Hawaii [Fox News] – The woman whom famed Roman Polanski raped 30 years ago made a rare appearance last night. Samantha Geimer, now 45, came to the premiere of Marina Zenovich’s “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” with her husband and her mother.
She was 13 when Polanski had sex with her at Jack Nicholson’s house in the Hollywood Hills.
I must say that Geimer, whom I interviewed and corresponded with last back in 2003, is a courageous woman. Now the mother of three grown sons, she has supported Zenovich’s campaign to get to the truth of what happened to Polanski in Judge Laurence Rittenblatt’s Los Angeles courtroom in 1978.
During the trial, Polanski was jailed for 42 days. When it became clear that the judge wanted to “get” him, the Oscar winning director of Chinatown and Rosemary’s Baby fled the U.S. for France and never returned.
In 2003, when Polanski’s “The Pianist” was headed for Oscar nominations, Geimer briefly reappeared in the news and said she forgave him and asked Hollywood to as well. Polanski won Best Director for the extraordinary Holocaust memoir.
Geimer reappeared last night from her home in Hawaii, but only tentatively. She was introduced at the HBO screening, but at the swanky party following in The Plaza hotel’s ballroom, she told me she was a little nervous and preferred to stay in a corner away from the numerous celebrities.
And numerous they were: 25 famous directors hosted the screening and dinner to show support for Polanski. Some, like Lasse Hallstrom and Barry Levinson, had never before met. Also among the directors in the room were Sidney Lumet, Taylor Hackford, Julian Schnabel, Bob Balaban, Julie Taymor, Griffin Dunne, Paul Haggis, Doug Liman, Shari Springer Berman and Rob Pulcini, Bennett Miller, Whit Stillman, and the famed Stanley Donen.
They were in addition to the truly star studded group that turned out for the HBO-Weinstein Company party including HBO’s Sheila Nevins, Dustin Hoffman with wife Lisa and their grown kids Jake and Becky; Alec Baldwin, Regis and Joy Philbin with daughter Joanna, James Schamus, Leelee Sobieski, Levin Rambin, and Lena Olin (Mrs. Hallstrom).
I’m sure I’m missing someone here, but that’s how good the room was!
Geimer and husband David are a lovely, self-effacing normal American couple. That Samantha and her mother participated in Zenovich’s film is a testament to their bravery. They wanted the record set straight about one of Hollywood’s most infamous and salacious stories. You’ll see them both when “Polanski” plays on HBO on June 6th followed by a theatrical release from ThinkFilms.
Geimer has not spoken to Polanski once in all these years. What would she say to him now if they met? “I’ll bet you wish you never met me,” she said is the thought she’s had in her head.
For years the Geimers were pursued by press in L.A. until finally they moved to Hawaii. Samantha’s life has been relatively calm since then.
She did laugh when we recalled her interviews during the period of “The Pianist.”
“People said I was getting paid to speak out then,” she said, and shook her head. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.
“I just wanted to do it, and put the whole thing behind me,” she said. Last night was her one and only appearance. She won’t be going with Zenovich to the Cannes Film Festival next week. She and her husband have a small business they have to go home to. This should be the end of their 15 minutes of fame.