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