Diane Lane and Richard Gere Press Conference
What were your first impressions of each other?
Richard Gere: "This is new territory. Okay go ahead…"
Diane Lane: "Ladies first suddenly? I was very insecure and I think that manifested itself by coming off…age appropriate, let’s say, for 18. Just a little defensive and a little bitchy maybe? And I got the part! It was interesting because I was filming Streets of Fire and I had to come out and do the chemistry meeting. Can you imagine flying out with that in mind? No pressure or anything. You walk in the room and you are already pissed off. So, I was just, 'Hi, I'm here. Do you like me?' That's how I felt."
Richard Gere: "I just went down the wormhole. So it's Francis Ford Coppola and me. She's worked with him two or three films?"
Diane Lane: "Outsiders and Rumble Fish, so two."
Richard Gere: "So you had a comfort level with him for sure."
Diane Lane: "Earlier that year, basically. It was the year before so I was like, 'Now you want me to audition? This is unfair.' I thought I was in like Flynn. I was making all these jokes, saying they’re trying to bring Cathy Moriarty's price down, that's why they had me in there. I was such a bitch."
Richard Gere: "She really remembers everything. I have no memory of this whatsoever. I remember she was an absolute doll, no question about it. What had been out at that point that was the adult you and not kid you? It was one of the ones you had done with Francis and it was out already."
Diane Lane: "Sure, The Outsiders and Rumble Fish were probably out."
Richard Gere: "Yeah, and absolutely adorable, watchable, and something mysterious going on. But very self possessed at the same time. She came in with all those qualities, precociousness, in terms of being able to deal with a situation. At 18 I couldn't deal with anything. I couldn't even speak. I could see immediately how she could play this part and bring a quirky 'I don't care' attitude, but underneath you knew that she desperately did which is one of the tricks of film acting. Underneath is the opposite of what you are showing almost always. The subtlety with which you can communicate that is probably the degree that you succeed or not nonverbally. It has to be done quick and without relying on words. She has always had that quality. And very defensive, yes, I do remember that much. You were leaving the room and like, 'Wow, okay.' I woke up the next day and I called Francis and said, 'She's the one. She is absolutely the one.' But he had made up his mind already."
Diane Lane: "That’s sweet. Well, I'm glad to hear that after all this time. No seriously."
Richard Gere: "And Cathy Moriarty was more expensive."
Diane, how do you explain Richard’s timeless quality?
Diane Lane: "Oh my word."
Richard Gere: "You don't have to answer that question."
Diane Lane: "I don't know. I feel like he might know what I would say."
Richard Gere: "While she is thinking I'll tell you a story. I was shooting a film in Sarajevo and we ended up calling it The Hunting Party. We did a press conference there because we were shooting in the community. So we had a little press conference to introduce ourselves to the community. It was about this size and there was a very young girl in the back who was very shy. She raised her hand and said, 'On behalf of three generations in my family I would like to thank you for continuing to make movies. We love you. On behalf of myself, my mother, and my grandmother.' I thought how sweet that was but it also gave me a sense that I'm really old. I've been doing this a long time."
Diane Lane: "I was just remembering that wonderful movie you made with Mr. Altman."
Richard Gere: "Dr. T."
Diane Lane: "And the Women, I love that movie. One thing I always felt about Richard, whether it's on screen or in person, is that he has this ability to make you feel as though he can see right through you in the sense of see the core of you. I don't know if its true, but it might as well be true because I have nothing opposing that. Women just feel basically disrobed and that's a plus."
Richard Gere: "A plus for me too."
Diane Lane: "At the same time, I do recall when we were filming The Cotton Club and you would come in the mornings and tell me what color my aura was."
Richard Gere: "Hey! Hey, hey, man."
Diane Lane: "That was a good thing! I didn't know that was the thing you were embarrassed about of all the stories we have? I think it's adorable. So, he was right every time. I would look up the color and he was right. I was defensive that day or whatever. It's true, you can't really pull the wool over Richard's eyes. It's very disarming and it's charming."
Richard Gere: "And annoying."
Diane Lane: "A little annoying."
Richard Gere: "Deeply annoying."
Diane Lane: "It works to his advantage."
