Then I will make my remarks

and I will sentence him to chino

for the diagnostic study.

And the press need not know

anything more about this.

If you do not tell
the press about this

and if polanski receives
a good report

from the probation department,

which we all are
quite sure he will,

"that will conclude
his punishment."

I wasn't going to argue
about it.

Polanski's fate
hung in the balance.

If I started protesting

about the diagnostic study

rittenband could well have said,

"well, I'll just
send him to prison.

How would you
like that?"

That was
the... fabrication

that he...

The scenario that he
wanted to present

and he did present.

This thing had reached the point

where it was actually
becoming surreal.

Gunson and I walked
into the courtroom

which was packed

with newsmen and spectators.

We took our places
at the counsel table,

sat down and waited

for the entrance
of judge rittenband.

I argued first.

It was a very strange feeling

to be arguing
when I knew exactly

what the result was going to be.

It was like having a mock trial.

In law school we did this,

we had staged trials
and so forth,

but even then we didn't know
what result was going to be.

But we dutifully went out.

I argued for probation.

I tried to make it sound
as authentic as I could.

Gunson got up
and made his argument.

And then rittenband proceeded

to give his closing remarks

which had been obviously

prepared in advance.

He argued much better
than either one of us.

And as I sat there
and listened, I thought,

"I think I see
what's happening here."

He knows that this is
a probation case.

The probation department
has recommended probation.

Chino will very likely
recommend the same thing.

And he wants to condition

the press and public to the fact

that when he puts polanski
on probation,

that they see
the basis that he used

"in arriving
at that conclusion."

After 20 minutes in court

before superior judge
Lawrence rittenband,

film director Roman polanski

and his lawyer Douglas Dalton

emerged from the courtroom

amidst a crush of
reporters and cameramen.

Dalton had asked the court

to place polanski on probation,

arguing that, though the crime

of unlawful intercourse
is a serious one,

it is not a unique crime.

The prosecutor,
deputy district attorney Roger gunson,

asked that polanski
be placed in custody,

though it was noted

that the 13-year-old girl
in the case and her family

had asked the court not to
incarcerate the film director.

On the basis of two
psychiatric evaluations,

the judge ruled
that polanski was not

a mentally disordered
sex offender,

but he did order polanski
to undergo

90-days' further
psychiatric testing

at chino state prison,

postponing a final sentence

until the testing is completed.

Judge rittenband
granted polanski

a three-month stay to
conclude his present work.

At the end of that time
the film director

will go to chino state prison

for 90-days' diagnostic testing.

Robin groth, n.B.C. News,
Santa Monica.

- Why are you leaving the country, sir?
- Sorry?

- Why are you leaving the country?
- Where?

You're gonna leave the
country on a business trip?

- Yes.
- Can you tell us about that trip?

I'm going to Paris.

Will you come back?

Will I come back?

I certainly will.
Don't worry.

Dino just called up and said,

"wonderful news.
My god, Lorenzo, we got Roman.

We got Roman."

It was a potboiler...

Pearl divers getting
caught in a giant clam

and all that stuff.

And Roman had reasonable
contempt for the script...

Not a picture that
Roman would have done.

And I imagine... again,
I didn't discuss it,

but basically nobody else,
I presume,

would hire him at that time.

And de laurentiis,

seeing a chance to get
a great director

who otherwise he couldn't
possibly have approached

for this project,
stepped in immediately.

It was a coup, a triumph,

you know, taking advantage

of this guy's troubles
to some extent.

Better luck for Roman
would have been a judge

that never allowed him
to go to Europe at all.

Roman called me and said,
"listen,

I'm here in Munich.
Can we meet?"

I said,
"of course."

And we decided to go
in the evening

to see the oktoberfest.

Roman actually didn't want to go

but we said,
"you have to see that"

because this is unbelievable.

You have never seen
10,000 people

in a tent, drunken.

"I mean,
you must see that."

He said, "okay,
I'll go with you."

So finally we went
to a special box.

I was with my girlfriend

and two other girlfriends,
you know?

Most unfortunately,

he was photographed,
caught in a pose

sitting in between two girls.

It was quite innocent, but,
you know, photographs...

They say a photograph
doesn't lie.

Nothing lies
more than a photograph.

Lorenzo semple,
Jr.: Roman always did have bad luck.

This is the kind of thing
that a cautious person

would not have dreamed of doing.

I mean, they would
have had themselves

photographed in the cathedral

or doing something like that.

That one photograph
changed everything.

I took it into rittenband

because I figured it was
something he ought to see.

And what I told him was,
"you know, judge,"

you've made so many mistakes,
I think, in this case.

Lookit, he's giving you the finger.
He's flipping you off.

"Haven't you had
enough of this?"

He says,
"what? What?

He's not getting away
with that."

The judge became furious

when this appeared in the paper.

He was interviewed

by a Hollywood gossip
columnist, Marilyn Beck.

Rittenband told me
that he had been duped.

I really believe
he had been duped.

In the interview he said

that very possibly he wanted

polanski back in the country

and polanski could be on
his way to prison now.

That photograph
embarrassed the judge.

Mr. Polanski
is supposed to be

very focused and intent
when he's working.

And this photograph demonstrated

that at that moment
in time he was not.

Why was he in Germany?

He should have been
working hard on a movie.

Could you clear up that
current misunderstanding?

The judge ordered Roman

to come back to the states

and he called dino in
to testify.

Dino explained

through me as the translator

that we were going on
with the production

and the preparation
of the production,

and that this was just part

of the whole thing
of making movies.

Mr. De laurentiis,
could you explain

why you sent Mr. Polanski
to Germany?

Roman was still working
when he was in Munich

because the distributor
convinced Roman

to come there
and spend the night

or go out for a few drinks

and at the same time
talk about "hurricane."

I've already explained.
I've already explained.

I don't think
the judge knew that

or understood that.

And most of all,
he didn't believe it.

- Okay, now step aside, please.
- Let 'em through.

De laurentiis testified,
Roman testified.

There was no evidence
at all to the contrary.

I rested my case.

And the ruling had to be,
of course,

that he was there
on business purposes.

And that was the finding
of the judge.

I told him, you know,
"you just have to bear up"

and go through this

and remember
at the conclusion of this

this case will be over.

You'll have no further
time in custody

"and it will all be
behind you."

That's Dalton?

Yeah, that was Dalton,
his lawyer.

Mr. Dalton, has Mr. Polanski
talked to you

about his reaction
to coming here

for this almost
three-month period?

Yes, he has.
Excuse me,

I have some business
to conduct in here.

Has he indicated to you as
to what his feelings are?

Mr. Polanski, do you have
any statement at all?

Mr. Polanski,
do you have any statement at all?

Mr. Polanski,
do you have any statement at all

regarding this 90-day psychiatric
study that you've come in for?

- No.
- No statement whatsoever?

What are your immediate
thoughts right now?

Any thoughts that
you have at all?

Will he be given any special
consideration here?

Nothing other than anybody
else that would come in.

When we talk about
special housing

and special consideration,
what we're talking about is...

Everybody that comes in,
we screen them

for possible protective
custody housing.

But we're concerned
for his safety.

- There were sketches.
- There were locations.

People had been up to
chino and talked to Roman.

I mean, he was prepping
the movie from chino.

Dino and I went to visit Roman.

Dino, of course, was concerned

as to what was going
to happen with his film.

I was kind of shocked
when we saw Roman.

We were sitting outside
at a table,

outside of the prison.
He was nervous,

always looking over his shoulder

to see what was in back of him.

He said that he was
concerned about

what the other prisoners
would do to him

if they could get near him

because he was accused

of being a child molester.

It was very grim

and it was a very
frightening place.

You know, this is a hard core...

You know, murderers.

Roman was not safe there.

People get killed there.

Polanski of course
was delighted.

He felt, as properly he should,

that he had lived up

to his obligations in the case...

He had admitted his guilt,

he served the sentence
that had been imposed...

And now it was over and he
could go on with his life.

I was quite surprised.

Everyone in the criminal
justice system is aware

that 90-day diagnostic studies

take less than 90 days.

There are not very many
people, I would guess,

who have had the experience
of it only being 42.

That's not a punishment.
A punishment...

You know, he was charged
with very serious crimes.

You're talking about crimes

that would incur
state prison time,

maybe 10, 15, 20 years
in state prison.

A 13-year-old girl,

where he had sexual
intercourse with her,

sodomized her, gave her drugs,

gave her alcohol.

He got off with nothing.

Mr. Gunson, it's usually
the practice

of the district
attorney's office

to prosecute the defendant
to the fullest degree.

You've deviated apparently
in this case. Why?

Why did you agree to
copping out on the plea

if he should have had a
full trial with charges?

What do you mean, "copping out"?

Between the time
that the judge agreed

that the 90-day diagnostic
study be his sentence,

there had been lots
of news media reports

very critical of the judge.

And now that it appears
that Mr. Polanski

will be walking away from a rape

after just serving 42 days,

it's going to be
embarrassing to the judge

and he needs to overcome it.

My father was at the
hillcrest country club

washing his hands
in the locker room,

and standing next to him
was judge rittenband.

And one of gentlemen
at hillcrest

came up to rittenband and said,

"are you really gonna
let that little Polish

blah-blah-blah off?"

And rittenband said,

"well, he thinks so, but no way."

We're gonna put that
little blank-blank away

"for the rest
of his life."

When we met in his chambers,

at this time
judge rittenband said

that he wasn't going to honor

the promise that he had made

about releasing polanski

upon completion
of the diagnostic study.

He gave as his reason

that he was getting
too much criticism.

The judge says that 42 days

is not enough time in custody,

that he expected him
to be in there 90 days.

And so somehow he has to make up

these 48 days

of the intended sentence of 90.

Now gunson at this point said,

"if it's 48 more days you want,"

why don't you
just give him 48 days

in the county jail?

And then you will have
accomplished

"him serving the full
90 days in jail."

And rittenband said,

no, he was not willing
to do that

because the perception
of a prison sentence

must be maintained
for the press.

He told me

that if I would
come back to court

after the press was gone
and the public was gone,

that he would then
recall polanski

and he would be
released from prison.

It became obvious to me

that he wanted him deported

because he did not
want him around here

embarrassing the judge

any more than he already had.

He wanted Roman to agree

that he would voluntarily waive

any rights he may have
regarding deportation.

Rittenband had no jurisdiction

over such matters.
And it is illegal

to impose an illegal condition

upon somebody
serving time in custody.

And so we now are in a category

of actual illegal conduct.

This was getting
rather contentious,

as you might understand,

and I said, "if we're
going to do that, judge",

I want to have a hearing
regarding the sentencing

as we're entitled to do.

And I want to have
witnesses here

"and I want
to have a hearing."

And he said, "well,
I'm going to sentence him anyway."

And if you still insist
on having your hearing

then I may withdraw these things

that I told you that I would do

if you went along
with this thing

"that I'm going
to do tomorrow."

The proceeding
was concluded by...

Judge rittenband,
as he had done before,

directed me to argue
for probation.

He wanted gunson to, again,
argue for time in custody.

And then he would
impose the sentence

that he had discussed with us.

I certainly was not arguing

for state prison in chambers,

nor did I intend to argue

that he should send him
to state prison

to participate in this sham

that the judge was involved in.

We got up, we walked
out of the room.

I remember

saying immediately to gunson,

"I'm not going to do this again."

No matter what he does,

"I'm not gonna participate
in this thing."

And gunson said, "I'm not
going to do it either."

As we walked down the aisle

past the chairs of an empty
courtroom at that time,

Doug Dalton
turned to me and said,

"do you think that I can
trust the judge?"

And I said

something that I wish
I hadn't said.

Maybe it did or didn't
make a difference,

but I shouldn't have said it.

And what I said to him was,

"I don't know why not.
You trusted him once."

I didn't know
what I was going to do

the following day.

I did know that I was no
longer going to participate

in a proceeding that was
being designed solely

to advance the purposes
of judge rittenband.

I told Mr. Dalton

that I would be available to...

Disclose this information

to anyone at any place
at any time.

I contacted Roman

and I said for them
to come to my office

and discuss what was
going to happen

the following morning.

I told them it was my opinion

that the sentence
would be illegal,

that we could probably
obtain relief on appeal,

but that would involve
a long procedure

and polanski would be
incarcerated

during that period of time.

I said that the judge had said

that if Roman agreed to waive

any deportation hearing

and be deported,

that he would then be released

if he also had by then
served 48 days.

Roman said to me,
"can we trust him?"

And I said,
"no, we can't trust him."

We have no idea what he may do.

We've all agreed

that he can no longer be trusted

"and what he represents
to us is worthless."

With that, Roman got up,
looked at me

and I believe he said,
"I'll see you guys later."

And he left the room.

There were two or three
other people there.

And I gave Roman an envelope,

which I thought was script notes

or something else.

The general feeling I had is,

"why is everybody
so nervous?"

There was an electricity
in the air.

...have to do with

what was my conversation
with Mr. Polanski.

My conversation with him
is protected

by the attorney/client
privilege.

I can't divulge to you

the substance or the content

of my conversation with him.

Only to say
what I said in court...

That he did call me
this morning at my home

and he told me
he would not be here.

I asked him to call me again

because I wanted to discuss
this with him further

and attempt to
persuade him to return.

He said he would call me again.

Doug, the court asked you
whether you thought

you might be able to talk
him into coming back.

What was your response?

I said I thought I had

a reasonable chance
of being successful.

How will you try to do it?

Can you tell us
what makes you think

- he's out of the country?
- No, I can't tell you that.

My belief is that
he's not in the country.

What happens if he does not come
back, Mr. Dalton?

Then the court goes ahead and...

Roman polanski is in seclusion,

his friends say,
inside this fashionable building

in downtown Paris where
he keeps an apartment.

He skipped the country
early yesterday

only hours before he was to be sentenced
for illegally having sex with...

He had given her
champagne and a quaalude.

He has told a friend here

his refrigerator is full,
and he does not intend to leave.

Many feel the aura of tragedy

and sensationalism
that surrounds polanski

obscures his brilliance
as a director.

The judge in the Roman
polanski morals case

said today he intended to
send polanski back to prison.

"A year of torture
is enough."

...has begun proceedings

to force polanski
back to the United States.

However, authorities are not
optimistic about succeeding.

Unfortunately, I'm advised
that the treaty with France

might not allow for his
return to this country,

at our request,
to be sentenced on this charge.

Why is that?

As far as I can tell,

the treaty only specifies,
number one, rape.

As you know, Mr. Polanski
was not convicted of rape.

He was convicted of
unlawful sexual intercourse,

and that's a different
crime than rape.

Secondly, the treaty specifies

that it's discretionary

on the part of France
to return French citizens.

In other words,
they have an option.

They can or they can't,
depending on how they feel

about a particular case or maybe
even possibly a particular person.

Whether the d.A.
Succeeds in extraditing polanski or not,

judge Lawrence rittenband plans

to impose polanski's
sentence on February 14th,

with or without
the filmmaker's presence.

The length of time
of course would depend

upon whether or not

there would be a deportation,

or if not deported
involuntarily,

he would agree with the
director of immigration

to consent in writing

to leaving the country...

In which case,

any balance of his stay
in state prison

would be cut short.

But it was to be no less

than the full period of 90 days.

The judge held
a press conference.

Shock waves went through
the judicial community.

A judge holding
a press conference

regarding a pending case...

Totally unheard of.

He said that he intended now

to sentence polanski
in absentia.

So I prepared
a challenge for cause

to disqualify a judge.

If you do this,
you're required to prove

that there are actual prejudices

existing by the judge

and that you can't have
a fair trial

or a fair hearing before him.

I showed the declaration
to Roger gunson.

He read it very carefully.
He agreed...

"that's true.
That's what happened.

I will back you up
if need be."

The judge was furious.

He knew the statements in the
declaration were all true.

He knew that I knew it,
he knew that gunson knew it

and he knew that Larry
silver knew parts of it.

And so there was nothing
he could do but step aside.

He was through and he knew it.

I was young,
but the way I felt was,

the judge was enjoying
the publicity

and he didn't care about
what happened to me

and he didn't care about
what happened to polanski.

He was, like,
orchestrating some little show,

you know, that I didn't
want to be in.

I clearly hold no brief
for Mr. Polanski.

And obviously what he did to
Samantha, my client,

was wrong and outrageous,

but nevertheless, he was supposed
to be treated fairly in court

and he clearly was not.

I'm not surprised that he left

under those circumstances.

Really?

Yeah.

Jesus. Wow.

Clive, I think it was
a wonderful idea

to do this interview

over this lunch,

but the lunch is getting
into a dinner now.

And in case if you have in mind

finishing this interview,
I wanted to ask you

whether you intend
to end on this note,

or do you think there's
something more to my life

than my relations
with young women?

He rebuilt his life in France

with great honor.

He's a member of
the academie francaise.

And in France he's desired,

and in America he's wanted.

Permettez-moi de vous adresser

un tres chaleureux merci.

And the Oscar...

Goes to Roman polanski
for "the pianist."

The academy congratulates
Roman polanski

and accepts this award
on his behalf.