Richard Gere isn’t really the sex god of Hollywood he was in the Pretty Woman days, but he’s managed to keep doing work even as he molests Indian actresses and hangs with the Dalai Lama (wonder what he thinks of all these anti-China protests lately?) And even though he’s getting into his 60s, he still gets to romance the young ladies and and protect and serve along with New York’s men in blue. At least, that’s what two new movies will have us believe.
Variety reports that Gere has signed on to two new projects, both of which could become high-profile contenders when they get released. First up will be Amelia, the biopic about Amelia Earhart starring Hilary Swank and directed by Mira Nair. Gere will play Earhart’s husband George Putnam, a magazine publisher and publicist who guided Earhart to fame. Putnam doesn’t seem to have been quite the silver fox that Gere is today, but hey, this is Hollywood.
After that Gere will join Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke in Brooklyn’s Finest, a police drama written by Michael Martin, a first-time screenwriter currently employed by New York’s transit authority. Call it the “subway worker cop drama” or whatever you like. The movie is about three cops living three different lives who meet up at a deadly crime scene. And it’s directed by Antoine Fuqua, who proved he knows a thing or two about cops when he made Training Day, also with Hawke.
Gere will be starring in this summer’s Nights in Rodanthe, alongside his Unfaithful co-star Diane Lane, which will be his first big romantic comedy in a while. He’s made his share of clunkers this decade, but every time he’s shown up in a good role in a decent movie-- The Hoax, Chicago, Unfaithful), we’ve all been surprised all over again at how much we like the guy. So with Rodanthe and these movies coming up, it’s yet another chance for Gere to prove that, deep down, he’s still our pretty man.
