The answer should be none.

No amount of artistic talent can justify a heinous crime.  It is interesting how so many are able to jump to the defense of someone because they are a fan (or colleague).

We see this with the recent unanimous defense of Roman Polanski by Hollywood and the rest of the film industry.  There is even a petition going around to protest Polanski’s arrest.  Among the names listed are Martin Scorsese, Terry Gilliam, Harvey Weinstein, Pedro Almodovar, Walter Salles, Wong Kar-wai, John Landis, Costa-Gavras, Wes Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Monica Bellucci and Alexander Payne.  Apparently all of these people think rape is a minor offense not worthy of prosecution.

(FULL UPDATED LIST)

The worst defense was seen, no to my surprise, on The View.  Whoopi Goldberg defended Polanski by saying “it wasn’t rape-rape.”  Well then, what was it?  She uses the weak defense of a potentially corrupt judge (who is now dead and cannot defend himself).  However, even if the case was mishandled, that doesn’t change the crime that was admitted by all parties involved.

What we cannot forget, as articulated by Salon.com, is that “Roman Polanski raped a child. Let’s just start right there, because that’s the detail that tends to get neglected when we start discussing whether it was fair for the bail-jumping director to be arrested at age 76.”  Nothing changes the fact that Polanski raped a minor.  Also, even though his victim has forgiven him she has stuck with her story.  He drugged then raped her.

Howard Kurtz from The Washington Post weighs in, “I will say this: If Polanski was an ordinary Roman, and not an award-winning film director, we wouldn’t be having this debate. There is sympathy for him because he’s considered a great artiste. The Hollywood elite wouldn’t give Polanski the plumber the time of day if he had sexually assaulted an underage girl. And that suggests to me a stunning double standard.”

This is an excellent point.  If Polanski was a normal Joe, he would have been thrown in the clinks in the blink of an eye.  We cannot defend him because of his status.  No one is above the law and we must prove that.  Polanski has been a fugitive for decades on end, this must be corrected.

There are even reports that Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, has appealed to US Secretary of State (bleeding heart) Hillary Clinton and urged her to intervene.  Koucher says “this business is a bit sinister, frankly. . . A man of such talent, recognized in the whole world, recognized especially in the country which arrested him, none of that is very nice.”  My question to this dipshit: what is more sinister, the rape itself or the arrest of the rapist?

So again, how many great films award a filmmaker a “get out of jail free” card again?  Oh yeah, none!  It is beside the point how talented or appreciated Polanski may be.  The fact remains he committed rape and has not been punished for it.  I think The Pianist (2002) is magnificent and Chinatown (1974) is a neo noir masterpiece.  This still doesn’t lead me to his defense.  After all, rape is indefensible.