Roman Polanski

Samantha Gailey (right) and her mother

Polanski's arrest was a surprise even to him — he'd had a chalet in Gstaad for many years, and had never been arrested. Polanski had long avoided London because of his fear of extradition, but he had never had cause to suspect Swiss authorities of pursuing extradition. Since his arrest, Polanski has been denied bail three times and has been held in Swiss detention — where he may be held for as long as two years — where he is fighting extradition. He has filed an appeal of his extradition order; arguments in California court start December 10.

The irony is that his victim — having won a settlement from a civil suit years ago — has publicly forgiven him and has requested the charges be dropped.