Roman Polanski

"Making Chinatown": Ming Wong

Five Artsy Things to Do This Week, Including Music by Babies

Two exhibitions with Chinatown in the title top this week's list, and both are remakes. One further twists Roman Polanski's already twisted classic film about where incest meets corporate corruption. The other is a sequel to an exhibition that never actually happened.

Roman Polanski's Carnage Reviewed

The parental rage of brownstone Brooklyn

The AFI Films You Need to See

Our critics' recommendations for the best of the fest

ROMANETTES

Polanski Alleged To Have Raped Another Woman At Jack Nicholson's House

RadarOnlinePolanski and the self-proclaimed victim.​Another woman has come forward to allege that director Roman Polanski raped her in the 1970s. The victim says she was 21 at the time that Polanski allegedly raped her at the home of Jack Nicholson in 1974, three years before he had sex with a ... More >>

LAPD Det. Philip Vannatter Angry That Roman Polanski Won't Face Music In L.A.

​Following this week's news that Swiss authorities won't extradite Roman Polanski to the United States to face sentencing in Los Angeles for his 1977 sex-with-a-minor conviction, the detective who originally arrested the director expressed anger over the 33-year-old case's apparent end. "He s ... More >>

Polanski Will Not Be Extradited, Swiss Authorities Say

​[Updated at 12:30 p.m. with reaction from District Attorney Steve Cooley, after the jump]. Swiss authorities on Monday announced they will not extradite director Roman Polanski to the United States to face sentencing in Los Angeles for a 33-year-old sex-with-a-minor conviction, essentially b ... More >>

Vampire Weekend

Woman Claims She Was A Sexual Victim Of Polanski

​A woman claiming to be a molestation victim of director of Roman Polanski came forward Friday morning via a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred. Charlotte Lewis reported the encounter to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office Thursday, according to TMZ. She said Polanski had sex ... More >>

Polanski 'Running Out Of Options'

​Director Roman Polanski was "running out of options" to fight extradition to Los Angeles, a prosecutor said, after his bid to unseal transcripts he hoped would bolster he case against prying him from house arrest at his Swiss chalet was rejected by an L.A. judge Monday. Polanski's legal team ... More >>

Take Note Roman Polanski: Teacher Gets Two Years For Sex With Minor

Amy Beck.​Take note, Roman Polanski: A Burbank middle school teacher who had sex with a 14-year-old student was sentenced to two years in prison Friday. The woman, part of what seems like a wave of female teachers arrested for having sex with male students in recent years, had pleaded on cont ... More >>

Roman Polanski Kicking, Screaming As He Runs Out Of Cash

​If director Roman Polanski is extradited to Los Angeles, it will be kicking and screaming or, at least, ranting and raving. The man convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old finds his predicament unjust now that his 33-year-old case might finally come to an official and long-overdue disposit ... More >>

Polanski Will Fight Extradition, Lawyers Say

​Despite Thursday's setback in which a state appeals court turned down his request to be sentenced while he remains overseas, Roman Polanski said through his lawyers Friday that he will challenge attempts by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office to have him extradited from Switzerl ... More >>

Roman Polanski Loses One In Court

​Director Roman Polanski lost one in court Thursday, but it wasn't his big appeal asking the state 2nd District panel to allow him to be sentenced while he remains overseas. Rather, a request by the victim in his 33-year-old sex-with-a-minor conviction to have the case dismissed was denied by ... More >>

Polanski Appeal To Be Sentenced From Afar Denied; He Could Be Brought To L.A. To Face The Music

​Roman Polanski was 0 for 2 today in the state's 2nd District appeals court downtown: First it turned down a move by the victim in his 33-year-old sex-with-a-minor legal saga to have the case thrown out. Then, this afternoon, it turned down his latest bid to be sentenced while he remains overs ... More >>

Polanski Appeals To Obama For Help Fighting Extradition To L.A.

​Director Roman Polanski wrote a letter to Barack Obama asking for the president's help with efforts to be sentenced in absentia in his 33-year-old sex-with-a-minor case. The correspondence was delivered to the American leader by Polanski supporter and French President Nicolas Sarkozy during h ... More >>

Polanski Asks Appeals Court To Probe Alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct

​Roman Polanski's lawyers filed papers this week asking the state's 2nd District appeals court to order an investigation into alleged misconduct involving a prosecutor and a judge during the 1977 Los Angeles trial in which the director was convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. The ... More >>

D.A. Fights Polanski's State Appeal To Be Sentenced From Afar

​The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is fighting director Roman Polanski's appeal to be sentenced "in absentia" while he remains on the lam. Polanski's lawyers have argued there's an "urgent" need to grant the request as a result of alleged misconduct during his 1977 trial that ... More >>

Swiss Put Polanski Extradition On Hold

​Swiss officials have put extradition proceedings against Roman Polanski on hold until a California appeals court decides on whether the director can be sentenced from afar in his 1977 prosecution for having sex with a minor. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office requested extradi ... More >>

Polanski's Lawyers Try To Get Him Sentenced From Afar ... Again

​Attorneys for director Roman Polanski tried again this week to get their client sentenced from afar for his 1977 conviction on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. The legal team took its case to the state's 2nd District court of appeal and urged an "immediate review" of thei ... More >>

Ghosts of a Filmmaker's Past

Why the film Roman Polanski finished from jail is his best in years

Swiss-Versus-L.A. Standoff In Polanski Case

​Amid reports that Switzerland won't extradite famed director Roman Polanski until the fate of his sentencing in Los Angeles is clear, the District Attorney's office stated Friday that it won't make a move until Polanski's extradition is moved forward. "At present, this rests with the Swiss ... More >>

Polanski's Request To Be Sentenced From Afar Rejected

​Director Roman Polanski's request to be sentenced "in absentia" for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 was denied by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Friday, leaving a smaller possibility that Polanski would get off without extradition from Switzerland or time behind bars in the 33- ... More >>

Polanski's Victim Wants Him Off The Hook

​Attorneys for the victim of Roman Polanski indicated they will file papers asking a judge in the 33-year-old case to sentence him to time already served, KTLA reports. An attorney for Samantha Geimer, who was 13 when Polanski had sex with her, wants the director sentenced "in absentia" for t ... More >>

Polanski's Lawyers Say D.A. Misled Judge, Urge Sentencing In Absentia

Roman Polanski.​Roman Polanski's lawyers are again urging a judge to sentence the director "in absentia:" They argue that authorities in Switzerland, where he's being held, have been "misled" about a previous court's intentions in Polanski's original sentencing deal in 1978. The New York Time ... More >>

D.A. Wants Polanski In L.A., Opposes Request For Remote Sentencing

​The Los Angeles District Attorney's office has filed papers opposing Roman Polanski's request that a judge sentence him "in absentia" for having sex with a minor. The request came after an appeals court suggested that Polanski might be sentenced without having to come back to Los Angeles. He ... More >>

LA Weekly Flickr Pool Reader Photo of the Day: Dangerous Chefs

This LA Weekly Flickr pool photo comes to you courtesy of photographer stephenfalk, who took the shot on January 4th with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS. It's a conceit, of course. Maybe the chefs are dangerous, or maybe they scored a gig private cheffing for Roman Polanski--or maybe they just got out ... More >>

Polanski Could Be Behind Bars In L.A. In Time For Valentine's Day

​Roman Polanski must be biting his nails this month. In fact, we'd be surprised if he had any left. His freedom, or lack thereof, is coming down the wire. On Wednesday a Los Angeles judge scheduled a hearing for Jan. 22 on whether the fugitive director could be sentenced from afar -- and possi ... More >>

Polanski's Lawyers Could Be Fishing For Deal

​Lawyers for Roman Polanski requested Wednesday's much-anticipated court hearing in Los Angeles, the District Attorney's office indicated, and they might ask that their client be sentenced in absentia. The move comes in the wake of a state appeals court ruling in December that opened the door ... More >>

Polanski Lawyers Ask For Director To Be Sentenced While He's Still Out Of The Country

​Director Roman Polanski's lawyers on Wednesday made the move we anticipated by asking a judge to sentence the film auteur "in absentia" for his 1977 conviction of having sex with a minor. A hearing regarding the request was set for Jan. 22. An appeals court last month suggested that the dire ... More >>

Polanski Speaks Out, Says He Feels 'Comfort And Hope'

​Child-sex convict and famed movie director Roman Polanski spoke out over the weekend about his predicament, issuing his first statement since he was arrested in Switzerland in September as part of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's long-running efforts to bring the fugitive to justice ... More >>

Court Leaves Door Ajar For Polanski To Walk

​A state appellate court on Monday denied director Roman Polanski's appeal to dismiss the sex-with-a-minor-case that has clouded his career and character for more than 30 years, but it left the door open to the possibility that he could walk away from the chapter once and for all without even ... More >>

Polanski Could Face More Than A Year Behind Bars

​Director Roman Polanski fled the United States in 1978 to avoid what was likely to be a 90-day sentence for unlawful sex with a minor. We recently stated that such a crime today would be treated much more harshly, and the Los Angeles Times on Thursday published an analysis of sentences for si ... More >>

Roman Polanski, World's Biggest Fugitive, Released On Bail. Really!?

​This is the LA Weekly edition of Really!? On Wednesday we learned that a Swiss court freed film director Roman Polanski in lieu of about $4.5 million while he fights extradition in courts there. Los Angeles authorities want Polanski back in town for the 1977 unlawful sexual intercourse sent ... More >>

Author Recycles Allegations About Polanski; Says Director Pursued Other Young Girls

​Author Phillip Lambro, who worked as the composer on Roman Polanski's 1974 masterpiece Chinatown, is recycling allegations he's made against the director in order to re-energize sales of his Hollywood tell-all, Close Encounters of The Worst Kind. Lambro says in a press release issued this we ... More >>

Romero, Fellow Politicians Support Polanski Extradition

Los Angeles state Sen. Gloria Romero and several Sacramento colleagues signed a letter supporting county District Attorney Steve Cooley's efforts to extradite Roman Polanski, who admitted to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old before fleeing to France in 1978.State Sen. Gloria Rome ... More >>

Swiss Miss: Roman Polanski Loses Bail Bid

The first inning of what could prove to be long losing game for director Roman Polanski ended Tuesday with Swiss authorities rejecting his application for bail. The Associated Press quoted Swiss justice ministry spokesman Folco Galli saying, "We continue to be of the opinion that there is a high ris ... More >>

Polanski Case: Prosecutor's Dishonesty Challenged

It's come to the point in Los Angeles where you can't even trust people to tell lies anymore. That's one of the bizarre situations spawned by the recent Swiss arrest of film director Roman Polanski. Last year an HBO-aired documentary, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, alleged that Polanski bolted ... More >>

Roman Polanski v. L.A. Superior Court: Act 3

For someone who's declared his intention to never return to the United States, Roman Polanski is certainly keen on clearing his name in Los Angeles court. The 75-year-old film auteur (Repulsion, Chinatown, The Pianist) fled the country for voluntary European exile in 1978 after an L.A. judge indicat ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

No-Show Polanski Loses Court Bid  Judge Peter Espinoza refused to dismiss decades-old sexual misconduct charges against film auteur Roman Polanski. Espinoza said the refusal of the fugitive Polanski to attend a hearing in L.A. Superior Court made dismissal impossible. L.A. Times Jesusita F ... More >>

Today in Photographs: April 20, 1977

Roman Polanski (right) on his way to court in Santa Monica for a preliminary hearing on rape charges filed against him.Photo: LA Herald-Examiner/LAPL CollectionClick image to enlarge

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Polanski Loses Bid to Nix L.A. Judges The AP's Linda Deutsch reports that a three-member appellate panel has rejected self-exiled film auteur Roman Polanski's motion to bar any Los Angeles County judge from participating in his case. Polanski, who claims he has no plans to ever return to the U.S., i ... More >>

Has the Daily News Become the Recycler?

Among L.A. Observed's daily reports of newspaper triage comes word that the Los Angeles Daily News is one of several papers belonging to the Los Angeles Newspaper Group whose newsrooms have been ordered to play without pay for an entire week. Just how the news is going to appear on its pages (paper ... More >>

A Court Win for Polanski

Today a three-judge appellate panel granted self-exiled film director Roman Polanski an emergency stay in proceedings that had been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. His lawyers had filed the appeal after an L.A. judge had rejected their motion to bar the L.A. County Superior Court system as a venu ... More >>

Roman Polanski's Catch-22

Next Wednesday fugitive film director Roman Polanski will get a hearing in Superior Court on his lawyers' request to have longstanding charges stemming from his having sex with a minor dismissed. How a judge will rule on the motion, given that the alleged crime occurred 32 years ago, is anyone's gue ... More >>

Wanted and Desired: Was Roman Polanski a Pedophile?

New documentary focuses on Chinatown director’s 1977 rape trial

Penis Dentatus

Dreamcatcher is for the boys

Hitler Studies

Polanski's The Pianist and Meyjes' Max

Unnecessary Evil

Roman Polanski goes to hell