Hollywood embraces Roman Polanski

Peers of Roman Polanski have praised him for his talent and lamented his arrest.

Rachel Wells
CNN

When filmmaker Roman Polanski was arrested Saturday in Switzerland, he was on his way to accept an award for Lifetime Achievement at the Zurich Film Festival.

Polanski's friend, Swiss filmmaker Otto Weisser, was among the first to publicly run to his defense.

"This is for me a shock. I am ashamed to be Swiss, that the Swiss is doing such a thing to brilliant fantastic genius, that millions and millions of people love his work," Weisser said upon learning the director had been detained by Swiss authorities. "He's a brilliant guy, and he made a little mistake 32 years ago. What a shame for Switzerland."

By Tuesday, more than 130 heavyweights in the movie industry had taken up Polanski's cause.

Keep Reading...