| Upcoming Events |
Gere to receive Anderson Award
By DAMON C. WILLIAMS
Associated Press file photo
Richard Gere, shown discussing Tibetan Buddhism in New York last month, will receive
2007 Marian Anderson Award.
As a member of his high school band, Richard Gere would write musical scores.
But as a humanitarian, the veteran actor and Philadelphia native has penned much more
important works, which is why Mayor Street and other city officials announced yesterday
that Gere will be the recipient of the 2007 Marian Anderson Award.
"The award has grown into a national honor of great distinction," said Pamela A. Crawley,
award chairwoman, before introducing Street, who, in turn, introduced Gere at the Sofitel
Philadelphia, 17th and Sansom streets.
"It succeeded in drawing attention to the powerful impact of artists on our society," she said.
Gere, who did not speak at the news conference, will receive the award at the conclusion of
the Gala Tribute Concert on Nov. 12. He will receive an unrestricted prize of $100,000.
According to its Web site, www.MarianAndersonAward.org,
the award was created in 1998 and given annually to the artist who helps bring awareness
to humanitarian issues.
Former Anderson honorees include Danny Glover, Quincy Jones, Gregory Peck, Elizabeth
Taylor, Oprah Winfrey and the husband-and-wife duo, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis.
Gere has long been a humanitarian on a worldwide scale. One of his early causes was the
plight of Tibet under Chinese domination. He first visited with Tibetan monks in 1978. That
led to his co-chairing the nonprofit cultural safe-haven "Tibet House."
He also is a supporter of "Survival International," an organization created to preserve the
cultures of various tribes.
He started the Gere Foundation, which seeks to secure funding and technological
advancement in the fight against AIDS. It also supports the recovery of war-torn families or
those stricken by natural disasters.
The Gere Foundation has supported the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana
Tradition and the Pundarika Foundation, among others.
"We believe that [Gere] is a tremendous example to our society of the extraordinary power
of artists to change the world," Crawley said.
"In honoring Richard Gere, we celebrate a unique example of someone who has
acknowledged a responsibility to look beyond the applause of one's own country and
culture."
Gere to star in, produce 'Hachiko'
Production begins in September
By MICHAEL FLEMING
Gere
Richard Gere will star in and produce "Hachiko: A Dog's Story," a drama that will begin production in September.
The film will be fully financed by Inferno Entertainment, whose Bill Johnson and Vicky Shigekuni Wong will
produce with Gere. They are closing in on a director.
Gere will play a college professor who takes in a dog he finds abandoned. Both man and hound find their lives
changed forever as they form an unbreakable bond. Scripted by Stephen P. Lindsay, the project is based on a
true story and inspired by the 1987 Japanese film "Hachiko monogatari."
Movie will be produced in association with Japan-based Shochiku.
Inferno partner Jim Seibel and Paul Mason will exec produce, and Dean Schnider will co-produce. Inferno, which
recently wrapped "Smother" with Diane Keaton and is teamed with Mandeville on Paul Walker starrer "The
Heaven Project," will sell international rights. ICM Independent packaged the film and will broker a domestic
distribution deal.
Gere will next be seen in the Killer Films drama "I'm Not There" and TWC's "Spring Break in Bosnia." He's
starring with Diane Lane in "Nights in Rodanthe," the George Wolfe-directed adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks
bestseller for Warner Bros.
Production begins in September
By MICHAEL FLEMING
Gere
Richard Gere will star in and produce "Hachiko: A Dog's Story," a drama that will begin production in September.
The film will be fully financed by Inferno Entertainment, whose Bill Johnson and Vicky Shigekuni Wong will
produce with Gere. They are closing in on a director.
Gere will play a college professor who takes in a dog he finds abandoned. Both man and hound find their lives
changed forever as they form an unbreakable bond. Scripted by Stephen P. Lindsay, the project is based on a
true story and inspired by the 1987 Japanese film "Hachiko monogatari."
Movie will be produced in association with Japan-based Shochiku.
Inferno partner Jim Seibel and Paul Mason will exec produce, and Dean Schnider will co-produce. Inferno, which
recently wrapped "Smother" with Diane Keaton and is teamed with Mandeville on Paul Walker starrer "The
Heaven Project," will sell international rights. ICM Independent packaged the film and will broker a domestic
distribution deal.
Gere will next be seen in the Killer Films drama "I'm Not There" and TWC's "Spring Break in Bosnia." He's
starring with Diane Lane in "Nights in Rodanthe," the George Wolfe-directed adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks
bestseller for Warner Bros.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Damon Is Back for ONE X ONE
July 29, 2007 by Elizabeth Willoughby
Photo of Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Photo of Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Photo of Petra Nemcova
Petra Nemcova
Photo of Shakira
Shakira
Photo of Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Matt Damon will once again host ONE X ONE’s annual Difference Awards ceremony on September 9. Among those
being recognized this year for their extraordinary efforts towards fighting child poverty and suffering will be
Richard Gere, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine and Petra
Nemcova.
ONE X ONE is a non-profit organization that supports children in Canada and abroad. Established less than three
years ago, it has already raised over $5 million and created partnerships with major corporations and foundations.
The charity’s projects include providing first-nations kids with breakfast every day, and a ‘doctor exchange’ in
which doctors from Haiti and Rwanda will train at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children; in turn, Toronto doctors will
travel to Rwanda to repair the heart valves of children damaged by water-borne illnesses.
ONE X ONE is also helping 12,000 children attend school in a Rwandan village, and has created a basket-weaving
co-op. “If you’re trying to take people out of poverty,” says charity founder Joelle Berdugo Adler, “you have to give
them tools, not handouts.”
The awards will be given at the gala in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, where Shakira, Wyclef
Jean of the Fugees, Nikki Yanofsky, the African Children’s Choir and others will perform. Wyclef Jean is himself
also to be honoured for his Yéle Haiti Foundation (Cry Haiti), as are Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab and Kevin Lin, who
ran cross the Sahara Dessert earlier this year to raise awareness for H2O Africa, the clean-water initiative founded
by Damon and his partners at LivePlanet. Their documentary film of the run, which Damon narrates, will be
screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Celebrities
Matt Damon, Petra Nemcova, Richard Gere, Shakira, Wyclef Jean
Charities
H2O Africa, ONE X ONE, Yéle Haiti Foundation
Categories
Children, Economic/Business Support, Environment, Hunger, Poverty, Water
July 29, 2007 by Elizabeth Willoughby
Photo of Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Photo of Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Photo of Petra Nemcova
Petra Nemcova
Photo of Shakira
Shakira
Photo of Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Matt Damon will once again host ONE X ONE’s annual Difference Awards ceremony on September 9. Among those
being recognized this year for their extraordinary efforts towards fighting child poverty and suffering will be
Richard Gere, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine and Petra
Nemcova.
ONE X ONE is a non-profit organization that supports children in Canada and abroad. Established less than three
years ago, it has already raised over $5 million and created partnerships with major corporations and foundations.
The charity’s projects include providing first-nations kids with breakfast every day, and a ‘doctor exchange’ in
which doctors from Haiti and Rwanda will train at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children; in turn, Toronto doctors will
travel to Rwanda to repair the heart valves of children damaged by water-borne illnesses.
ONE X ONE is also helping 12,000 children attend school in a Rwandan village, and has created a basket-weaving
co-op. “If you’re trying to take people out of poverty,” says charity founder Joelle Berdugo Adler, “you have to give
them tools, not handouts.”
The awards will be given at the gala in the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, where Shakira, Wyclef
Jean of the Fugees, Nikki Yanofsky, the African Children’s Choir and others will perform. Wyclef Jean is himself
also to be honoured for his Yéle Haiti Foundation (Cry Haiti), as are Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab and Kevin Lin, who
ran cross the Sahara Dessert earlier this year to raise awareness for H2O Africa, the clean-water initiative founded
by Damon and his partners at LivePlanet. Their documentary film of the run, which Damon narrates, will be
screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Celebrities
Matt Damon, Petra Nemcova, Richard Gere, Shakira, Wyclef Jean
Charities
H2O Africa, ONE X ONE, Yéle Haiti Foundation
Categories
Children, Economic/Business Support, Environment, Hunger, Poverty, Water
| AR Rahman was among the chosen names to receive the Indian and American Achiever Award in Washington DC recently. Musician AR Rahman joined the likes of Richard Gere, Narayana Murthy, Bill Gates and many other greats in Washington DC recently where they were bestowed with the Indian and American Achiever Awards. On receiving the award, Rahman said, "I'm very humbled that I was the chosen one. This will pave the way for Indian and American students to excel in their fields, given the opportunity for international exposure. It is a wonderful thought." |
Hollywood Film Fest rounds out honors
Ellen Page, Richard Gere, Marc Foster, Diablo Cody in the mix.
By Times Staff Writer
October 2, 2007
The Hollywood Film Festival Awards has tapped Richard Gere, Marc Forster, Ellen
Page and Diablo Cody for its 11th annual gala.
Gere is starring in Lasse Hallstrom's "The Hoax," "The Hunting Party," written and
directed by Richard Shepard, and Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There." He will be
recognized with the organization's Actor of the Year Award.
Forster, director of "The Kite Runner," is being honored with the Director of the
Year Award. "Kite Runner" is being released by Paramount Classics in November.
Page, star of Jason Reitman's "Juno," has been tapped as Breakthrough Actress
of the Year. She previously played the lead in director David Slade's "Hard Candy."
Fellow "Juno" cohort Cody has been chosen as the Breakthrough Screenwriter
of the Year. Cody wrote Reitman's comedy about an unplanned pregnancy that
stars Page, scheduled for release Dec. 14.
Previously named Hollywood awards honorees include actors Marion Cotillard
("La Vie en Rose"), John Travolta ("Hairspray"), and Casey Affleck ("The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "Gone Baby Gone").
In addition, members of the ensemble cast of "Hairspray" (Travolta, Michelle
Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, Amanda
Bynes, James Marsden, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney and Nikki Blonsky) are
expected to attend.
Directors Ben Affleck ("Gone Baby Gone") and Brad Bird ("Ratatouille") and
producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Hairspray" and "The Bucket List") also
made this year's list.
Also set for recognition is screenwriter Christopher Hampton ("Atonement"); film
composer Mark Isham ("Reservation Road," "Lions for Lambs," "In The Valley of
Elah"); cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt ("Charlie Wilson's War"); editor Joe
Hutshing ("Lions for Lambs"); production designer Dante Ferretti ("Sweeney
Todd"); and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar ("Transformers").
The awards will be presented Oct. 22 at a ceremony banquet in the International
Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Ellen Page, Richard Gere, Marc Foster, Diablo Cody in the mix.
By Times Staff Writer
October 2, 2007
The Hollywood Film Festival Awards has tapped Richard Gere, Marc Forster, Ellen
Page and Diablo Cody for its 11th annual gala.
Gere is starring in Lasse Hallstrom's "The Hoax," "The Hunting Party," written and
directed by Richard Shepard, and Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There." He will be
recognized with the organization's Actor of the Year Award.
Forster, director of "The Kite Runner," is being honored with the Director of the
Year Award. "Kite Runner" is being released by Paramount Classics in November.
Page, star of Jason Reitman's "Juno," has been tapped as Breakthrough Actress
of the Year. She previously played the lead in director David Slade's "Hard Candy."
Fellow "Juno" cohort Cody has been chosen as the Breakthrough Screenwriter
of the Year. Cody wrote Reitman's comedy about an unplanned pregnancy that
stars Page, scheduled for release Dec. 14.
Previously named Hollywood awards honorees include actors Marion Cotillard
("La Vie en Rose"), John Travolta ("Hairspray"), and Casey Affleck ("The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "Gone Baby Gone").
In addition, members of the ensemble cast of "Hairspray" (Travolta, Michelle
Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow, Amanda
Bynes, James Marsden, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney and Nikki Blonsky) are
expected to attend.
Directors Ben Affleck ("Gone Baby Gone") and Brad Bird ("Ratatouille") and
producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Hairspray" and "The Bucket List") also
made this year's list.
Also set for recognition is screenwriter Christopher Hampton ("Atonement"); film
composer Mark Isham ("Reservation Road," "Lions for Lambs," "In The Valley of
Elah"); cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt ("Charlie Wilson's War"); editor Joe
Hutshing ("Lions for Lambs"); production designer Dante Ferretti ("Sweeney
Todd"); and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar ("Transformers").
The awards will be presented Oct. 22 at a ceremony banquet in the International
Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Dalai Lama arrives in Delhi March 21, 2008 20:07 IST Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama [Images] arrived in the capital on Friday to participate in a meditation workshop, which will be attended by his followers from around the world. The Dalai Lama flew in from Dharamsala today evening to take part in the meditation workshop, which is being organised by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility. Hollywood star Richard Gere [Images] and actress Uma Thurman's [Images] father Bob Thurman are expected to take part in the programme. The Dalai Lama will be in the capital for ten days to take part in the meditation workshop. The Dalai Lama was welcomed in Delhi by approximately 150 people, most of them his followers, who wore T-shirts with the message 'Pray for Tibet'. The organisers of the workshop said that the programme was chalked out three months ago and hence could not be seen in correlation with the ongoing protests by Tibetans against the Chinese government. They, however, did not rule out the possibility of the Dalai Lama meeting Indian leaders during his stay in Delhi. |
| Updated August 23, 2008 |
| Coming soon...New York Premier of "Nights In Rondanthe", starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. September 22, 2008 |
