Roman Polanski

Everybody was killing each other to see Polanski at a press conference at the Hotel Majestic. He was introducing Natassia Kinski, I think. She looked so young, like one of his young women. This was after he had fled the U.S., of course. Anyway, I gave up jostling with the mob and went upstairs to some press office or another and, maybe a half hour later, walked down the hotel's empty hallway and there was Roman himself, unlocking the door to his room.

I couldn't just walk past. I said hello. I told him I was covering the festival for The Advocate and -- frantically, trying to come up with some quote from him I could use -- asked him something about gay film, I think. I thought at the time, this is so lame.

"Well," he said, smiling and extremely friendly, "it isn't something that I've done... which is not to say I never will."

Good enough.