Roman Polanski

He survived the Holocaust and was educated in Poland and became a director of both art house and commercial films. Polanski's first feature-length film, Knife in the Water (1962), made in Poland, was nominated for a United States Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but was beaten by Federico Fellini's 8½. He has since received five more Oscar nominations, along with two Baftas, four Césars, a Golden Globe Award and the Palme d'Or of the Cannes Film Festival in France. In the United Kingdom he directed three films, beginning with Repulsion (1965). In 1968 he moved to the United States, and cemented his status by directing the horror film Rosemary's Baby (1968) for which Ruth Gordon won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress.

In 1969, Polanski's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by members of the Manson Family while staying at Polanski's Benedict Canyon home above Los Angeles. Following Tate's death, Polanski returned to Europe and spent much of his time in Paris and Gstaad, but did not direct another film until Macbeth (1971) in England. The following year he went to Italy to make What? (1973) and subsequently spent the next five years living near Rome. However, he traveled to Hollywood to direct Chinatown (1974). The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, and was a critical and box-office success. Polanski's next film, The Tenant (1976), was shot in France, and completed the "Apartment Trilogy", following Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. Read Less

Tate was pregnant at the time of her murder. Read Less

Polanski was indicted on six counts of criminal behavior, including rape. At his arraignment he pled not guilty to all charges.

Geimer's attorney next arranged a plea bargain in which five of the six charges would be dismissed and Polanski accepted. Because Polanski fled the country before final sentencing, the charges were not dismissed and still remain pending.

As a result of the plea bargain, Polanski pled guilty to the charge of "Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a minor," and was ordered to undergo 90 days of psychiatric evaluation at Chino State Prison. On release from prison after 42 days, Polanski understood that at the final sentencing he would be put on probation. However, he learned that the judge was planning to renege on his promise of no further jail time, and might even deport him. Polanski's attorney suggested that despite the fact that the prosecuting attorneys recommended probation, "the judge could no longer be trusted..." and the judge's representations were "worthless." Read Less

They have two children, daughter Morgane and son Elvis. Polanski and his children speak Polish at home. Read Less

The film focuses on the judge in the case and the possible reasons why he changed his mind. It includes interviews with people involved in the case, including the victim, Geimer, and the prosecutor, Roger Gunson. Geimer said that the judge "didn't care what happened" to her or Polanski, but "was orchestrating some little show," while Gunson added, "I'm not surprised that Polanski left under those circumstances,... it was going to be a real circus."

Former DA David Wells, whose statements were the most damning against Polanski, and who said he advised the judge to imprison Polanski, admitted that he lied about those statements, and said that to the press to "play up" his own role. Read Less

The film is a screen version of Yasmina Reza’s play God of Carnage, a comedy about the relationship between two couples after their children get in a fight at school and the selfishness of everyone, which eventually leads to chaos. It stars Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly. Though set in New York, it was shot in Paris due to Polanski's legal inability to travel to the US. The film had its world premiere on 9 September 2011 at the Venice Film Festival and was released in the US by Sony Pictures Classics on 16 December 2011.

Co-stars Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet commented about Polanski's directing style. According to Foster, "He has a very, very definitive style about how he likes it done. He decides everything. He decided every lens. Every prop. Everything. It’s all him." Winslet adds that "Roman is one of the most extraordinary men I’ve ever met. The guy is 77 years old. He has an effervescent quality to him. He’s very joyful about his work, which is infectious. He likes to have a small crew, to the point that, when I walked on the set, my thought was, ‘My God, this is it?’” Also noting that style of directing, New York Film Festival director Richard Pena, during the American premier of the film, called Polanski "a poet of small spaces... in just a couple of rooms he can conjure up an entire world, an entire society." Read Less