Monday, November 3, 1997
Richard Gere merges film career with spirituality in ‘The Red
Corner’
FILM Personally fulfilling project a long-awaited labor of love
for famed Buddhist actor
By Emily Forster
Daily Bruin Contributor
Being a movie star looks like the ideal life: adoring fans, huge
pay checks and general god-like status. But according to actor
Richard Gere, the life of wealth and stardom isn’t different from
anyone else’s.
"In anyone’s life, you’re dealing with the same stuff –
ignorance, anger and hatred," Gere says. "It’s all the same stuff.
Maybe it’s a little bigger in Hollywood, but it’s the same
stuff."
This may seem a little ridiculous at first. After all, Gere is
famous and loved by millions for his brilliant work in films like
the Oscar-nominated "Days of Heaven" and the critically heralded
"American Gigolo."
How can he deal with anger or hatred when he has starred in
beloved films like "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Pretty
Woman"?
Then again, there were tabloid tales that suggested that he and
his ex-wife, super model Cindy Crawford, were homosexual, rumors
which probably sprang from Gere’s activist role in gay rights. And
there’s that infamous scandal about a certain furry friend getting
stuck up a certain orifice and needing to be surgically removed.
How devastating would that be to have all of America talking about
outlandish accusations like that? Maybe Gere’s right.
But despite the "anger and hatred" Gere has dealt with, he’s
still got something that few people have – a huge film career with
no signs of slowing and a deeply enriching spiritual life.
The only thing left is to mesh Gere’s movie career and
spirituality together, and with the just-released "The Red Corner,"
now he’s done that too.
"It’s extremely rare to get a piece that’s emotional and close
to your heart," Gere says. "’The Red Corner’ is new, it’s fresh,
it’s right-now. The script is true right up to this moment. At the
same time it has maybe the most adult relationship that I’ve ever
portrayed on film with a woman. It’s not romantic. It’s about true
intimacy, which is ultimately about trust. So there’s a big story
and a little story in the same film."
It is the big story in the film, an American lawyer forced to
fight his way through the corrupt Chinese judicial system, that
Gere has been personally involved with for over 20 years. Always
intrigued by the Buddhist religion, he has become so involved in it
that he has written a book about his experiences titled "Pilgrim."
He decided on the title because he feels that all people, in
essence, are pilgrims.
"If you’re alive, you’re a pilgrim," Gere says. "Whatever good
karma I’ve created in previous lives, the fact that I would be able
to meet, interact and take teachings from the Tibetans is the
greatest gift one could imagine."
Gere feels extremely fortunate to have found his religion with
such ease. Contrary to popular expectation, the process of
discovering a satisfying way of life was remarkably simple.
"I’m amazed at how little resistance there was to the whole
process of searching out some kind of spiritual path," Gere
recalls. "In the beginning, the thing that captured my imagination
was Zen Buddhism. It was much more understandable and I got basic
techniques of practice. But then meeting the Tibetans was
incredible. The open hearts of these people, their willingness and
forgiveness, their willingness to continually do anything to make
you happy. It’s just amazing."
It seems that the Buddhist importance placed on happiness has
impacted Gere’s career choices. He is devoted to the films he does,
but he does them to please himself. The ups and downs in the
popularity of his movies do not affect the projects he chooses to
make.
"My approach to the work is exactly the same now as it was when
I started, 30 years ago," Gere says. "All the films I’ve done have
meaning. I think it’s something about these films that I’ve been
doing lately that are meaningful to more people – that’s all. Now
this one, ‘The Red Corner,’ obviously is much closer to me. It’s an
incredible joy to do something that is meaningful and emotional and
may have an impact on the world. It may save lives.
"Being able to tell something that’s political and deeply
spiritual at the same time, like with this film, has been very
satisfying. They’re not separate issues, politics and religion, but
it’s rare that you can do that, that the script is good enough and
that the people you work with also share those goals."
In the beginning of Gere’s career, he had no idea that he would
enjoy such satisfying film experiences. He was happy just to
realize that he had achieved fame.
"When I had first started I had made ‘Days of Heaven’ and
‘Looking for Mr. Goodbar’ and ‘Bloodbrothers,’ and I was making
‘Yanks’ in Yorkshire," Gere remembers. "I came back from finishing
that shoot and I got off the plane in New York, and I found myself
walking down Third Avenue. And I had three movies playing right
next to each other at the same time. It was so bizarre, that
realization that it’s never gonna be the same again. It was very
peculiar."
More than 20 years later, Gere’s films are still competing with
each other at the box office. Later this month Gere’s global spy
movie, "The Jackal," which co-stars Bruce Willis ("Die Hard," "12
Monkeys") will be released. But Gere is anxious to see if the film,
a remake of a classic thriller "The Day of the Jackal," ended up
the way the filmmakers envisioned.
"I haven’t seen ‘The Jackal’ so I don’t know what it’s become,"
Gere says. "It was always intended to be a good thinking-man’s
action thriller. I don’t know how much thinking is left in it, but
that is what the intention was."
But regardless of the outcome of the film, one thing is clear:
Gere will continue to live his life the way he always has.
"I’m 48 years old, and I’ve done a lot of stuff, and I like to
work, but I don’t define myself by it," Gere says. "Professional
stuff doesn’t mean that much. Spiritually I have a total belief.
When you can do that, transform those energies, then it starts to
go out in an incredible way. You feel it."
FILM: "The Red Corner" is currently playing.