Swiss police: Roman Polanski arrested for 1970s sex case
ZURICH (AP) — Director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he flew in for the Zurich Film Festival and faces possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Sunday.
Polanski was scheduled to receive an honorary award at the festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005.
"There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming," ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. "That's why he was taken into custody."
Balmer said the U.S. would now have to make a formal extradition request.
Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978, a year after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with the underage girl. The director of such classic films as Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby has asked a U.S. appeals court in California to overturn a judges' refusal to throw out his case. He claims misconduct by the now-deceased judge who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it.
The Swiss statement said Polanski was in "provisional detention for extradition," but added he would not be transferred to U.S. authorities until all proceedings are completed. Polanski can contest his detention and any extradition decision in the Swiss courts, it said.
Polanski has lived for the past three decades in France, where his career has continued to flourish, and he received a directing Oscar in absentia for the 2002 movie The Pianist.
Polanski has not been extradited from France because his crime reportedly was not covered under treaties between the United States and France.
He has avoided traveling to countries likely to extradite him. For instance, he testified by video link from Paris in a 2005 libel trial in London against Vanity Fair magazine because he did not want to enter Britain for fear of being arrested.
In Paris, Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said he was "dumbfounded" by Polanski's arrest, adding that he "strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them."
Those comments referred to the fact that Polanski, a native of France who was taken to Poland by his parents, escaped Krakow's Jewish ghetto as a child and lived off the charity of strangers. His mother died at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp.
Mitterrand's ministry said Sunday that he was in contact with French President Nicolas Sarkozy "who is following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved."
Polanski worked his way into filmmaking in Poland, gaining an Oscar nomination for best foreign-language film in 1964 for his Knife in the Water. Offered entry to Hollywood, he directed the classic Rosemary's Baby in 1968.
But his life was shattered again in 1969 when his wife, actress Sharon Tate, and four other people were gruesomely murdered by followers of Charles Manson. She was eight months pregnant.
He went on to make another American classic, Chinatown, released in 1974.
In 1977, he was accused of raping the teenager while photographing her during a modeling session. The girl said Polanski plied her with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill at Jack Nicholson's house while the actor was away. She said that, despite her protests, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her.
Polanski was allowed to plead guilty to one of six charges, unlawful sexual intercourse, and was sent to prison for 42 days of evaluation.
Lawyers agreed that would be his full sentence, but the judge tried to renege on the plea bargain. Aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time and require his voluntary deportation, Polanski fled to France.
The victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over. She sued Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement.
Zurich Film Festival organizers said Polanski's detention had caused "shock and dismay," but said they would go ahead with Sunday's planned retrospective of the director's work.
The Swiss Directors Association sharply criticized authorities for what it deemed "not only a grotesque farce of justice, but also an immense cultural scandal."
'Meatballs' sticks to movie menu top with $24.6M
LOS ANGELES – Movie fans lined up for a second helping of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," which took in $24.6 million to remain No. 1 at the box office for a second straight weekend.
The Sony animated tale raised its domestic haul to $60 million after 10 days in theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" fended off Bruce Willis' action thriller "Surrogates," a Disney release that debuted at No. 2 with $15 million.
Opening in third place with $10 million was MGM's "Fame," a new take on the 1980s music and dance hit about students at a school for performing arts.
Michael Moore's documentary "Capitalism: A Love Story" opened strongly in limited release with a $240,000 weekend haul in just four theaters, raising its total to $306,586 since premiering Wednesday. The Overture Films release expands nationwide Friday.
Overall business dipped, with Hollywood's total domestic gross at $100.5 million, down 4.5 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Eagle Eye" opened at No. 1 with $29.2 million.
While it was generally quiet for new movies, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" held up strongly, its receipts dropping just 19 percent from a $30.3 million opening weekend. Revenues for many films fall 50 percent or more in their second weekends.
"We've seen that not only families but teens seem to be embracing it, as well," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "To only drop 19 percent, it's just one of those movies that's playing to everybody."
Some Hollywood analysts had expected "Surrogates" to open in first place. With a production budget reported at $80 million, the movie's $15 million weekend was a blow to Disney.
"Unfortunately, I don't think this was a great moviegoing weekend, for whatever reason," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. "I'm disappointed we're not No. 1, but very happy we beat the other films we opened against."
While "Fame" opened even lower, it cost far less to produce, with a budget of just $18 million.
"Do I wish it was better? Yeah. But are we going to lose money? No," said Erik Lomis, head of distribution for "Fame" distributor MGM.
"Capitalism" opened in four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, its big weekend putting it on track to become the latest documentary hit from Moore ("Fahrenheit 9/11," "Bowling for Columbine").
With "Capitalism," Moore examines the roots of the economic meltdown, mixing interviews from people losing jobs and homes with his trademark stunts, such as wrapping crime-scene tape around Wall Street.
"People are frustrated, and I think Michael points some things out that are pretty thought-provoking and pretty eye-opening," said Kyle Davies, head of distribution for Overture. "It's timely. People want to see what's going on, but the movie's funny and entertaining at the same time. Michael's one of the unique people able to point to some topical issues and make it extremely interesting."
Here are the estimated ticket sales are for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," $24.6 million.
2. "Surrogates," $15 million.
3. "Fame," $10 million.
4. "The Informant!", $6.9 million.
5. "Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself," $4.8 million.
6. "Pandorum," $4.4 million.
7. "Love Happens," $4.3 million.
8. "Jennifer's Body," $3.5 million.
9. "9," $2.8 million.
10. "Inglourious Basterds," $2.7 million.
'Saturday Night Live' starts season with F-bomb
NEW YORK – "Saturday Night Live" has started the season with a bang, or, more precisely, an F-bomb.
Newcomer Jenny Slate let the dreaded word slip during a parody of a talk show by biker women. Called "Biker Chick Chat," the sketch was laden with tough talk from its participants, played by Slate, Kristen Wiig and guest host Megan Fox.
But the most objectionable word was substituted, with rapid-fire comic frequency, with an inoffensive stand-in for that vulgarity.
Then, midway through the sketch, Slate slipped and said the word she meant to avoid.
"You know what? You stood up for yourself," she declared, "and I (expletive) love you for that."
She puffed her cheeks, perhaps realizing her error, but the sketch continued with no interruption or further flubs.
Slate is an actress and comedian who this summer appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," and is perhaps best-known as half of the comedy duo Gabe and Jenny — until her memorable "SNL" debut this weekend.
NBC declined to comment on the incident, other than to say the word had been restored to the intended "freakin'" for the show's replays in western time zones.
The sketch aired live at about 12:40 a.m. Eastern, well after prime time, when use of expletives can be punished by the FCC.
It wasn't the first time this particular word had been heard on "SNL." Cast member Charles Rocket made the slip in 1981.
But less than two weeks ago, a veteran New York City news anchor created a sensation by accidentally dropping an F-bomb during a newscast while bantering with the weatherman. The clip was soon an Internet favorite. Ernie Anastos of Fox affiliate WNYW apologized on the air the next night.