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Michael Douglas
Speaking to French radio station RTL, Douglas said that, despite his fondness for Polanski, it would not be right for him as an American to sign a petition in favour of someone who had broken the law and "jumped bail."
In remarks simultaneously translated into French, the actor -- in Cannes to promote Oliver Stone's "Wall Street -- Money Never Sleeps" -- said Polanski had escaped, and that his situation was a judicial matter.
The petition -- launched by French celebrity philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy -- urged the Swiss authorities to help Polanski, saying "the US request for extradition is based on a lie."
Polanski is alleged to have given 13-year-old Samantha Geimer champagne and drugs during a 1977 photo shoot at the Hollywood home of actor friend Jack Nicholson before having sex with her despite her protests.
He was arrested in September 2009 on an international warrant as he was going to a film festival in Zurich, and since December has been living under house arrest at his home in Switzerland, fighting his case.
On Monday a Los Angeles judge dismissed a request by Polanski's lawyers to unseal records they claimed would prove that attempts to extradite the director were based on incomplete information.
Earlier this month Polanski, whose latest film "The Ghost" was set in the United States, but filmed in Europe, broke his silence, saying in a 900-word statement that US authorities wanted his head "on a platter".
Among the filmmakers who have signed the petition are Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, Bertrand Tavernier and Olivier Assayas as well as Chile's Patricio Guzman and Romanian Cristi Puiu.
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In remarks simultaneously translated into French, the actor -- in Cannes to promote Oliver Stone's "Wall Street -- Money Never Sleeps" -- said Polanski had escaped, and that his situation was a judicial matter.
The petition -- launched by French celebrity philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy -- urged the Swiss authorities to help Polanski, saying "the US request for extradition is based on a lie."
Polanski is alleged to have given 13-year-old Samantha Geimer champagne and drugs during a 1977 photo shoot at the Hollywood home of actor friend Jack Nicholson before having sex with her despite her protests.
He was arrested in September 2009 on an international warrant as he was going to a film festival in Zurich, and since December has been living under house arrest at his home in Switzerland, fighting his case.
On Monday a Los Angeles judge dismissed a request by Polanski's lawyers to unseal records they claimed would prove that attempts to extradite the director were based on incomplete information.
Earlier this month Polanski, whose latest film "The Ghost" was set in the United States, but filmed in Europe, broke his silence, saying in a 900-word statement that US authorities wanted his head "on a platter".
Among the filmmakers who have signed the petition are Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, Bertrand Tavernier and Olivier Assayas as well as Chile's Patricio Guzman and Romanian Cristi Puiu.
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