THE PLANK OCTOBER 1, 2009
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Among the luminaries defending Roman Polanski, one of the most widely-quoted has been Polanski friend Otto Weisser. CNN’s piece titled “Hollywood embraces Roman Polanski,” for example, begins with a dramatic quote from Weisser, explaining that he was “among the first to publicly run to [Polanski’s] 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."
But just who the heck is Otto Weisser? We did some digging. Most news sources refer to him as either a “Swiss filmmaker” or “Swiss photographer”--but according to his website and his book, Private Selection, he’s spent most of the last 20 years taking pictures for Playboy and Penthouse, demonstrating a “unique ability to blend erotic and exotic with effortless mastery.” As for the filmmaker bit, IMDB lists him as having helped cast the films Emmanuelle in Rio, Alien Ecstasy, and Alien Sex Files 3: Aliens Gone Wild. He was also the Second Unit Director for Aliens Gone Wild and Emmanuelle the Private Collection: Emmanuelle vs. Dracula (a film on which he was also a camera operator)—as well as the art director for Emmanuelle in Rio.
Perhaps not the best person to have as your one of your main defenders in a sex offense case.
Photo credit: Flickr/alainrobichon
5 comments
Speaking of film, you know what this reminds me of? Remember the scene in Scent Of A Woman where Al is defending Chris against the stuffed shirt trying to kick Chris out of Baird: Out of order, I'll show you out of order. You don't know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I'd show you, but I'm too old, I'm too tired, I'm too fuckin' blind. If I were the man I was five years ago, I'd take a FLAMETHROWER to this place! Out of order? Who the hell do you think you're talkin' to? I've been around, you know? There was a time I could see. And I have seen. Boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there isn't nothin' like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you're merely sending this splendid foot soldier back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are... executin' his soul! And why? Because he's not a Bairdman. Bairdmen. You hurt this boy, you're gonna be Baird bums, the lot of ya. And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, FUCK YOU TOO! george: All the time I'm listening to this, I'm thinking, "typical Hollywood". Al is defending Chris because Chris's "crime" was refusing to rat out his "friends" for dumping a balloon filed with paint on Trask's pretty new car. Okay, I'm speculating, but what if, instead, Chris's crime was refusing to rat them out for raping a 13 year old girl? Context is everything. There is no one-size-fits-all narrative. There never has been. george
- iambiguous
October 1, 2009 at 5:32pm
I dunno, I'd say that "little mistake" line manages to make Weisser more of an embarrassment to pornographers than vice versa
- Simon Greenwood
October 1, 2009 at 6:29pm
has TNR turned into the National Enquirer. I could maybe see one or two postings about Polanski from Chris Orr, the resident movie maven, but frankly if I want to read such sordidness I would go to any of ten thousand other websites. TNR manages to avoid commenting on a million other tragedies (like the Annie Le murder) and is not the worse for wear. Stick to what you do best please.
- blackton
October 1, 2009 at 7:18pm
by the way, to be clear, hollywood people making horses asses of themselves is not news. I don't care what Sean Penn's opinion is of Iraq and I sure as hell don't care what is his opinion about Polanski, and why would I care what some porno guy has to say? As to Polanski, make a deal with the Swiss and let him do his time in Switzerland. Yes, I know, outta sight, outta mind, but I got 3 little kids, I come to TNR to get away from my endless worries about them.
- blackton
October 1, 2009 at 7:25pm
Am I the only one around here who thinks that 32 years might be over the line for limitations on prosecuting non-capital offenses? I'm all for hounding murderers, terrorists, war criminals, spies, and the like, till their dying hour but there are enough dangerous criminals needing attention today without spending resources on the likes of Polanski. But ok, if I'm wrong and it's such a serious indictment, why didn't the Los Angeles DA's office request that the feds pursue an extraditon request with whatever country Polanski has been resident in since, you know, 1977? If they did, why didn't the U.S. government act on it. I find most contributions to the story to be rather evasive in that particular respect.
- ironyroad
October 1, 2009 at 9:36pm