Pajiba

Polanski? I'll pass.

No thank you. I've never watched one of his movies and I definately won't be starting now.

Polanski? I'll pass.

I wish the actors would say that. I don't pretend to understand the legal complexities of his case, and I don't know if he should be in jail or not, but I do lose a little bit of respect every time someone like Kate Winslet or Emma Thompson sticks up for him or is willing to work with him.

I just hope it translates well to the screen. I saw the original play with James Gandolfini, Hope Davis, Jeff Daniels and Marcia Gay Hayden, and it was painfully funny. And Gandolfini was the best, starting off as this meek husband who has a slow build to this amazingly hysterical angry crescendo. I have mixed feelings on the cast though. Love Christoph Waltz in the Jeff Daniels role, but I think John C. Reilly was miscast in the Gandolfini role.

Jodie Foster might have a higher opinion of men if she didn't surround herself with wife beaters and child rapists.

Still, if John Hinckley, Jr. is one of your early examples of male affection, what's a girl to do?

Robert's steaming pile of strawman is more offensive to me that Polanski's crimes, of which there really is little dispute over the crime that was committed.

Fuck you Robert.

Robert, I'm interested too, but I'm not handing over my money for it. Child abusers do not get my $$$.

Say what you will about Polanski (and I know you will), but dude can make a movie.
Jodie Foster seems to have gotten over appearing in that pile of shit with that pile of shit

Gotta love it. The guy who raped a teenage girl can make a good movie, but the non-violent anti-Semite is a pile of shit.

Anyway, let's get it on! Unload your moral outrage so that you can reassure yourself that you are a superior person!

Also, "Jodie Foster might have a higher opinion of men if she didn't surround herself with wife beaters and child rapists."

Thank you, CroatianSpaceStation.

As far as their talents in making movies, I like every single person involved in this. And that trailer was damned delightful. But, yeah, I'll wait for Netflix so I can at least feel somewhat less guilty if I really enjoy it.

And Chinatown is nearly perfect.

Him raping a kid aside. His movies aren't that good. Let's keep it real, man. This movie looks fucking lame too. It's good because Kate Winslet swears?? And John C. Reilly is playing yet another variation of John C. Reilly?

I've only seen The Pianist and damn that was boring. Now that I know the facts about his case, he did in fact rape a young girl, fuck him and his movies. I know the victim herself has forgiven Polanski and she hasn't suffered any emotional damage, that's great for her. But that doesn't change the fact that he did what he did.

Oh boy, Get ready to hear how great Polanski is because of this movie.

@Junierizzle - if you don't like his movies, don't watch them, but the fact that he diddled with kiddies does not mean he's a bad director. Hate the man for what he did. Hate is movies for what they are. Don't hate the movies for what the man behind them did.

I know I will see this because I love most of Polanski's work and this looks like the sort of film I'd enjoy.

As for Polanski himself: I looked at the case and read his autobiography and have concluded from this that he probably really is an asshole but a) that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to make good movies (and even you ardent Polanski-attackers would do good to acknowledge that being a bad person does not equal being a bad director, whatever you may think of his films) and b) it's not my fault the Californian justice department royally fucked up his prosecution - Nor is it Winslet's, Foster's, Reilly's and Waltz's - so I'm not doing to deny myself the pleasure of seeing this.

I have felt the same about Woody Allen in the past. How so many actors clammored to be in his films despite the ick factor.
I feel that in Hollywood is so jaded that they do not see the harm in pretty much anything. The Mel Gibson thing happened in the height of media mania.
I don't know if it is because of how long ago it happened, they in some way enjoy the infamy of being involved in one of his films, or because they appreciate "his genius" who freakin knows.
I did like Rosemary's Baby though.

Chinatown, is a great flick and I'll admit I have watched it a few times on TV.
I'm probably a hypocrite.
And I would love to see this, but I just refuse to spend money on a movie made by a rapist. By spending money I'm saying that I have no problem with what he did and I'm cool with studios hiring him. I'm very disappointed that 4 actors who's work I enjoy have no problem working with a rapist.
He's a rapist, but he gets a pass because he is also an "artist" and rich.

I first saw a Polanski film at the tender age of 8 years at the drive-in movies (are there ANY of those left?)

It was "Fearless Vampire Killers" or "Pardon me But your Teeth are in My Neck."

This was a really adult movie, at least for the times, and I truly believe my parents were sure we'd all be passed out in the back seat by the time the 10:00 p.m. show came on (it was a 3-feature horror film fest). Yeah right.

I still remember the Sharon Tate bath scene, partly because my 8 year old little-girl self was stunned by her beauty but moreso for the bizarre tragedy of her death. I associate Polanski more with the memory of the Charle's Manson debacle than the rape case.

"Chinatown" kicked cinema ass and it made me really "get" Jack Nicholson finally.

The man has talent BUT he's also an asshole. There's no shortage of them kinda guys in the entertainment business. Did he do the deed? Who the hell really knows?

I'm somewhat on the anti-Polanski train here myself, but I'm going to quibble with Robert on something else entirely...

God of Carnage was written by a French woman in French and translated by a Brit. So it can't really be considered an American play.

and second what pissant said

"Innocent people don't run."

Don't get my wrong, I think Polanski's a bastard and should burn in hell, but that's just naive and stupid. Innocent people run all the time. Why? Because they're afraid people think they're guilty.

Actually NeoCleo EVERYBODY on earth knows what happened after he fled the country to avoid trial. Innocent people don't run.

That's a good one.

Look, I believe Polanski did it. There really isn't much of a debate. But he didn't run to avoid trial. There wasn't even going to be a trial. He admitted guilt and had already served a little time. He fled because his lawyers and the prosecutors had come to an agreement that he would plead guilty and he would get what they considered to be an appropriate sentence. Then the judge starting going vanilla crazy cakes and was probably not going to honor that agreement. The judge wanted to be a fuckin' celebrity. This is all apparently the judges decision, but it's practically unheard of.

On a separate note:
he should have been locked up long ago so that large prisoners could do to him what he did to the non-consenting underage girl back in the day.

Yeah, let's sentence someone to rape. In a non-literal way, could everyone one who thinks this way please do us a favor and jump off a cliff? Afterwards, we'll continue with this whole civilization thing we got goin' on here.

* Looks like a good movie.
* Rosemary's Baby is an AMAZING movie.
* Polanski is a brilliant director.
* He is also a convicted pedophile who ran from his punishment.

Like a lot of you, the man morally outrages me. I have a hard time separating his art from the man himself. So you don't want to give money to the studio and actors and crew and others who made the movie possible? Then do what I plan to eventually do...

Torrent the shit out of this movie.

The Ghost Writer was one of the most boring fucking films I've seen this year, Ewan McGregor didn't even look like he was trying. While that movie too was an adaptation in it's own way the source material seemed equally dull, surely he can't fuck this up though, I haven't seen the play but everything I've read has been glowing and Winslet, Reilly and Waltz are among the best of their generation. Foster I'm not so convinced about, so has Robert De Niro but she has been in some seriously shitty films since Taxi Driver.

I love how people say child abuse is irrelevant because they want to see a movie guilt-free. Good to see your priorities are straight.

I'm on board with the "whole lotta actressin'" crew, and the "really? we must love because Kate Winslet swears?" troupe and tootin' the horn on the "Polanksi, fuckoffski, I'm bored" car...that's a lot of trains, my friends. I'm freight car jumping like a hobo, yo!

But really, nothing tires the snot out of me like plays translated into films. There is always something very theaterish and claustrophobic about them and what might be fabulous on a stage, with characters emoting for all they're worth, makes me want to scratch the screen off like a lottery ticket to see if I've hopefully won my damn money back.

And Kate Winslet just seems to be revamping her wretched, histronic-laden role in The Holiday, which is enough reason for me to steer clear of this one.

...and maybe The Gap is no longer a good example (I really wouldn't know), but there are places around that do use sweatshop/child labor, and for the most part, ignorance is bliss when one is shopping for a good bargain.

@ Sars

junierizzle wrote: His movies aren't that good...I've only seen The Pianist and damn that was boring.
See how those two don't make much sense?

Yeah I wrote that. I checked out IMDB and it turns out I also saw The Ninth Gate, that sucked too.

Let's say it came out that Polanski has been having sex with underage girls all this time. Hell he probably had sex with a 15 year old girl last week. Would you still watch his movies?

Better yet, suppose a young girl you know gets raped by some older man, and the man skips the country. Years later you find out he is a movie director and gets nominated for an Oscar. Would you watch that movie? Hey, it's nominated.

As a father of two girls, I am sickened by Polanski and his narcissistic cowardice. And it's interesting to me how many people seem to question his guilt. He admitted it. In court. Period. He's a convicted child molester. He ran to avoid prison.

I can, however, separate the art from the man. I loved China Town and Rosemary's Baby, kinda liked The Ghost Writer, and think he's made a whole bunch of other crap including the boring and overwrought The Pianist. And The Ninth Gate was flat out embarrassing, on a Brett Ratner level of filmmaking.

He's a very bad guy. And it is naive to the point of ignorance to compare his criminality to the alcoholic rages of Mel Gibson. But in the "relative" world in which we reside, I guess a drunken anti-semite is the moral equivalent of a child rapist.

Also, am I the only one who finds Christoph Waltz is kind of attractive? Is it the beer goggles?

Ahem. This looks great. His last movie The Ghost Writer was a steaming pile of shit.

Wahlberg has expressed remorse.

@Sars
I get your point too about separating the man from the work. I just can't when it comes to Polanski. Maybe if he had served time for the crime. Like I said before, the victim is doing just fine today. But him running away just adds to the creepiness. I never heard the full story until after I saw The Pianist and Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby never interested me. They maybe great but I just don't care to see them.
I never heard that about Wahlberg. Hmmm...

I'm pretty sure Haley Mills was in the original Parent Trap.

OK, I think I just came up with the ultimate Pajiba post.

Let's get Polanski to direct a remake of Lolita.

Pissant: barring the fact that even Polanski couldn't get away with that, I suspect it'd be a suprisingly good adaptation.

You like paranoia? Okay. Polanski and Woody Allen are two of the few directors we KNOW about who prefer underage girls. How many other Hollywood moguls have engaged in sex with minors behind closed doors of swanky, exclusive homes or during private parties? Should every big star in attendance there culpable for these unreported, unaknowledged crimes? Maybe Polanski's supporters and peers feel a little bit guilty because they perhaps have their own secrets and are thankful that his glaring mistake takes the heat and spotlight off of them, or perhaps this pedophilia is some far-reaching conspiracy that goes straight to the top echelon of Tinseltown executives a-la Corey Feldman's weird admission weeks ago on TV? How far out should we draw the line? Should a line even be drawn? Why is anyone pretending to give a damn about whether or not Polanski rots in prison (or in Hell) when there are far worse child rapists and murderers in this world that haven't been caught or brought to justice? Polanski may be a blackhearted bastard, but he's being used as a symbol and we're all just playing politics. Like anyone would say "I don't care if he raped a girl in Jack Nicholson's house. He's a great director, so he can't be so bad." That position is indefensible and reprehensible. So, honestly, why the concern that people will see this new film and like it? It doesn't mean anyone is saying the crime he committed is forgiven or it doesn't matter. I just don't see the point of this debate except to gossip and make people paranoid.