January 17, 2024 • 27 mins
Known for “Chinatown,” “Rosemary's Baby” and “The Pianist,” Roman Polanski is one of the most acclaimed directors in cinematic history. He is also a convicted child rapist who has faced several sexual assault allegations over the course of his career.
In “Disgraced Genius,” the fifth episode of Variety and iHeart Podcasts’ true crime podcast “Variety Confidential,” host Tracy Pattin and co-host Matt Donnelly, Variety’s senior entertainment and media writer, examine Polanski’s downfall after decades of Hollywood reverence.
For a full list of sources and citations for this episode, visit https://variety.com/h/variety-confidential/.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This show contains mature content and adult themes. It may
not be suitable for young audiences.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
In twenty seventeen, Harvey Weinstein was outed as a serial
sexual abuser. Many brave women came forward and told their stories.
They exposed one of Hollywood's most powerful moguls as a
vicious sexual predator who operated horrifically and seemingly without consequences.
But Weinstein was standing on the shoulders of monsters. For
(00:35):
so many years, those monsters remained unchecked in Hollywood, shielded
by the millions of dollars they made for their studios.
Sex for fame is not new. In fact, it's as
old as Hollywood itself. There are few sex scandals more
infamous in Hollywood than Roman Polanski's statutory rape of a
thirteen year old girl. Polanski was one of the most
(00:57):
innovative and influential directors of the last century. Rosemary's Baby,
which he directed in nineteen sixty eight, reinvented the horror movie,
and Chinatown in nineteen seventy four, reinterpreted noir film for
modern audiences. But Polanski is arguably more famous today for
his guilty plea on his statutory rape charge in nineteen
(01:18):
seventy seven than he is for winning the Best Director
Oscar for The Pianist in two thousand and three. In
today's episode of Variety Confidential, will open Variety's archives to
separate fact from fiction about Roman Polanski, the scandal that
has plagued Hollywood for nearly fifty years. From Variety in
(01:38):
iHeart Podcasts, I'm Tracy Patton. This is the Secret history
of the Casting Couch. Today's episode disgraced genius Roman Polanski
in the studio with me today is Matt Donnelly, Variety's
senior Entertainment and Media writer. Hi, Matt, Hi, It's great
to be back, and it's all was so great to
(01:59):
have your insight into the industry.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Well, this case is certainly fascinating, and I think one
of the most important things to know about Polanski that
modern audiences may not is that he represented something so
exciting and new in cinema in the sixties and seventies.
So it's not just that he was a successful director,
but really a celebrity in his own right for what
he represented. And I think all of that vision came
with power, and I think a lot of that, you know, flash,
(02:23):
and a lot of that integrity and a lot of
that prestige blinded many he worked with to behavior that
was going on behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yes, and later in the show, we'll discuss the outpouring
of support in Hollywood for Polanski in two thousand and nine,
thirty years after he pleaded guilty to statutory rape. And
then we'll look at some of the big names in
Hollywood who reconsidered that support in the me Too era.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
And a small spoiler, one person who did not walk
back his support for Polanski was Harvey Weinstein and we're.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Going to talk about that too at the end of
the show.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
So, Roman Polanski is considered one of the top film
directors of the past sixty years, but a lot of
people today might not know exactly who he is.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yes, and it's likely that even people who've never heard
of Polanski or who've never seen Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby
have probably heard of his wife, the beautiful young actress
Sharon Tate. Her fame came through a tragedy. She was
murdered by members of the Charles Manson cult in August
nineteen sixty nine. Sharon and four HouseGuests were killed in
(03:22):
her home in LA's Benedict Canyon, making it even more tragic,
Sharon was pregnant and due to deliver in just ten days.
But the gruesome murder of his wife and unborn son
was not the first tragedy Roman had experienced. As a
child in Poland, he watched helplessly as a gang of
Nazi soldiers dragged his mother away. He never saw her again.
(03:47):
Polanski's arrest for statutory rape came just seven years after
his wife and unborn son were murdered. Facing a long
prison sentence, he fled the country in February nineteen seventy
eight and has never returned. Roman Polanski continued to make
movies in Europe while in exile from the United States.
He has won Golden Globe Awards and Oscar and prizes
(04:10):
at the top festivals. In two thousand and nine, dozens
of Hollywood directors, producers, and stars signed a petition in
support of ending Polanski's exile. But in recent years, more
women have come forward to accuse Polansky of sexual abuse,
and as a result of the Me Too movement, many
of Roman's former supporters have publicly disavowed him.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Now, of course, we want to discuss more about that
rape charge. But first let's talk about his early life.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yes, he was born in Paris in nineteen thirty three.
His parents, who were Polish Jews, returned to Poland in
nineteen thirty six. Three years after they moved to Krakau,
the Nazis invaded Poland when Roman was six years old.
His family and all the other Jews were confined into
the city's ghetto. As conditions deteriorated, food and water became scarce,
(05:02):
and then the Nazis started arresting people, even entire families,
and taking them to the death camps. After and during
months of this, a traumatic event up ended Roman's life.
He watched from a hiding place as Nazi soldiers dragged
his mother out of their house. He never saw her again.
(05:23):
They came back later and took his father, uncle, and
other family members. As the war raged on around him,
Roman survived by living on the streets and then for
a few years in the country with a Catholic family.
When the war ended, his father and uncle were liberated
from the camps. They were reunited in the ghetto, and
at age twelve, Roman began putting the pieces of his
(05:46):
life back together. After his schooling resumed, he found his
calling in filmmaking in the early nineteen fifties. He attended
a film school in the city of Lots where he
made a series of experiments until short films.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
By Now it's nineteen sixty two and Polanski makes his
first full length feature film, Knife in the Water. Now.
This was an atmosphere of drama about a couple who
encounters a young hitchhiker, which creates trouble in their marriage,
and it.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Earned a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination in nineteen sixty
three and won a BAFT Award and a prize at
the Venice Film Festival the following year. Polanski was broke
then so As Travels were funded by a Polish American
film producer named Jeane Kutowski. After the success of Knife
in the Water they formed Cadre Films, with Gutowski as
(06:32):
producer and Polanski as director. Their first project is Cadre
was Repulsion, in which a beautiful woman racked with sexual
phobias has a psychotic breakdown in her London apartment. It
was an international breakthrough for Catherine Deneuve, who had made
more than a dozen films in France, including the classic
The Umbrellas of Scherbourg. Repulsion proved to be a game
(06:55):
changer for Polanski, with critics calling him the new Alfred Hitchcock.
It had its detractors, but it was a critical and
financial success, and won top prizes at the Venice and
Berlin Film festivals. Cadre was less successful with their next project,
a bizarre comedy horror film titled cul de Sac. It
opened in nineteen sixty six to mixed reviews and mediocre
(07:18):
box office receipts. Cadre was on the brink of bankruptcy
when Polanski and Gutowski met American film and television producer
Martin Ransahoff at a party in London. Ransahoff owned Film Ways,
the producer of hit sitcoms like The Beverly Hillbillies, Green
Acres and The Adams Family. Also at the party was
a striking, aspiring actress named Sharon Tate. She would be
(07:41):
featured in Polanski's next film, The Fearless Vampire Killers, which
was produced by Cadre and Film Ways. There was no
love at first sight between Roman and Sharon. He hadn't
intended to cast her, but Martin Ransahoff had insisted their
romance would develop after the production ended the Fears. Vampire Killers,
another horror comedy, was panned by the critics and did
(08:04):
poorly at the box office. Polanski blamed Ransahoff for turning
the movie into a Transylvanian Beverly Hillbillies. Caudre's next deal
would produce Polanski's biggest hit to date, Rosemary's Baby, the
story of a Manhattan woman who was pregnant with Satan's child.
It was also Polanski's first US production, with filming in
(08:25):
both Hollywood and New York. Variety reported, with a budget
of three point two million dollars, the movie was one
of nineteen sixty eight's biggest winners, bringing twelve point three
million dollars in box office grosses. To Paramount, that revenue
today would be one hundred and eight point seven million dollars.
The success of Rosemary's Baby changed Polanski's life. He'd found
(08:49):
love with Sharon Tate, and he'd been welcomed into a
group of celebrated actors and directors that included Warren Baby,
Jack Nicholson, and Martin Scorsese. Variety's former Edge in chief
Peter Bart said, Roman started to like this community. He
loved the fast life. He became a real star. He
got good tables and restaurants that had not been part
(09:11):
of his life. You could see him change to a degree.
The unthinkable happened to Roman. He was actually happy.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
So Pulansky and Sharon Tate were married on January twentieth,
nineteen sixty eight, and a year and a half later,
when Sharon was pregnant with their first child. They rented
a house on Ciellow Drive in the hills above LA's
Benedict Canyon, and.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
The Polansky spent the first half of nineteen sixty nine
in Europe. In early August, Roman sent Sharon home by boat.
He believed she was too pregnant to fly. She objected
to the separation, but he promised to be in Los
Angeles when the baby was born. He said he was
staying in London to work on a movie project, but
after he put Sharon on the ship, Roman reverted to
(09:53):
his old ways and began hooking up with random women
every night. He spent the night before the murders with
a flight attendant. He got the call around ten pm
London time. Sharon and four of their friends had been
shot a knife to death at his home in Benedict Canyon.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
It's incredibly tragic. After the murders, Roman became a sort
of sympathetic figure in Hollywood this tragic survivor, and the
community continued to support him into the early nineteen seventies,
even though his next few films really failed to connect
with audiences.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
There were three films, Polanski's version of Shakespeare's Macbeth in
nineteen seventy one, and two movies released in nineteen seventy two,
Weekend of a Champion and a film titled What. Together,
they grossed just one million dollars. Despite this poor showing,
Roman's friend Robert Evans, then the vice president of global
production at Paramount, hired him to direct Chinatown. It was
(10:49):
the story of a private detective's investigation into the death
of a Los Angeles water company official and his wife's
secret incestuous past. Released in nineteen six seventy four, Chinatown
became an instant film noir classic. It was also a
financial success. It cost three million dollars to make and
(11:09):
grossed twenty nine million dollars worldwide, which would be about
one hundred and eighty one million dollars today. Chinatown was
nominated for eleven Oscars, including a Best Director nomination for Polanski,
he lost to Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather Part two.
The last film Polanski directed before the scandal erupted was
(11:31):
The Tenant, a Koff Guy esque thriller about a man
played by Polanski who moves into an apartment where the
previous tenant attempted suicide. Filmed in Paris and released by
Paramount in nineteen seventy six, it grossed one point nine
million dollars, which is about ten million dollars today.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
In February of ninety seven, Polanski flew into Los Angeles
from Paris on business. He had meetings about an upcoming
film project, and was also there to shoot a photo
spread of young teen girls for Vogue OM, a frenchman's magazine.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
His model was Samantha Gaily, the thirteen year old daughter
of a woman Polansky had picked up in a bar
a year earlier. The mother would later say she thought
the shoot was for French Vogue. A spread in French
Vogue would have been a great first credit on Samantha's
modeling resume, but Vogue OM was known for its racy pictorials.
(12:24):
Near the end of the shoot, second day Polanski photographed
Samantha at Jack Nicholson's house on Mulholland Drive. Nicholson was
out of town at the time, but he and Polansky
were good friends, and Roman felt free to shoot at
the house without permission. They took some photos outside and
then moved into the house, where Polanski photographed her in
a bikini in the jacuzzi. She was nervous, so Polanski
(12:47):
gave her a glass of champagne, but she balked when
he told her to take off her top, so Polanski
told her to call her mother and ask if it
was okay. Samantha's mother asked if anyone else was there
with them. Roman told Samantha to say that Angelica Houston,
Jack Nicholson's girlfriend, was in the house, but of course
she was not. After the call, Polanski gave Samantha a Quelude,
(13:11):
a sedative that was said to be an aphrodisiac. As
he photographed her topless in the jacuzzie, the pill took effect.
Polanski took her into a guest bedroom where he sexually
assaulted her, violating her orally, vaginally and anally. She told
him to stop, but later she says she didn't really
fight him because there was no one else there and
(13:32):
I had no place to go. It ended abruptly with
a knock at the guest bedroom door. Angelica Houston had
come home unexpectedly. Samantha hid under the covers while Roman
and Angelica argued in the hallway. Afterwards, Samantha and Roman
dressed in a hurry and left the house. On the
drive back to her mother's house in Woodland Hills, Roman
(13:54):
made Samantha promise not to tell anyone they had sex.
She says she would keep their secret, but as soon
as she got home, her boyfriend came over and she
told him everything. Her sister overheard that conversation and told
their mother. After confronting Samantha, her mother called the police.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Roman was arrested at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and, like
anyone else who would be that news ran on front
pages around the world. He was in and out of
courtrooms as the scandal played out over the next few months,
and in August of nineteen seventy seven, he pleaded guilty
to statutory rape.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Polanski and his lawyers had assumed that as part of
the plea deal, he would not serve time, and when
it appeared that the judge was considering a prison sentence anyway,
Roman boarded a flight for Europe. He never returned to
the United States after that.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
It's interesting that at the time of Pulanski's arrest, Hollywood
reacted with shock and outrage, but as time passed, attitudes
began to soften. It seemed that his genius as a
filmmaker outweighed this appalling behavior.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
And he directed fifteen films in Europe prior to twenty
twenty three, often working with top stars like Johnny Depp,
Adrian Brody, Sigourney Weaver, and Kate Winslet. Notable among the
European films were Tests, released in nineteen seventy nine, and
The Pianist, released in two thousand and two. Tests was
based on a nineteenth century novel and starred Natasha Kinski,
(15:16):
who Roman had dated when she was fifteen. It grows
twenty million dollars worldwide or about eighty five million dollars today,
and was nominated for six Oscars. The Pianist was an
even bigger success. It was based on the true story
of composer Vladislaw Spielmann's internment in a Nazi concentration camp.
(15:38):
It grossed one hundred and twenty million dollars worldwide and
was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Actor for its
star Adrian Brody and Best Director for Polanski. Fearing arrest
if he returned to the United States, Polanski did not
attend the ceremony. Brody won the Best Actor award and
(15:59):
as evidence that Hollywood's disapproval of Roman was waning. When
it was announced that he had won, he received a
standing ovation in absentia.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Over the next three years, support for Polansky and Hollywood grew.
It reached its peak in September two thousand and nine
when Roman flew into Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival,
where he was to receive a Lifetime Achievement award.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
And he was detained at immigration because American authorities made
a provisional request for his arrest. He spent sixty seven
days in a Zurich detention center while he raised a
four point five million dollars bond. Because he'd been born
in Paris, Polanski was protected from extradition as long as
he remained in France. Unlike France, Switzerland had an extradition
(16:46):
treaty with the United States. After putting up his home
in Paris as a guarantee. He was released into house
arrest at his home in the ski resort of Gestad.
The film communities in Europe and in Hollywood reacted to
Roman's arrests us with an outpouring of support. Dozens of actors, directors,
and producers signed a petition calling for Polanski's release. Here's
(17:09):
a list of a few of them. David Lynch, Martin Scorsese,
Vim Venders, Pedro Almodovar, Wes Anderson, Adrian Brody, Jonathan dem Buck,
Henry Michael Mann, Julian Schnabel, and Tilda Swinton. Deborah Winger.
Then the Zurich Film Festival jury presidents said, we stand
by and await his release and his next master work.
(17:31):
We hope today that this latest order will be dropped.
It is based on a three decade old case that
is all but dead except for a minor technicality. Sigourney
Weaver told CNN. He is sweet and very strong, and
is very, very demanding in the tradition of an alteur.
Among Polanski's advocates in two thousand and nine were men
(17:53):
who were subjects of abuse allegations themselves. Woody Allen, who
was accused of abusing his daughter in nineteen nine two,
Disgrace director Brett Ratner, who, as Variety reported in November
twenty seventeen, was accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by
six women, and Harvey Weinstein, whose abuses made Hollywood a
(18:15):
focus of the me too movement. In twenty seventeen, in
a statement to CNN, Weinstein said, we are calling every
filmmaker we can to help fix this terrible situation. Ultimately,
Switzerland opted not to extradite Polanski and he was once
again free to travel in Europe. Similarly, a court and
Poland ruled it would be quote an obviously unlawful deprivation
(18:40):
of liberty to extradite Polanski. The court had determined that
the California justice system would not give him a fair trial.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Now, Tracy, as you mentioned in October twenty seventeen, revelations
about Harvey Weinstein's serial sexual abuses led to an outpouring
of me two allegations against dozens of Hollywood power players. Before, during,
and after that time. At least five women made allegations
against Roman Polanski.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And the first of these came seven years earlier, in
twenty ten when British actress Charlotte Lewis accused Polanski of
forcing himself on her in his apartment in Paris. The
alleged abuse occurred in nineteen eighty three during an audition
for the movie Pirates, when she was sixteen years old.
The second allegation was made in August of twenty seventeen,
(19:26):
when a woman identifying herself as Robin M claimed she
was sexually victimized at age sixteen by Polanski. At a
news conference, she said, I'm speaking out now so Samantha
Gaily and the world will know she is not the
only minor Roman Polanski victimized. When Polanski heard about her accusation,
he told his attorney, I don't know what this is about.
(19:49):
What could this be. In October twenty seventeen, Ornte Langer,
a former child model who appeared in Polanski's film titled What,
that Polanski had raped her when she was fifteen years old.
She said the alleged assaults occurred in nineteen seventy two
during auditions for the film at Polanski's home in Gestad,
(20:10):
and later while the movie was being filmed in Rome.
Variety reported in December twenty seventeen. On another alleged assault
that occurred in nineteen seventy five, California artist Marion Barnard
claimed that Polanski assaulted her during a photoshoot at will
Rogers State Beach when she was just ten years old.
(20:32):
She claimed that she was posing nude on a fur
coat for Polanski when he molested her. Through his attorney,
Polanski said he did not know Maryanne Barnard. In November
twenty nineteen, Variety reported that the French newspaper Le Parisienne
was investigating acclaim by photographer Valentine Monier that Polanski raped
her in Geshtad, Switzerland, when she was eighteen.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
It seems like these cases have sort of all but
gone dark, but there has been movement on some recently.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yes, there has, but it hasn't really made news. In
September twenty twenty two, Charlotte Lewis sued Polanski for defamation.
She claimed that he defamed her by calling her accusations
and odious lie. Unless there's a settlement, the case will
be tried in twenty twenty four. In November twenty twenty three,
(21:21):
Polanski's lawyers responded to a lawsuit from Robin M claiming
the suit violated the Statute of limitations. It's unclear what
the status of this case is at the moment. Cases
related to the accusations by Renate Langer and Marianne Barnard
were dismissed because they violated the statute of limitations. Valentine
(21:41):
Monier did not file a complaint based on her allegations
that Polanski raped her when she was eighteen.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
But it was Samantha Gaily who settled with Polanski for
upwards of six hundred thousand dollars and under her married name.
Samantha Geimer wrote a book a few years ago about
the whole ordeal.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Yes and it was titled The Girl Life in the
Shadows of Roman Polanski and was published in twenty thirteen,
when she was forty nine years old. After living with
the scandal for thirty six years, she re emerged in
public to publicize the book. In an interview with NPR,
she described the lifelong ramifications of the sexual assault. It
(22:16):
affected me dramatically, probably changed who I am as a person,
changed the way my life went. But since it happened,
it's hard to judge what might have been different if
it didn't happen. But I was angry my poor mother,
who felt horrible and guilty. She also said she received
a letter from Polanski in two thousand and nine. It read,
(22:38):
in part, I want you to know how sorry I
am for having so affected your life. The fault was mine,
not your mother's. I hope the pressure of the media
has alleviated and that your family brings you much happiness.
She said she was surprised to receive the note. She
didn't need an apology, but it alleviated some of the
pain and anger that her mother, her husband, and their
(23:01):
family had been feeling. Samantha also summed up where she
landed emotionally. After decades at the center of the media frenzy,
Polanski and I have both been on the wrong end
of the law, the publicity people's comments toward both of
us that are just nasty and horrible. So we end
up having a lot in common, which is strange, but
(23:22):
that's true. That's how this has worked out.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
In the seven years since the Me Too movement began,
many of the celebrities who'd advocated dropping the charges against
Polanski have had a chance to rethink their support.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Yes and one famous director who walked back his support
was Quentin Tarantino. On the Howard Stern radio show in
two thousand and three, he said Polanski didn't rape a
thirteen year old, it was statutory rape. That's not quite
the same thing. He had sex with a minor, all right,
that's not rape to me. When you use the word rape,
(23:54):
you're talking about violent, throwing them down. In twenty eighteen,
in a statement released to Indie Wire, Tarantino apologized to
Samantha Geimer for his quote, ignorant beliefs and cavalier remarks.
He also said, fifteen years later, I realized how wrong
I was. Mis Geimer was raped by Roman Polanski. I
(24:16):
incorrectly played devil's advocate in the debate for the sake
of being provocative. I didn't take Miss Geimer's feelings into consideration,
and for that I'm truly sorry. So mis Geimer, I
was ignorant, and insensitive and above all incorrect. Kate Winslet
voiced her support for Polanski in September twenty seventeen, a
(24:39):
month before the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke. In an interview
with The New York Daily News, she said, having thought
it all through, you put it to one side and
just work with the person. Woody Allen is an incredible director,
so was Roman Polanski. I had an extraordinary working experience
with both of those men, and that's the truth. She
(25:00):
saw things differently. Three years later, in September twenty twenty,
she was quoted in Variety, It's like, what the fuck
was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski.
It's unbelievable to me now how those men were held
in such high regard so widely in the film industry
for as long as they were. It's fucking disgraceful. I
(25:21):
have to take responsibility for the fact that I worked
with them both, she said, I can't turn back the clock.
I'm grappling with those regrets. But what do we have
if we aren't able to just be fucking truthful.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
About all of it.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
So, Matt, let's talk about the sea change in opinion
about Polanski from two thousand and nine to today. And
it was in two thousand and nine that so many
important people signed the petition to have the charges against
him dropped. Do you think their reevaluation was enough?
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Matt, I don't know. I mean, it's funny recapping everything
that's happened over the course of his life, and just
the sort of very confusing mixed signals back and forth
over these egregious charges. I think there are a couple
of things that are interesting. First, I think was in
twenty twenty when the Film Academy expelled him formally. That
was a major message to everyone that whether or not
(26:12):
you supported him then or now, that Hollywood will not
stand for this level of behavior. And what's really fitting
to me in a sense of justice, although I'm sure
nowhere near what some of these accusers would have hoped for,
is the erosion of Planski's legacy. I think that we'll
all remember Rosemary's Baby as Amya Farah film in Chinatown
as one of Jack Nicholson's best, But he himself, I
(26:32):
don't think has any place in the also time here exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Well, thank you Matt for all of your insights today.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
Thank you so much. I love being here.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Thanks to Matt Donnelly, Variety Senior Entertainment and Media writer,
for joining us. We'll be back next time with another
episode in the six part series The Secret History of
the Casting Couch from Variety Confidential. This has been disgraced
Genius Roman Polant for Variety and iHeart Podcasts. I'm Tracy Patton.
(27:05):
Variety Confidential is a production of Variety Content Studio and
iHeart Podcasts. It was produced by Sidney Kramer, John Ponder,
and Tracy Patten and written by John Ponder and Tracy Patton,
with additional research by Karen Mizogucci. Executive producers are Dea
Lawrence and Steve Gatos. Variety Confidential is recorded, edited, and
(27:27):
mixed at the Invisible Studios, West Hollywood. Recording engineer, editor
and mixer Charles Carroll
This show contains mature content and adult themes. It may
not be suitable for young audiences.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
In twenty seventeen, Harvey Weinstein was outed as a serial
sexual abuser. Many brave women came forward and told their stories.
They exposed one of Hollywood's most powerful moguls as a
vicious sexual predator who operated horrifically and seemingly without consequences.
But Weinstein was standing on the shoulders of monsters. For
(00:35):
so many years, those monsters remained unchecked in Hollywood, shielded
by the millions of dollars they made for their studios.
Sex for fame is not new. In fact, it's as
old as Hollywood itself. There are few sex scandals more
infamous in Hollywood than Roman Polanski's statutory rape of a
thirteen year old girl. Polanski was one of the most
(00:57):
innovative and influential directors of the last century. Rosemary's Baby,
which he directed in nineteen sixty eight, reinvented the horror movie,
and Chinatown in nineteen seventy four, reinterpreted noir film for
modern audiences. But Polanski is arguably more famous today for
his guilty plea on his statutory rape charge in nineteen
(01:18):
seventy seven than he is for winning the Best Director
Oscar for The Pianist in two thousand and three. In
today's episode of Variety Confidential, will open Variety's archives to
separate fact from fiction about Roman Polanski, the scandal that
has plagued Hollywood for nearly fifty years. From Variety in
(01:38):
iHeart Podcasts, I'm Tracy Patton. This is the Secret history
of the Casting Couch. Today's episode disgraced genius Roman Polanski
in the studio with me today is Matt Donnelly, Variety's
senior Entertainment and Media writer. Hi, Matt, Hi, It's great
to be back, and it's all was so great to
(01:59):
have your insight into the industry.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Well, this case is certainly fascinating, and I think one
of the most important things to know about Polanski that
modern audiences may not is that he represented something so
exciting and new in cinema in the sixties and seventies.
So it's not just that he was a successful director,
but really a celebrity in his own right for what
he represented. And I think all of that vision came
with power, and I think a lot of that, you know, flash,
(02:23):
and a lot of that integrity and a lot of
that prestige blinded many he worked with to behavior that
was going on behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yes, and later in the show, we'll discuss the outpouring
of support in Hollywood for Polanski in two thousand and nine,
thirty years after he pleaded guilty to statutory rape. And
then we'll look at some of the big names in
Hollywood who reconsidered that support in the me Too era.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
And a small spoiler, one person who did not walk
back his support for Polanski was Harvey Weinstein and we're.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Going to talk about that too at the end of
the show.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
So, Roman Polanski is considered one of the top film
directors of the past sixty years, but a lot of
people today might not know exactly who he is.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yes, and it's likely that even people who've never heard
of Polanski or who've never seen Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby
have probably heard of his wife, the beautiful young actress
Sharon Tate. Her fame came through a tragedy. She was
murdered by members of the Charles Manson cult in August
nineteen sixty nine. Sharon and four HouseGuests were killed in
(03:22):
her home in LA's Benedict Canyon, making it even more tragic,
Sharon was pregnant and due to deliver in just ten days.
But the gruesome murder of his wife and unborn son
was not the first tragedy Roman had experienced. As a
child in Poland, he watched helplessly as a gang of
Nazi soldiers dragged his mother away. He never saw her again.
(03:47):
Polanski's arrest for statutory rape came just seven years after
his wife and unborn son were murdered. Facing a long
prison sentence, he fled the country in February nineteen seventy
eight and has never returned. Roman Polanski continued to make
movies in Europe while in exile from the United States.
He has won Golden Globe Awards and Oscar and prizes
(04:10):
at the top festivals. In two thousand and nine, dozens
of Hollywood directors, producers, and stars signed a petition in
support of ending Polanski's exile. But in recent years, more
women have come forward to accuse Polansky of sexual abuse,
and as a result of the Me Too movement, many
of Roman's former supporters have publicly disavowed him.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Now, of course, we want to discuss more about that
rape charge. But first let's talk about his early life.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yes, he was born in Paris in nineteen thirty three.
His parents, who were Polish Jews, returned to Poland in
nineteen thirty six. Three years after they moved to Krakau,
the Nazis invaded Poland when Roman was six years old.
His family and all the other Jews were confined into
the city's ghetto. As conditions deteriorated, food and water became scarce,
(05:02):
and then the Nazis started arresting people, even entire families,
and taking them to the death camps. After and during
months of this, a traumatic event up ended Roman's life.
He watched from a hiding place as Nazi soldiers dragged
his mother out of their house. He never saw her again.
(05:23):
They came back later and took his father, uncle, and
other family members. As the war raged on around him,
Roman survived by living on the streets and then for
a few years in the country with a Catholic family.
When the war ended, his father and uncle were liberated
from the camps. They were reunited in the ghetto, and
at age twelve, Roman began putting the pieces of his
(05:46):
life back together. After his schooling resumed, he found his
calling in filmmaking in the early nineteen fifties. He attended
a film school in the city of Lots where he
made a series of experiments until short films.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
By Now it's nineteen sixty two and Polanski makes his
first full length feature film, Knife in the Water. Now.
This was an atmosphere of drama about a couple who
encounters a young hitchhiker, which creates trouble in their marriage,
and it.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Earned a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination in nineteen sixty
three and won a BAFT Award and a prize at
the Venice Film Festival the following year. Polanski was broke
then so As Travels were funded by a Polish American
film producer named Jeane Kutowski. After the success of Knife
in the Water they formed Cadre Films, with Gutowski as
(06:32):
producer and Polanski as director. Their first project is Cadre
was Repulsion, in which a beautiful woman racked with sexual
phobias has a psychotic breakdown in her London apartment. It
was an international breakthrough for Catherine Deneuve, who had made
more than a dozen films in France, including the classic
The Umbrellas of Scherbourg. Repulsion proved to be a game
(06:55):
changer for Polanski, with critics calling him the new Alfred Hitchcock.
It had its detractors, but it was a critical and
financial success, and won top prizes at the Venice and
Berlin Film festivals. Cadre was less successful with their next project,
a bizarre comedy horror film titled cul de Sac. It
opened in nineteen sixty six to mixed reviews and mediocre
(07:18):
box office receipts. Cadre was on the brink of bankruptcy
when Polanski and Gutowski met American film and television producer
Martin Ransahoff at a party in London. Ransahoff owned Film Ways,
the producer of hit sitcoms like The Beverly Hillbillies, Green
Acres and The Adams Family. Also at the party was
a striking, aspiring actress named Sharon Tate. She would be
(07:41):
featured in Polanski's next film, The Fearless Vampire Killers, which
was produced by Cadre and Film Ways. There was no
love at first sight between Roman and Sharon. He hadn't
intended to cast her, but Martin Ransahoff had insisted their
romance would develop after the production ended the Fears. Vampire Killers,
another horror comedy, was panned by the critics and did
(08:04):
poorly at the box office. Polanski blamed Ransahoff for turning
the movie into a Transylvanian Beverly Hillbillies. Caudre's next deal
would produce Polanski's biggest hit to date, Rosemary's Baby, the
story of a Manhattan woman who was pregnant with Satan's child.
It was also Polanski's first US production, with filming in
(08:25):
both Hollywood and New York. Variety reported, with a budget
of three point two million dollars, the movie was one
of nineteen sixty eight's biggest winners, bringing twelve point three
million dollars in box office grosses. To Paramount, that revenue
today would be one hundred and eight point seven million dollars.
The success of Rosemary's Baby changed Polanski's life. He'd found
(08:49):
love with Sharon Tate, and he'd been welcomed into a
group of celebrated actors and directors that included Warren Baby,
Jack Nicholson, and Martin Scorsese. Variety's former Edge in chief
Peter Bart said, Roman started to like this community. He
loved the fast life. He became a real star. He
got good tables and restaurants that had not been part
(09:11):
of his life. You could see him change to a degree.
The unthinkable happened to Roman. He was actually happy.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
So Pulansky and Sharon Tate were married on January twentieth,
nineteen sixty eight, and a year and a half later,
when Sharon was pregnant with their first child. They rented
a house on Ciellow Drive in the hills above LA's
Benedict Canyon, and.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
The Polansky spent the first half of nineteen sixty nine
in Europe. In early August, Roman sent Sharon home by boat.
He believed she was too pregnant to fly. She objected
to the separation, but he promised to be in Los
Angeles when the baby was born. He said he was
staying in London to work on a movie project, but
after he put Sharon on the ship, Roman reverted to
(09:53):
his old ways and began hooking up with random women
every night. He spent the night before the murders with
a flight attendant. He got the call around ten pm
London time. Sharon and four of their friends had been
shot a knife to death at his home in Benedict Canyon.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
It's incredibly tragic. After the murders, Roman became a sort
of sympathetic figure in Hollywood this tragic survivor, and the
community continued to support him into the early nineteen seventies,
even though his next few films really failed to connect
with audiences.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
There were three films, Polanski's version of Shakespeare's Macbeth in
nineteen seventy one, and two movies released in nineteen seventy two,
Weekend of a Champion and a film titled What. Together,
they grossed just one million dollars. Despite this poor showing,
Roman's friend Robert Evans, then the vice president of global
production at Paramount, hired him to direct Chinatown. It was
(10:49):
the story of a private detective's investigation into the death
of a Los Angeles water company official and his wife's
secret incestuous past. Released in nineteen six seventy four, Chinatown
became an instant film noir classic. It was also a
financial success. It cost three million dollars to make and
(11:09):
grossed twenty nine million dollars worldwide, which would be about
one hundred and eighty one million dollars today. Chinatown was
nominated for eleven Oscars, including a Best Director nomination for Polanski,
he lost to Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather Part two.
The last film Polanski directed before the scandal erupted was
(11:31):
The Tenant, a Koff Guy esque thriller about a man
played by Polanski who moves into an apartment where the
previous tenant attempted suicide. Filmed in Paris and released by
Paramount in nineteen seventy six, it grossed one point nine
million dollars, which is about ten million dollars today.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
In February of ninety seven, Polanski flew into Los Angeles
from Paris on business. He had meetings about an upcoming
film project, and was also there to shoot a photo
spread of young teen girls for Vogue OM, a frenchman's magazine.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
His model was Samantha Gaily, the thirteen year old daughter
of a woman Polansky had picked up in a bar
a year earlier. The mother would later say she thought
the shoot was for French Vogue. A spread in French
Vogue would have been a great first credit on Samantha's
modeling resume, but Vogue OM was known for its racy pictorials.
(12:24):
Near the end of the shoot, second day Polanski photographed
Samantha at Jack Nicholson's house on Mulholland Drive. Nicholson was
out of town at the time, but he and Polansky
were good friends, and Roman felt free to shoot at
the house without permission. They took some photos outside and
then moved into the house, where Polanski photographed her in
a bikini in the jacuzzi. She was nervous, so Polanski
(12:47):
gave her a glass of champagne, but she balked when
he told her to take off her top, so Polanski
told her to call her mother and ask if it
was okay. Samantha's mother asked if anyone else was there
with them. Roman told Samantha to say that Angelica Houston,
Jack Nicholson's girlfriend, was in the house, but of course
she was not. After the call, Polanski gave Samantha a Quelude,
(13:11):
a sedative that was said to be an aphrodisiac. As
he photographed her topless in the jacuzzie, the pill took effect.
Polanski took her into a guest bedroom where he sexually
assaulted her, violating her orally, vaginally and anally. She told
him to stop, but later she says she didn't really
fight him because there was no one else there and
(13:32):
I had no place to go. It ended abruptly with
a knock at the guest bedroom door. Angelica Houston had
come home unexpectedly. Samantha hid under the covers while Roman
and Angelica argued in the hallway. Afterwards, Samantha and Roman
dressed in a hurry and left the house. On the
drive back to her mother's house in Woodland Hills, Roman
(13:54):
made Samantha promise not to tell anyone they had sex.
She says she would keep their secret, but as soon
as she got home, her boyfriend came over and she
told him everything. Her sister overheard that conversation and told
their mother. After confronting Samantha, her mother called the police.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Roman was arrested at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and, like
anyone else who would be that news ran on front
pages around the world. He was in and out of
courtrooms as the scandal played out over the next few months,
and in August of nineteen seventy seven, he pleaded guilty
to statutory rape.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Polanski and his lawyers had assumed that as part of
the plea deal, he would not serve time, and when
it appeared that the judge was considering a prison sentence anyway,
Roman boarded a flight for Europe. He never returned to
the United States after that.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
It's interesting that at the time of Pulanski's arrest, Hollywood
reacted with shock and outrage, but as time passed, attitudes
began to soften. It seemed that his genius as a
filmmaker outweighed this appalling behavior.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
And he directed fifteen films in Europe prior to twenty
twenty three, often working with top stars like Johnny Depp,
Adrian Brody, Sigourney Weaver, and Kate Winslet. Notable among the
European films were Tests, released in nineteen seventy nine, and
The Pianist, released in two thousand and two. Tests was
based on a nineteenth century novel and starred Natasha Kinski,
(15:16):
who Roman had dated when she was fifteen. It grows
twenty million dollars worldwide or about eighty five million dollars today,
and was nominated for six Oscars. The Pianist was an
even bigger success. It was based on the true story
of composer Vladislaw Spielmann's internment in a Nazi concentration camp.
(15:38):
It grossed one hundred and twenty million dollars worldwide and
was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Actor for its
star Adrian Brody and Best Director for Polanski. Fearing arrest
if he returned to the United States, Polanski did not
attend the ceremony. Brody won the Best Actor award and
(15:59):
as evidence that Hollywood's disapproval of Roman was waning. When
it was announced that he had won, he received a
standing ovation in absentia.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Over the next three years, support for Polansky and Hollywood grew.
It reached its peak in September two thousand and nine
when Roman flew into Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival,
where he was to receive a Lifetime Achievement award.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
And he was detained at immigration because American authorities made
a provisional request for his arrest. He spent sixty seven
days in a Zurich detention center while he raised a
four point five million dollars bond. Because he'd been born
in Paris, Polanski was protected from extradition as long as
he remained in France. Unlike France, Switzerland had an extradition
(16:46):
treaty with the United States. After putting up his home
in Paris as a guarantee. He was released into house
arrest at his home in the ski resort of Gestad.
The film communities in Europe and in Hollywood reacted to
Roman's arrests us with an outpouring of support. Dozens of actors, directors,
and producers signed a petition calling for Polanski's release. Here's
(17:09):
a list of a few of them. David Lynch, Martin Scorsese,
Vim Venders, Pedro Almodovar, Wes Anderson, Adrian Brody, Jonathan dem Buck,
Henry Michael Mann, Julian Schnabel, and Tilda Swinton. Deborah Winger.
Then the Zurich Film Festival jury presidents said, we stand
by and await his release and his next master work.
(17:31):
We hope today that this latest order will be dropped.
It is based on a three decade old case that
is all but dead except for a minor technicality. Sigourney
Weaver told CNN. He is sweet and very strong, and
is very, very demanding in the tradition of an alteur.
Among Polanski's advocates in two thousand and nine were men
(17:53):
who were subjects of abuse allegations themselves. Woody Allen, who
was accused of abusing his daughter in nineteen nine two,
Disgrace director Brett Ratner, who, as Variety reported in November
twenty seventeen, was accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by
six women, and Harvey Weinstein, whose abuses made Hollywood a
(18:15):
focus of the me too movement. In twenty seventeen, in
a statement to CNN, Weinstein said, we are calling every
filmmaker we can to help fix this terrible situation. Ultimately,
Switzerland opted not to extradite Polanski and he was once
again free to travel in Europe. Similarly, a court and
Poland ruled it would be quote an obviously unlawful deprivation
(18:40):
of liberty to extradite Polanski. The court had determined that
the California justice system would not give him a fair trial.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Now, Tracy, as you mentioned in October twenty seventeen, revelations
about Harvey Weinstein's serial sexual abuses led to an outpouring
of me two allegations against dozens of Hollywood power players. Before, during,
and after that time. At least five women made allegations
against Roman Polanski.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And the first of these came seven years earlier, in
twenty ten when British actress Charlotte Lewis accused Polanski of
forcing himself on her in his apartment in Paris. The
alleged abuse occurred in nineteen eighty three during an audition
for the movie Pirates, when she was sixteen years old.
The second allegation was made in August of twenty seventeen,
(19:26):
when a woman identifying herself as Robin M claimed she
was sexually victimized at age sixteen by Polanski. At a
news conference, she said, I'm speaking out now so Samantha
Gaily and the world will know she is not the
only minor Roman Polanski victimized. When Polanski heard about her accusation,
he told his attorney, I don't know what this is about.
(19:49):
What could this be. In October twenty seventeen, Ornte Langer,
a former child model who appeared in Polanski's film titled What,
that Polanski had raped her when she was fifteen years old.
She said the alleged assaults occurred in nineteen seventy two
during auditions for the film at Polanski's home in Gestad,
(20:10):
and later while the movie was being filmed in Rome.
Variety reported in December twenty seventeen. On another alleged assault
that occurred in nineteen seventy five, California artist Marion Barnard
claimed that Polanski assaulted her during a photoshoot at will
Rogers State Beach when she was just ten years old.
(20:32):
She claimed that she was posing nude on a fur
coat for Polanski when he molested her. Through his attorney,
Polanski said he did not know Maryanne Barnard. In November
twenty nineteen, Variety reported that the French newspaper Le Parisienne
was investigating acclaim by photographer Valentine Monier that Polanski raped
her in Geshtad, Switzerland, when she was eighteen.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
It seems like these cases have sort of all but
gone dark, but there has been movement on some recently.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yes, there has, but it hasn't really made news. In
September twenty twenty two, Charlotte Lewis sued Polanski for defamation.
She claimed that he defamed her by calling her accusations
and odious lie. Unless there's a settlement, the case will
be tried in twenty twenty four. In November twenty twenty three,
(21:21):
Polanski's lawyers responded to a lawsuit from Robin M claiming
the suit violated the Statute of limitations. It's unclear what
the status of this case is at the moment. Cases
related to the accusations by Renate Langer and Marianne Barnard
were dismissed because they violated the statute of limitations. Valentine
(21:41):
Monier did not file a complaint based on her allegations
that Polanski raped her when she was eighteen.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
But it was Samantha Gaily who settled with Polanski for
upwards of six hundred thousand dollars and under her married name.
Samantha Geimer wrote a book a few years ago about
the whole ordeal.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Yes and it was titled The Girl Life in the
Shadows of Roman Polanski and was published in twenty thirteen,
when she was forty nine years old. After living with
the scandal for thirty six years, she re emerged in
public to publicize the book. In an interview with NPR,
she described the lifelong ramifications of the sexual assault. It
(22:16):
affected me dramatically, probably changed who I am as a person,
changed the way my life went. But since it happened,
it's hard to judge what might have been different if
it didn't happen. But I was angry my poor mother,
who felt horrible and guilty. She also said she received
a letter from Polanski in two thousand and nine. It read,
(22:38):
in part, I want you to know how sorry I
am for having so affected your life. The fault was mine,
not your mother's. I hope the pressure of the media
has alleviated and that your family brings you much happiness.
She said she was surprised to receive the note. She
didn't need an apology, but it alleviated some of the
pain and anger that her mother, her husband, and their
(23:01):
family had been feeling. Samantha also summed up where she
landed emotionally. After decades at the center of the media frenzy,
Polanski and I have both been on the wrong end
of the law, the publicity people's comments toward both of
us that are just nasty and horrible. So we end
up having a lot in common, which is strange, but
(23:22):
that's true. That's how this has worked out.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
In the seven years since the Me Too movement began,
many of the celebrities who'd advocated dropping the charges against
Polanski have had a chance to rethink their support.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Yes and one famous director who walked back his support
was Quentin Tarantino. On the Howard Stern radio show in
two thousand and three, he said Polanski didn't rape a
thirteen year old, it was statutory rape. That's not quite
the same thing. He had sex with a minor, all right,
that's not rape to me. When you use the word rape,
(23:54):
you're talking about violent, throwing them down. In twenty eighteen,
in a statement released to Indie Wire, Tarantino apologized to
Samantha Geimer for his quote, ignorant beliefs and cavalier remarks.
He also said, fifteen years later, I realized how wrong
I was. Mis Geimer was raped by Roman Polanski. I
(24:16):
incorrectly played devil's advocate in the debate for the sake
of being provocative. I didn't take Miss Geimer's feelings into consideration,
and for that I'm truly sorry. So mis Geimer, I
was ignorant, and insensitive and above all incorrect. Kate Winslet
voiced her support for Polanski in September twenty seventeen, a
(24:39):
month before the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke. In an interview
with The New York Daily News, she said, having thought
it all through, you put it to one side and
just work with the person. Woody Allen is an incredible director,
so was Roman Polanski. I had an extraordinary working experience
with both of those men, and that's the truth. She
(25:00):
saw things differently. Three years later, in September twenty twenty,
she was quoted in Variety, It's like, what the fuck
was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski.
It's unbelievable to me now how those men were held
in such high regard so widely in the film industry
for as long as they were. It's fucking disgraceful. I
(25:21):
have to take responsibility for the fact that I worked
with them both, she said, I can't turn back the clock.
I'm grappling with those regrets. But what do we have
if we aren't able to just be fucking truthful.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
About all of it.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
So, Matt, let's talk about the sea change in opinion
about Polanski from two thousand and nine to today. And
it was in two thousand and nine that so many
important people signed the petition to have the charges against
him dropped. Do you think their reevaluation was enough?
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Matt, I don't know. I mean, it's funny recapping everything
that's happened over the course of his life, and just
the sort of very confusing mixed signals back and forth
over these egregious charges. I think there are a couple
of things that are interesting. First, I think was in
twenty twenty when the Film Academy expelled him formally. That
was a major message to everyone that whether or not
(26:12):
you supported him then or now, that Hollywood will not
stand for this level of behavior. And what's really fitting
to me in a sense of justice, although I'm sure
nowhere near what some of these accusers would have hoped for,
is the erosion of Planski's legacy. I think that we'll
all remember Rosemary's Baby as Amya Farah film in Chinatown
as one of Jack Nicholson's best, But he himself, I
(26:32):
don't think has any place in the also time here exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Well, thank you Matt for all of your insights today.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
Thank you so much. I love being here.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Thanks to Matt Donnelly, Variety Senior Entertainment and Media writer,
for joining us. We'll be back next time with another
episode in the six part series The Secret History of
the Casting Couch from Variety Confidential. This has been disgraced
Genius Roman Polant for Variety and iHeart Podcasts. I'm Tracy Patton.
(27:05):
Variety Confidential is a production of Variety Content Studio and
iHeart Podcasts. It was produced by Sidney Kramer, John Ponder,
and Tracy Patten and written by John Ponder and Tracy Patton,
with additional research by Karen Mizogucci. Executive producers are Dea
Lawrence and Steve Gatos. Variety Confidential is recorded, edited, and
(27:27):
mixed at the Invisible Studios, West Hollywood. Recording engineer, editor
and mixer Charles Carroll
Host
Tracy Pattin
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