IPOD
RADIO
Richard Gere
By Daniel Robert Epstein
Nov 10, 2005
Boy Richard Gere is handsome and though he’s best known as an actor he is also a very intelligent humanitarian. His latest flick is Bee Season, a film which goes to the heart of what he is most passionate about, religion.
Eliza Naumann [Flora Cross] has no reason to believe she is anything but ordinary. Her father Saul [Richard Gere], a beloved university professor, dotes on her talented elder brother Aaron [Max Minghella]. Her scientist mother, Miriam [Juliette Binoche], seems consumed by her career. When a spelling bee threatens to reaffirm her mediocrity, Eliza amazes everyone: she wins. Her newfound gift garners an invitation not only to the national competition, but an entrée into the world of words and Jewish mysticism that have so long captivated her father's imagination. But Eliza's unexpected success hurls the Naumann family dynamic into a tailspin, long-held secrets emerge and she is forced to depend upon her own divination to hold the family together.
Check out the official website for Bee Season
Daniel Robert Epstein: What made you want to act in Bee Season?
Richard Gere: It was such a beautifully written script. The quality of the writing was so high. The subject matter of four people who live intimately on top of each other but have absolutely no communication with all four of them are in the wrong way looking for God, however you define God. That is a very interesting premise for a film.
DRE:
How much did you know about Kabbalah before doing this film?
RG:
Not much. Tantra was part of Hinduism before Buddhism even came and that is in some ways similar to Kabbalah in using psychological, metaphysical techniques to achieve transcendence. In that way I come up with a parallel of those two things. So without knowing that much about Kabbalah I can tap into my own 30 year practice and use those emotions in dealing with this film. Kabbalah gave much to the idea of fixing the world’s broken and it needs to be fixed but from the Buddhist point of view it wouldn’t be that the world is broken, but the world is hidden. This is a family where the individuals are broken and they need to be healed. Her act at the end of the final spelling bee is one to heal the broken family.
DRE:
Does doing a film like this make you have to go take a look at your Irish roots?
RG:
The self we’re talking about is beyond ethnicity. It’s talking about universal identity. Not nationalistic or racialized, or ethicized or anything else. It’s the interconnectedness of the whole race.
DRE:
The man you are playing is failing at being a father in the most cheerful possible. Does it bring up any fears or anxieties you may have?
RG:
I don’t think I’m a control freak. I don’t cook every meal. I don’t insist everyone goes to music lessons with me. It’s not my thing at all. I’m a much more private person and pretty much what every person wants to do that makes them feel good is fine with me. The relationship I had in this movie with Flora was informed by my kids. A sense of patience also and a sense of infuriation of when you get lied to. You still love them to death but you should be angry.
DRE:
Are you finding that the roles coming to you are older and more paternal?
RG:
I’m not even playing as old as myself yet. I have that to look forward to. I’m 56 and I don’t think I’ve played a character that was my age. When I was doing Unfaithful, [director] Adrian Lyne and I are very good friends and he offered me both parts. But I felt I had played the other guy before so playing the very straight, steady husband, that’s new territory. I haven’t done that. I’m finding these characters very interesting and I hope I’m inhabiting them in a way that’s not cliché.
DRE:
When you get a script, how important is it to have artistic license?
RG:
As I said Bee Season was beautifully written by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal from a beautiful book, so a lot of invention wasn’t required. Nor is it the style of film nor are these directors stylistically the kind of directors who are looking to make up a bunch of stuff on the spot. It was a very controlled filmmaking and within that there was some movement with some scenes more than others. The Hoax which I just made with Lasse Hallström was about 1/3 improvised and we had a very good script to start. It’s varies from work to work.
DRE:
Eliza has an experience towards the end of the film that could be described as a religious experience but could also be a result of her pushing herself too hard. What is your opinion?
RG:
She is definitely having a genuine religious experience.
In this movie of four characters, three of them are having genuine experiences. Saul is an academic so he can only see it. He’s like Salieri. He can see it, but he can’t do it. He admits that to his daughter when he finally trusts her enough. He’s an extraordinary teacher but like many teachers, he can’t get there himself. He knows his daughter is doing this extraordinary thing spontaneously and instinctively so he’s trying to create an environment where she can be on solid ground and be protected within it. But when he finally feels that he can give her the real stuff and starts to pull out these books that he’s translated and starts to give her these techniques and says, “Look, this is something I’ve wanted my whole life but I can’t do it. I think you can.” That’s a huge revelation for a man to give to his child. In a sense he’s saying, “You’re bigger than me. You’re faster than me and I need to help you explore this.” It’s probably the most generous and honest moment from Saul in the movie.
DRE:
You have a five year old son, do you bring Buddhism into your family?
RG:
My wife meditates but when my son gets older he can do whatever he likes. We don’t sit around reading Buddhist tracts and that kind of thing. But I have my teachers and my Tibetan friends around all the time. It’s more important to me that basic respect for all living things is taught. That’s irrespective of religion, just start with kindness and respect. That to me is important to teach a child and I would hardly call it religious.
DRE:
After 30 years in Hollywood, would you like to finally get an Oscar nomination?
RG:
That doesn’t matter and it never really did. I’ve been very fortunate. I continue to work on films that have meaning to me with good people that I respect. I make good money. I have no regrets, no issues with any of this whatsoever. It’s all been upside.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Boy Richard Gere is handsome and though he’s best known as an actor he is also a very intelligent humanitarian. His latest flick is Bee Season, a film which goes to the heart of what he is most passionate about, religion.
Eliza Naumann [Flora Cross] has no reason to believe she is anything but ordinary. Her father Saul [Richard Gere], a beloved university professor, dotes on her talented elder brother Aaron [Max Minghella]. Her scientist mother, Miriam [Juliette Binoche], seems consumed by her career. When a spelling bee threatens to reaffirm her mediocrity, Eliza amazes everyone: she wins. Her newfound gift garners an invitation not only to the national competition, but an entrée into the world of words and Jewish mysticism that have so long captivated her father's imagination. But Eliza's unexpected success hurls the Naumann family dynamic into a tailspin, long-held secrets emerge and she is forced to depend upon her own divination to hold the family together.
Check out the official website for Bee Season
Daniel Robert Epstein: What made you want to act in Bee Season?
Richard Gere: It was such a beautifully written script. The quality of the writing was so high. The subject matter of four people who live intimately on top of each other but have absolutely no communication with all four of them are in the wrong way looking for God, however you define God. That is a very interesting premise for a film.
DRE:
How much did you know about Kabbalah before doing this film?
RG:
Not much. Tantra was part of Hinduism before Buddhism even came and that is in some ways similar to Kabbalah in using psychological, metaphysical techniques to achieve transcendence. In that way I come up with a parallel of those two things. So without knowing that much about Kabbalah I can tap into my own 30 year practice and use those emotions in dealing with this film. Kabbalah gave much to the idea of fixing the world’s broken and it needs to be fixed but from the Buddhist point of view it wouldn’t be that the world is broken, but the world is hidden. This is a family where the individuals are broken and they need to be healed. Her act at the end of the final spelling bee is one to heal the broken family.
DRE:
Does doing a film like this make you have to go take a look at your Irish roots?
RG:
The self we’re talking about is beyond ethnicity. It’s talking about universal identity. Not nationalistic or racialized, or ethicized or anything else. It’s the interconnectedness of the whole race.
DRE:
The man you are playing is failing at being a father in the most cheerful possible. Does it bring up any fears or anxieties you may have?
RG:
I don’t think I’m a control freak. I don’t cook every meal. I don’t insist everyone goes to music lessons with me. It’s not my thing at all. I’m a much more private person and pretty much what every person wants to do that makes them feel good is fine with me. The relationship I had in this movie with Flora was informed by my kids. A sense of patience also and a sense of infuriation of when you get lied to. You still love them to death but you should be angry.
DRE:
Are you finding that the roles coming to you are older and more paternal?
RG:
I’m not even playing as old as myself yet. I have that to look forward to. I’m 56 and I don’t think I’ve played a character that was my age. When I was doing Unfaithful, [director] Adrian Lyne and I are very good friends and he offered me both parts. But I felt I had played the other guy before so playing the very straight, steady husband, that’s new territory. I haven’t done that. I’m finding these characters very interesting and I hope I’m inhabiting them in a way that’s not cliché.
DRE:
When you get a script, how important is it to have artistic license?
RG:
As I said Bee Season was beautifully written by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal from a beautiful book, so a lot of invention wasn’t required. Nor is it the style of film nor are these directors stylistically the kind of directors who are looking to make up a bunch of stuff on the spot. It was a very controlled filmmaking and within that there was some movement with some scenes more than others. The Hoax which I just made with Lasse Hallström was about 1/3 improvised and we had a very good script to start. It’s varies from work to work.
DRE:
Eliza has an experience towards the end of the film that could be described as a religious experience but could also be a result of her pushing herself too hard. What is your opinion?
RG:
She is definitely having a genuine religious experience.
In this movie of four characters, three of them are having genuine experiences. Saul is an academic so he can only see it. He’s like Salieri. He can see it, but he can’t do it. He admits that to his daughter when he finally trusts her enough. He’s an extraordinary teacher but like many teachers, he can’t get there himself. He knows his daughter is doing this extraordinary thing spontaneously and instinctively so he’s trying to create an environment where she can be on solid ground and be protected within it. But when he finally feels that he can give her the real stuff and starts to pull out these books that he’s translated and starts to give her these techniques and says, “Look, this is something I’ve wanted my whole life but I can’t do it. I think you can.” That’s a huge revelation for a man to give to his child. In a sense he’s saying, “You’re bigger than me. You’re faster than me and I need to help you explore this.” It’s probably the most generous and honest moment from Saul in the movie.
In this movie of four characters, three of them are having genuine experiences. Saul is an academic so he can only see it. He’s like Salieri. He can see it, but he can’t do it. He admits that to his daughter when he finally trusts her enough. He’s an extraordinary teacher but like many teachers, he can’t get there himself. He knows his daughter is doing this extraordinary thing spontaneously and instinctively so he’s trying to create an environment where she can be on solid ground and be protected within it. But when he finally feels that he can give her the real stuff and starts to pull out these books that he’s translated and starts to give her these techniques and says, “Look, this is something I’ve wanted my whole life but I can’t do it. I think you can.” That’s a huge revelation for a man to give to his child. In a sense he’s saying, “You’re bigger than me. You’re faster than me and I need to help you explore this.” It’s probably the most generous and honest moment from Saul in the movie.
DRE:
You have a five year old son, do you bring Buddhism into your family?
RG:
My wife meditates but when my son gets older he can do whatever he likes. We don’t sit around reading Buddhist tracts and that kind of thing. But I have my teachers and my Tibetan friends around all the time. It’s more important to me that basic respect for all living things is taught. That’s irrespective of religion, just start with kindness and respect. That to me is important to teach a child and I would hardly call it religious.
DRE:
After 30 years in Hollywood, would you like to finally get an Oscar nomination?
RG:
That doesn’t matter and it never really did. I’ve been very fortunate. I continue to work on films that have meaning to me with good people that I respect. I make good money. I have no regrets, no issues with any of this whatsoever. It’s all been upside.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
