I work in Hollywood and many in my industry consider my views to be pretty radical. I blame my father and the values that he instilled in me: Never hit a woman and protect your children.
Over the past few years, throughout this country I have heard the same thing from audiences over and over, “Why doesn’t Hollywood make the kind of movies that we want to see? Why don’t movies represent our values?”
This is an outstanding opportunity for lessons learned. To everyone outside of this community, I implore you to take a long and hard look at the people who are standing up for Roman Polanski. The stars. The studio heads. Many of these people are the powers that be who green-light projects. These are the people that we pitch to. These are the people who decide whether or not our films get distribution. These are the people who decide what product should be available to you and your children.
Hollywood is the voice of popular American culture. Control Hollywood and you can steer the direction of the country.
Roman Polanski is a talented director. He has many friends who do not want to see him go to prison. He has many friends that do not want the eye of judgment to be turned on them.
Let’s put the workplace, friendship, history and the passage of time away for just a moment and look at the facts:
At age 43, Roman Polanski drugged a 13 year old girl. He plied her with alcohol and then he sodomized her. She was 13. She was a child. He was an adult, a powerful Hollywood player. She was in grade school. After confessing his crime, he ran away.
She was 13!
If you cannot look at this and say that this is wrong, if you cannot recognize an act of rape and pedophilia when you see one, then I submit that you have not lost your moral compass, you never had one.
I believe the rule of law needs to apply to all Americans equally. I do not support vigilante activity. But if Mr. Polanski had done that to my daughter, and had I found him first, I do not know that I could have guaranteed his safety. I do not know a father among my friends and family that does not feel the same.
Yes, I am probably shooting my career in the foot, again, by writing this article, but if we say nothing, then we are complicit in the perversion.
Edmund Burke wrote, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
How about it Hollywood? Do we still have a few good men? Are there any other fathers out there? Has this town completely forgotten who we are?
We are Americans? We are supposed to stand for something. We are supposed to lead by example. How can we face the threat of Sharia and say that abusing women, killing gay people and marrying prepubescent girls is wrong, if we do not protect our own children.
Where are we headed as a nation, as a culture, if we do not make a stand?
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