Roman Polanski

Brett Ratner, director of the Rush Hour trilogy, X-Men: The Last Stand and the new New York, I Love You, was the guest editor of this month's issue of Heeb magazine. Mr. Ratner decided to take his buddy Roman Polanski to the site of his mother's murder over half a century ago: Auschwitz. Mr. Polanski was guest photographer for other articles in the Heeb issue, but for this feature, Mr. Ratner got behind the camera. The pictures are here.

In a recent interview with The Onion's A.V. Club, Mr. Ratner explains his friendship with Mr. Polanski, who called him after he saw Rush Hour to praise the young director:

Roman became my friend.  read more »

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Monday, June 9

This week kicks off with a controversial documentary about the Oscar-winning filmmaker-cum-Humbert Humbert, Roman Polanski (9 p.m. on HBO). As you may recall, Mr. Polanksi, a Polish Holocaust survivor who was married to the eight-months-pregnant actress Sharon Tate when members of the Manson family murdered her in 1969, pleaded guilty to getting it on with a 13-year-old in 1977. A year later, he fled the U.S for Paris, likely evading years worth of prison time. But Marina Zenovich’s new film, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, which the LA Times calls a “surprisingly haunting examination of the politics, personalities and legal complexities of the 1977 case,” argues that Mr. Polanski’s flight to France was more than just a means of avoiding the slammer:  read more »

Marc Jacobs' friends tell Page Six that he's out of control with his boy-chasing and partying ways, afraid he'll "pull a Halston." [P6]

Donatella Versace wishes Hillary would give up the pants. [P6]  read more »

Marina Zenovich's Roman Polanski documentary will open in New York on July 11, two days after it airs on HBO, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, which is titled Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, follows the Academy Award-winning director's infamous statutory rape trial (he pleaded guilty to getting it on with a 13-year-old in 1977) and subsequent flight from the U.S. in 1978 (he likely evaded decades worth of prison time).  read more »

Roman Polanski, diretor of Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist, will direct a political thriller based on Robert Harris' book, The Ghost, according to Variety. The story centers on a ghostwriter who is hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister. He uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy. Mr. Polanski had been occupied with the $100 million epic Pompeii for 18 months, but he jettisoned that project in September. From Variety: "I have been looking for a political thriller to direct for some time, and 'The Ghost' could not be more perfect," Polanski said. "Robert has constructed a novel with such suspense, it is hard to put it down."