The curious case of Victor Salva…
Much has been written of late regarding the weekend’s arrest of Roman Polanski. I have been quite clear in my opinion that it is most deserved, and that no amount of time, or supposed directorial brilliance, will persuade me otherwise. In a way, the disturbing reaction of his esteemed colleagues in the business has all but over-shadowed the true story. As I wrote previously, and contrary to the spin on the parts of many, this was not a case of not realizing her real age. This was not a case of consensual sex gone awry, thus leading to statutory rape charges. Had the victim been thirty three, instead of being a thirteen year old girl, the assault would have been just as heinous. He plied her with alcohol and drugs, performed oral sex on her and then raped her both vaginally and anally, all the while as she kept telling him “No!.” If the words themselves make you uncomfortable, then good. Imagine how that child felt?
The extent to which the “artistic” community, for want of a better word, has rallied around him has been astounding. Let me repeat: he raped and sodomized a thirteen year old girl. Slowly, however, some sanity is beginning to creep into the reporting. Over at normally nutty outlets like HuffPo, for example, anyone who supports Polanski is being roundly excoriated. It is heartwarming to know that even die-hard liberal kooks have limits. In reality, I suspect many have children, or nieces, of a similar age so that the horror is too easily imagined in a personal way. It does not explain Whoopi Goldberg, but she is a phenomenon not easily explained, period.
Whilst probing the intertubes I came across the curious case of Victor Salva, who is the subject of this post. It is relevant to the hysteria of today, because it is a story of a young director, Salva, who used his authority to induce a young twelve year old boy, to allow himself to be “serviced orally”, shall we say, an act which the auteur was idiotic enough (thankfully) to video-tape. Not just for posterity, but also for the benefit of arresting officers. You can read the whole sorry saga here. This sick man, to his credit, did his jail time (as lenient as it was) and after release, if you’ll pardon the pun, was actually able to get another directing gig for a teen movie that he helmed for…wait for it…Disney. From the above referenced article,
The victim of a childhood sexual molestation is urging filmgoers to boycott the new Disney film “Powder,” which was directed by the man who videotaped himself having oral sex with the then-12-year-old Concord boy. The film, about a troubled teenager, is scheduled for release this Friday in 1,200 theaters nationwide. Its director, Victor Salva, confessed in 1988 to five felony counts related to having sex with a boy he directed in a low-budget film.
Before you lecture me on redemption, blah, blah, blah, I am not sure having this guy direct a teen movie is the height of common sense, given his past predilections, and the rate of recidivism of sex criminals. And wouldn’t you like to think that Disney, of all companies, would be a little more protective of the franchise? Finally, regarding the willingness of the Hollywood community to provide work opportunities for convicted sex offenders, we discover that starring in the movie, among others, were Mary Steenburgen, Jeff Goldblum and Sean Patrick Flanery. Eric Roberts had no problem collaborating with this monster on a later project. You can check out all those who were happy to work with him at IMDB.com.
My point is that I agree he may have paid his debt to society, however to place him back into the very position of power and authority, that he was unable to handle previously, is the very definition of stupidity. Unfortunately, some poor child may have to pay the price for the lax attitudes in Hollywood, but as the Polanski case shows, it is a price they are willing to pay. For the cause.
More on Hollywood’s “moral compass” over at Big Hollywood.
More on Polanski’s pattern of behavior at Big Hollywood, indicating this was not an isolated incident, as if anyone truly believed it was…
September 30, 2009
Tags: Roman Polanski, Victor Salva Posted in: Hollywood
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Gazzer’s Gabfest » Just the facts, maam… - October 2, 2009
[...] My thoughts on the Polanski case, here. [...]
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