Sam Wasson: Last News

Editor’s note: William C. Rempel, a longtime journalist who has covered the Roman Polanski case, and Sam Wasson, author of The Big Goodbye about the making of Polanski’s Chinatown, successfully petitioned the courts to open long-sealed testimony last year. Continuing to monitor the case, here they describe the expected next steps.

Will the Hollywood studio become extinct?

The rules of survival in Hollywood have always fascinated me. “Consistency is the key – always present yourself to studios as a total bitch,” Bette Davis once confided. “Never delude yourself into thinking that a star can become a loyal personal friend,” advised Billy Wilder. “Since studios always lie, a producer’s mandate is to come up with bigger lies,” said David O. Selznick.

If you thought last month’s release of previously sealed testimony by former prosecutor Roger Gunson in the Roman Polanski sex case put an end to legal jousting over the secret sessions, you thought wrong.

A California appeals court on Wednesday ordered the unsealing of a conditional deposition transcript to be opened in the criminal case against director Roman Polanski, who pled guilty to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl decades ago.  The deposition transcript is Roger Gunson's, the former prosecutor in the case who retired in 2002, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The Los Angeles District Attorney was formerly opposed to unsealing the documents but lifted its opposition Tuesday.    "The conditional deposition of Gunson was a post-plea evidentiary hearing designed to uncover these alleged abuses, and we agree with the People that there is no factual or legal basis for the conditional deposition transcript to remain sealed," the order read.  The request to unseal was submitted by journalists Sam Wasson and William Rempel, arguing alongside their lawyer, John Washington, that state law and public interest required Gunson's testimony be unsealed.

Six months following the "Rust" movie shooting, which resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office has released everything they've collected in the investigation so far.  "Today the sheriff's office is releasing all files associated with our ongoing investigation," Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said in a press release obtained by Fox News Digital on Monday.  "The files are all related to the 'Rust' movie set investigation and include lapel/dash camera footage from deputies and detectives, incident reports, crime scene photos, examination reports, witness interviews, set video and staff photos collected throughout the course of this investigation." Six months following the "Rust" movie shooting, which resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office has released everything they've collected in the investigation so far. (Sam Wasson/Getty Images  |  Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie) Per the release, the investigation is still open, and it remains ongoing.

Sealed testimony by a former deputy district attorney in the Roman Polanski sex case will remain closed, the Los Angeles County Superior Court decided on Tuesday.

In one particular, progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón doesn’t differ from his predecessors: He is against opening court and prosecutorial behavior in the Roman Polanski sex case to public inspection—at least not until the fugitive Polanski returns from abroad to face sentencing.

Hope springs eternal among those bent on getting to the bottom of the Roman Polanski sex case. On Monday morning, two writer/journalists, Sam Wasson and William Rempel, are now hoping that Judge Sergio Tapia II of the Los Angeles County Superior Court will look kindly on their request to unseal some critical evidence in the convoluted case–that is, the transcripts of 2010 conditional testimony by one of the original prosecutors, Roger Gunson.

The making of iconic Hollywood movie Chinatown is getting the movie treatment from Ben Affleck and Parmaount. Affleck will write the script and is set to direct The Big Goodbye, an adaptation of The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by author Sam Wasson.

Ben Affleck has found his next project as a director.The Oscar-winning producer of Argo, 47, willdirect The Big Goodbye for Paramount Pictures, which will go behind the scenes of the production of arguably one of the best and most controversial films ever made – 1974'sChinatown starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.The film will be an adaptation of Sam Wasson's book The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, which was published to rave reviews in February, reports Deadline.

EXCLUSIVE: After earning some of the best reviews of his acting career for “The Way Back,” Ben Affleck is ready to make his return behind the camera, and he looks to have zeroed in on his next directing job. We are hearing that Affleck has signed on to direct “The Big Goodbye” for Paramount, an adaptation of the Sam Wasson book “The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood.”Affleck also would write the script.

Ben Affleck has signed on to write and direct the upcoming movie The Big Goodbye, which will follow the behind-the-scenes story of the making of the classic film Chinatown.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaForget it, Ben. It’s Chinatown.Ben Affleck will dig deep into Hollywood history with an upcoming adaptation of “The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood,” an inside look at the making of the film noir classic.

Justin Kroll Senior Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: After earning some of the best reviews of his acting career for The Way Back, Ben Affleck is ready to make his return behind the camera, and he looks to have zeroed in on his next directing job. We are hearing that Affleck has signed on to direct The Big Goodbye for Paramount, an adaptation of the Sam Wasson book The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood..Affleck also would write the script.

By Peter Bart