(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Richard Gere's first day at Abu Dhabi, on Thursday, could have been hectic, but he looked just as fresh the morning after, when he met the media to talk about his latest movie release, Arbitrage, which opened the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF).
"Since arriving, I only got out of this hotel (Emirates Palace) once; we escaped last night and went out for some drinks," said Gere.
"I would love not to be a movie star and be able to visit your country freely," he added.
Nicholas Jarecki, Richard Gere, Nate Parker and Mohammed Al Turki at the Press conference at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.- KT photo by Shoaib Anwer
Gere, who has also attended the Dubai film festival four years ago, came to Abu Dhabi along with Arbitrage's director and script writer, Nicholas Jarecki, co-star Nate Parker and Saudi executive producer Mohammed Al Turki.
After walking the red carpet of ADFF's opening gala on Thursday night, the four got to meet several filmmakers and movie industry representatives from the region.
"I've spoken with a couple of people about shooting here in Abu Dhabi. A few scenes from a movie project I'm working on now would be perfect to shoot here," revealed Gere.
Turki, who said his dream would be to link Saudi talent with US film industry, also introduced the Arbitrage team to local filmmakers.
"Turki is the reason we came here," admitted Jarecki.
"We met with a few film directors from here, a precious few, and I hope to collaborate with them in the future," he added.
Arbitrage is a movie about power, high finance and family. Gere's character is Robert Miller, a Wall Street baron in urgent need to sell his company. A love affair that ends in a deadly accident for his mistress while Miller is driving brings the human twist of the story into the grey area.
He gets the son of an old friend (Nate Parker) to help him out, but when the investigation detective starts to smell the rat, things begin to go badly and Miller is faced with a dilemma: should he sacrifice the last shred of decency to cover up his cheats, lying and misdoings? It is not until his daughter, who works for his company, gets hurt by him that the climax scene takes place: the confrontation with Miller's wife (Susan Sarandon).
I think that's the scene Susan wanted to do the movie for, so she'd get to rip me apart," laughed Gere.
"Clearly, it is THE dramatic moment in the movie. The guy has no place to go â€" and he is a very slippery guy," he added. The next celebrities to walk the red carpet of ADFF today are Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley, both producers of Great Expectation, the Mike Newell adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic about a poor orphan boy who becomes a gentleman.
The movie will be screened at 9.30pm at the Emirates Palace, followed by a questions and answers session with the two producers.
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