Today at a press conference, Richard Gere spoke about the theatre, independent films, and the Dalai Lama. The recent winner of the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema also revealed how he chooses his roles. “It’s important for me to be able to film near New York, where I live. Usually I want to have weekends free so I can be with my son.”
The famous American actor recalled his beginnings in Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven. He also talked about the filming of his latest work—Time Out of Mind, the opening film of the 50th KVIFF—in which he plays a homeless man: “We had to film in the streets, where I couldn’t walk around as Richard Gere. So first, we did a little test. I stood in costume on the corner by a Starbucks and asked for money. Nobody paid any attention to me! Not even people who gave me change made eye contact with me. In 45 minutes I made around two and a half dollars. It’s said that the homeless are invisible to others, but it seems to me that they’re more like black holes—nobody wants to get sucked into their pain and lack of success.”
