| Richard Gere Recent News XIV |
| Updated March 13, 2009 |
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| Hollywood actor RICHARD GERE is hopeful the historic election of U.S. President BARACK OBAMA will inspire China's citizens to one day elect a Tibetan leader - ending decades of conflict between the two nations. The star is a political activist and a Buddhist, and is particularly passionate about Chinese/Tibetan relations. He appeared in Washington D.C. on Monday (09Mar09) to urge U.S. Congressmen to lend their support to Tibet in the country's fight against oppression by the Communist government in neighbouring China. And Gere admits he has high hopes that the inauguration of Obama as the first black leader of the U.S. this year (Jan09) will have a positive effect on the China/Tibet conflict. He says, "Thirty years, 20 years ago, who would have thought there could be a black president of the United States? Things change rapidly - and it's usually in crisis and tragedy that things change the most. "I can see a time when there may well be a Tibetan-Chinese prime minister or president or whatever form of government there is then. But the words have to be spoken." Gere is also confident about the role international governments could play in persuading Chinese officials to take a softer line with Tibet. He adds, "I think the economy and our fear of losing the Chinese market is a straw dog. I don't buy it at all. "China has so committed itself to the world economic system that it can't go back now. They can't function without us and they can't function without Europe. "I think we are actually in a very strong position vis-a-vis China." China fought an uprising in Tibet by invading the country in 1959, sending Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama into exile in India. |
| George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Richard Gere; trek to Washington, DC for human rights. March 10, 2009 - There has been a star-studded movement to champion human rights violations around the globe. George Clooney was the first and he met with Vice-President, Joe Biden on the topic of Darfur. Brad Pitt was next and he met with congress and President Obama regsrding Somalia. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, gushed when introducing Brad to congress. Richard Gere came last. He spoke about Tibet. One thing is for certain, all three messages were in unison-America needs to take a pro-active stance against human rights violations around the world! I personally applaud their efforts and wish them well in this endeavor. Thank you George, Brad, and Richard for taking the time to show you care! Under the Bush Administration there was some progress in funding for the conflict in Darfur, but funding is not the only type of support we need lend. NATO, UNESCO, and other peacekeeping organizations have been on the ground there and elsewhere for eons making scant progress toward peace or human rights violations, but more needs to be done. For instance, the Bush Administrations international policies, especially with regard to torture and other human rights violations, in Iraq, Gitmo, and Afghanistan detracted from the objectives or message regarding human rights violations elsewhere. The Obama Administration begins with a clean slate and people who care about these causes are eager to have their voices heard on these and other important topics. I believe that since many celebrities have lent their names and monies to these causes there has been more international media attention than there might have otherwise been. This is a very good thing because it is the first step in raising the collective consciousness for such egregious offenses and working toward remedy. However, celebrity appeal is not enough. We need the ear, voice, actions, and pocketbook of our congress and the Obama Administration to stand united against human rights violations. If we can get other nations to hear our words and follow our actions we may be able to garner coalitions of like-minded governments to help alleviate this tragedy. It is at this point where Secretary Clinton can effectuate and punctuate our goodwill around the world. No doubt she will have many fences to mend, but we know she is equal to that task. So much of that previous goodwill was lost or remiss under the Bush Administration. Unlike the Bush Administrations deaf ear, Secretary Clinton is credible, eager to listen, and compassionate to the cause. Secretary Clinton wants America to put her best face forward and show the world that we can be friends and allies. She knows the world leaders and will be effective in banding them together with us to combat this important cause and set the stage for a world decree for no tolerance for human rights violations. Some of these violations are so hideous, amazingly horrific, and so physically and psychologically damaging that it is wonder these injured people care to live at all. To sit idly by and do nothing is the worst offense of all. Don´t ALL people deserve to be treated as human beings? Please do your part by urging your congressional representatives to work with the Obama Administration to abolish human rights violations and to ensure that all people around the world are treated with the dignity they deserve. Do it now, many innocent lives are counting on your call or e-mail. |
| Richard Gere Wants to Think the Best of Hillary Clinton 3/10/09 Photo: WireImage It's been widely documented that Richard Gere has an innate ability to peer into a person's soul and find their hidden redemptive qualities, be they fickle brides or sassy prostitutes. But Gere's passionate support for Tibetan rights may be messing with his finely tuned instruments in the case of Hillary Clinton. He was on The Situation Room yesterday talking to Wolf Blitzer about Clinton's recent trip to China, during which she remarked that disputes over human-rights issues "can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate-change crisis, and the security crisis." Gere once again tried to find the rosiest explanation: I think she probably, I'm guessing, misspoke in the moment. And I can't imagine that she would think human rights is ever going to be on the back burner. Hmmm. Clinton's quote was part of a much longer explanation in which she made it clear that, considering all the other things going on, human-rights issues weren't an overarching priority. Furthermore, in all the time we've followed her, Clinton has, for the most part, shown a robotic ability to avoid saying things she doesn't mean. No, unfortunately for Richard Gere, there is no fairy-tale ending to this story. This is more like the final scene of Primal Fear, with Gere walking away in a stunned, silent daze. |
| Hub spotlight shines on Richard Gere “Chicago” hoofer Richard Gere gave them the ol’ Razzle Dazzle at Boston Youth Moves’ “Swellegance” gala the other night, where he picked up the group’s first-ever Image Award . The silver-haired Hollywood hottie, 59, shared the limelight with stage and screen siren Mitzi Gaynor, who was given a lifetime achievement award. Standing before an adoring crowd at the Westin Copley Place, Gere fawned over Gaynor, star of such classic musicals as “South Pacific” and “Anything Goes,” and her pal, legendary dancer Chita Rivera, a longtime Boston Youth Moves cheerleader. “There are four of the most gorgeous legs in the universe up here,” Gere said, pointing to the vintage stars’ glam gams. Equally fetching Channel 5 weather gal J.C. Monahan, the evening’s emcee, noted that many gals in the crowd looked like they took “primping” to new heights at this year’s bash. “I thought, ‘All the women really stepped it up this year,’ ” Monahan cracked. “But then I remembered the Sexiest Man Alive is here!” The honor is circa 1999, but the man’s still got it goin’ on! Earlier, Gere said he doesn’t expect any of his old flicks to be remade into a musical a la “Dirty Dancing” and “Sleepless in Seattle” except for that tour de force, “An Officer and A Gentleman.” What? No “American Gigolo?” “That’s kind of a ‘B’ movie,” he laughed. Also before all the feting and frivolity, Gere told us about his upcoming flicks, “Amelia Earhart,” a biopic starring Hilary Swank, “Brooklyn’s Finest,” a crime drama with Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke, and the feel-good flick “Hachiko,” which was filmed last year in Providence. Gere said much of his “Hachiko” crew was from Boston and speculated that he could find himself back in Boston filming as other states rethink film industry tax breaks. “It’s possible,” he said of filming in the Hub. “Rhode Island still has the tax breaks. New York may be losing them, which means you might be getting more business.” So what’s a guy like you doing at a gathering like this? “This is important stuff,” said Gere, whose niece, Carrie Leone of Belmont, is a graduate of the program. “My whole family never had much money but somehow they found a way to get us musical lessons and find a way to get us to be in the school plays. “To have these opportunities available . . . is very important to a community,” said the UMass-Amherst dropout. “Clearly these are the first things to get cut in a budget crunch, but I don’t know if that’s the wisest thing to do.” Feel the need to be further Dazzled? Check out the video of Richard Gere at the “Swellegance” gala at bostonherald.com |
| It's been a decade since Richard Gere grabbed People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" mantle, but don't tell his fans, hundreds of whom showed up to see the silver-haired actor at "Swellegance," Saturday's fund-raiser for the teen dance program Boston Youth Moves. The UMass alum was in town to receive the Image Award for "heightening the visibility of dance." (Who can forget Gere's toe tapping in "Chicago" or his ballroom bravura in "Shall We Dance"?) At a VIP reception beforehand, we asked the 59-year-old actor if he'll make another dance movie. "I'm not a dancer, I fake it. I got to 'take two' during the filming," chuckled Gere, who told us waltzing is harder than tap because it requires so much control. Control was out the window later in the evening when the hunk received a friendly pinch in the tush by actress Mitzi Gaynor, another of the honorees. Gere responded by dipping the "South Pacific" star while escorting her to the podium to get the Boston Youth Moves Lifetime Achievement Award, handed over by last year's winner, Chita Rivera. Gere accepted his trophy from his niece, Carrie Leone, who is a BYM alum. Of her uncle, Leone said: "He made it cool to be a guy and move your feet." |
