This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/05/roman-polanski-rape-vanity-fair-interview
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Roman Polanski says 2009 rearrest left him feeling persecuted | Roman Polanski says 2009 rearrest left him feeling persecuted |
| (14 days later) | |
| Roman Polanski says he felt "more persecuted" following his 2009 arrest in Switzerland on three-decade-old rape charges than he had in 1977 when he was originally arrested. | Roman Polanski says he felt "more persecuted" following his 2009 arrest in Switzerland on three-decade-old rape charges than he had in 1977 when he was originally arrested. |
| In a rare interview with Vanity Fair, the Oscar-winning director of Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist said the arrest hit him harder than any incident since the murder of his wife Sharon Tate by the Manson family in 1969, as well as the subsequent media circus that followed. "I didn't have that at all [in 1977]", he told the magazine. "This was much more like the assassination of Sharon and what happened afterwards." | In a rare interview with Vanity Fair, the Oscar-winning director of Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist said the arrest hit him harder than any incident since the murder of his wife Sharon Tate by the Manson family in 1969, as well as the subsequent media circus that followed. "I didn't have that at all [in 1977]", he told the magazine. "This was much more like the assassination of Sharon and what happened afterwards." |
| Polanski successfully fought extradition to the US in 2009 in connection with outstanding charges against him after being arrested in Switzerland, where he had been invited to attend the Zurich film festival. | Polanski successfully fought extradition to the US in 2009 in connection with outstanding charges against him after being arrested in Switzerland, where he had been invited to attend the Zurich film festival. |
| He spent two months in a Swiss jail, followed by several months under house arrest at his chalet in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad, before authorities said they would not be extraditing him. | He spent two months in a Swiss jail, followed by several months under house arrest at his chalet in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad, before authorities said they would not be extraditing him. |
| The director's 1977 arrest in the US was one of the biggest news stories of its time. He was accused of plying 13-year-old Samantha Geimer with champagne and Quaaludes during a modelling shoot at his friend Jack Nicholson's house in Los Angeles, then raping her. Polanski was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but pleaded guilty to only one count of unlawful sexual intercourse. | The director's 1977 arrest in the US was one of the biggest news stories of its time. He was accused of plying 13-year-old Samantha Geimer with champagne and Quaaludes during a modelling shoot at his friend Jack Nicholson's house in Los Angeles, then raping her. Polanski was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but pleaded guilty to only one count of unlawful sexual intercourse. |
| The film-maker fled the US for France in 1977, after it became clear he could face a 50-year sentence, despite having already served 42 days behind bars as part of a 90-day plea bargain that he had assumed deferred the possibility of further punishment. | The film-maker fled the US for France in 1977, after it became clear he could face a 50-year sentence, despite having already served 42 days behind bars as part of a 90-day plea bargain that he had assumed deferred the possibility of further punishment. |
| "It was such a shock to learn that it's not finished, after they let you out of prison. Free! With your bundle under your arm, with the lawyer waiting for you outside; standing there, in your mind it's all over, it's finished," Polanski told Vanity Fair. "And then the judge changed his mind. And I have to go back to prison, and nobody knows how long. I just could not go through that." | "It was such a shock to learn that it's not finished, after they let you out of prison. Free! With your bundle under your arm, with the lawyer waiting for you outside; standing there, in your mind it's all over, it's finished," Polanski told Vanity Fair. "And then the judge changed his mind. And I have to go back to prison, and nobody knows how long. I just could not go through that." |
| The 80-year-old director denied suggestions he had been living as a fugitive in Europe. He said he was "moving freely for 32 years" between homes and projects in Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Tunisia. | The 80-year-old director denied suggestions he had been living as a fugitive in Europe. He said he was "moving freely for 32 years" between homes and projects in Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Tunisia. |
| The Vanity Fair interview has emerged ahead of a new documentary, Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out, which will be shown on US television later this month. It is directed by Marina Zenovich, whose 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired inspired US lawyers to reopen the case against the director after 30 years. | The Vanity Fair interview has emerged ahead of a new documentary, Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out, which will be shown on US television later this month. It is directed by Marina Zenovich, whose 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired inspired US lawyers to reopen the case against the director after 30 years. |
| • Leo Robson's essay on Polanski's films | • Leo Robson's essay on Polanski's films |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |