Alright, in March 1977, Roman Polanski was, like now, considered one of the greatest movie directors alive. 9 years earlier he had directed the Oscar-winning
Rosemary's Baby, and in 1974 his
Chinatown had been nominated for no less than 11. Then, everything changed (somewhat) when he on the 11th of the month, in Jack Nicholson's home no less for a private
Vogue photo shoot, gave the 13-year old model champagne and methaqualone and forced her to take part of a variety of sex acts.
The very next day, Polanski was arrested. In the trial he pleaded that the sex had been perfectly consensual, though the young model insisted on the contrary. In the eyes of the law, this argument was irrelevant, by California law, a minor cannot consent to sex, and thus, Polanski was guilty. In a plea bargain, Polanski soon agreed to admit to "Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a minor" and was sent to a 90 day psychiatric evaluation. When Polanski heard from his attorney that the judge believed that more jail time and perhaps even a deportation could be appropriate, Polanski wasted no time saving his sorry pedophile ass: Mere hours before the sentencing was to take place, Polanski left the United States for France on 1 February 1978. As a French citizen, the grossly patriotic French authority has refused to extradite Roman Polanski to America, and despite his crimes, Polanski has been allowed to continue his highly successful career as a movie director.
Now, I'm not going to go into a discussion as to whether Polanski deserves to be forgiven for his crime and be allowed to carry on with his life without anyone's despise for him, or whether he deserves to have
Haylay Stark give him what she would consider to be an appropriate treatment, but considering that he's always been considered such a great visionary and influence to film-making, I'm curious:
What would be the consequences of Polanski being apprehended at the airport while trying to flee to France?