Polanski is finishing latest film from his cell, says Robert

[joeblow]

Polanski is finishing latest film from his cell, says Robert Harris

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... 873582.ece

Roman Polanski is putting the finishing touches to his forthcoming film from his prison cell in Switzerland, his friend and colleague Robert Harris said yesterday at The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Harris, who wrote the screenplay for the film, said that the director is making decisions about The Ghost so that it will be ready for its scheduled premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February. Polanski, who is fighting extradition to America where he is wanted for raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977, recently gave instructions about the film score to Alexandre Desplat, the composer best known for writing music for The Queen and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The director, 76, was arrested in Zurich on September 26 after 31 years on the run from the American authorities. He admitted having sex with Samantha Gailey, a model he hired for a photoshoot, but jumped bail in February 1978 when he discovered that he would face a lengthy prison sentence despite negotiating a plea bargain. Harris, who was in Cheltenham to publicise his book Lustrum, said that The Ghost would be completed in accordance with Polanski's wishes. The director had finished editing the film, which stars Pierce Brosnan as a British prime minister accused of war crimes, on the day of his arrest.

Harris said: "He can make his wishes known from his cell. I don't think he can make phone calls, but he can communicate. What people think of the film is another matter. Whether the film can rise above the circumstances in which the director now finds himself I don't know. We will test to the upper limits the notion that there's no such thing as bad publicity."

Polanski's arrest has divided public opinion. Most American commentators have welcomed the opportunity to bring him to justice, but there was an outcry in France, where he has lived without fear of extradition because of his French citizenship.

President Sarkozy said that he hoped for a "speedy resolution".

Harris said that he does not condone Polanski's crime, but believes that the story is more complicated than some commentators have described it. Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse in a deal with prosecutors in exchange for them dropping charges of rape, drugging and sodomy, which would have carried a life sentence. But he fled America when he discovered that he would still serve time in prison.

Harris, who is best known for historical novels such as Fatherland and Imperium, said: "He was left with little choice but to flee. I've got to know him very well. He's got to know my children. I know his children. He has effectively been on probation for 32 years. For this to happen to him now . . . it seems to me to be bad treatment, especially as the victim herself says that she doesn't want him to be pursued any further."

He said that he did not worry about being tainted by association with Polanski and only hoped that his friend would be allowed to fight extradition from outside prison so he can see his family.

The author said:"These proceedings do drag on for the best part of a year. He's a tough man. He's been through a lot. If anyone can survive it, he can."

Polanski's life has been beset by tragedy. His mother was killed in Auschwitz, and in 1969 his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family.

Harris said that Polanski wanted the film to be completed even if he is in prison. It is a nightmare looming that the director might be in jail at the time [of the film's release] but we will just have to cope with this as the situation develops. I'm sure he would want the film to go ahead, having worked on it for two years."

[Ognir]

It will probably be a film about a good little jew boy that needs the support of his own group :lol:

[MikeWB]

Hope he never sees it and just rots away in his jail cell.

What's the latest on him? When will he be extradited to US? News here is probably ecstatic for the circus to finally begin so they can cover that instead of real news and economy.

[joeblow]

Roman Polanski Out of Jail for Medical Treatment

http://ca.eonline.com/uberblog/b149541_ ... dical.html

He's not out of the woods, but director Roman Polanski is out of jail, at least temporarily.

The director's French lawyer says that the 76-year-old director is receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed ailment, according to Reuters.

"All I know is that he has been taken from prison for medical attention. I don't know where he is or when he will be returned to prison," lawyer Herve Temime said.

Wherever the director is, he's still under supervision.

"He is still in detention. If necessary he has all the medical care (needed). It can be in prison or in hospital, in general," a spokesperson for Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice told the news agency.

Having been denied bail, the Oscar-winner has been in a Swiss jail since last month awaiting an extradition hearing to decide whether he will be returned to the United States.

Polanski fled the United States in 1978 before he could be sentenced for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

[joeblow]

Swiss court orders Polanski kept in jail

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091020/D9BEPRCO1.html

Oct 20, 7:23 AM (ET)

By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER


GENEVA (AP) - Roman Polanski suffered another setback in his fight against extradition to the United States on Tuesday when a Swiss court ordered the 76-year-old director kept in jail because he poses a high flight risk.

The Federal Criminal Court rejected offers by Polanski's legal team of bail, house arrest and other measures to ensure that he stays in Switzerland.

The acclaimed filmmaker is considered a convicted felon and a fugitive by authorities in Los Angeles, and the United States is seeking his extradition for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl. He was arrested by the Swiss on Sept. 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive an award from a film festival.

"The court considered the risk that Roman Polanski might flee if released from custody as high," the federal court said. "The bail offered by the appellant does not meet in its form the requirements set out by the law."

The tribunal based in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona left open possibilities for Polanski to challenge its verdict, highlighting some of the options that may feature in what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle over his extradition.

Polanski can appeal to Switzerland's highest tribunal for release. He can also continue attempts to persuade the Swiss Justice Ministry to release him. More court proceedings are expected after Washington files its formal extradition request, which it has until late November to submit.

The director of such film classics as "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown" was accused of plying the underage girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude sedative pill during a modeling shoot in 1977, and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation.

However, he was released after 42 days by an evaluator who deemed him mentally sound and unlikely to offend again.

The judge responded by saying he was going to send Polanski back to jail for the remainder of the 90 days and that afterward he would ask Polanski to agree to a "voluntary deportation." Polanski then fled the country, on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was scheduled to be sentenced to the additional time.

In its 17-page verdict, the Swiss court said Polanski offered to surrender his travel documents and submit himself to daily police checks. Those measures were seen as insufficient to prevent his flight because he could always obtain new passports or even travel to his French home without papers.

France does not extradite its own citizens.

The court was also concerned that Polanski could leave Switzerland and avoid the extradition process if he fled by helicopter or private airplane.

Lawyers for Polanski also offered up the director's chalet in the luxury resort of Gstaad as collateral, saying it represented more than half of his personal wealth and that it would definitely guarantee his remaining in the country because he has two children he must support through school. The court, however, sided with Swiss authorities who said even the large bail offer provided insufficient security against flight.

Legal experts have said Polanski stands a minimal chance of a speedy release, as the law dictates that wanted individuals should be held in detention for the duration of their extradition procedures. There is only limited space for exemptions.

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Associated Press writers Alexander G. Higgins and Eliane Engeler contributed to this report.