Richard Gere – Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Richard Gere, protagonist of the film Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer.

Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer by Joseph Cedar gives Richard Gere the chance to play a role he has never played before. FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti meets him in Rome for the Italian premiere of the film. The actor plays an unusual role for his filmography and his interpretation of jewish modern “fixer” Norman Oppenheimer could attract The Academy’s attention and finally get him an Oscar Nomination. Richard Gere describes Norman as a man with a pure heart, a person capable of absorbing pain and rage and turning those feelings into a positive energy to help others.

Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer:  Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) lives a lonely life in the margins of New York City power and money, a would-be operator dreaming up financial schemes that never come to fruition. As he has nothing real to offer, Norman strives to be everyone’s friend, but his incessant networking leads him nowhere. Always on the lookout for someone willing to pay attention to him, Norman sets his sights on Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi), a charismatic Israeli politician alone in New York at a low point in his career. Sensing Eshel’s vulnerability, Norman reaches out with a gift of a very expensive pair of shoes, a gesture that deeply touches Eshel. When Eshel becomes Prime Minister three years later, he remembers. With his very real connection to the leader of a major nation, Norman is awash in the respect he has always craved. Flush with his newfound feeling of success, Norman attempts to use Eshel’s name to leverage his biggest deal ever: a series of quid pro quo transactions linking the Prime Minister to Norman’s nephew (Michael Sheen), a rabbi (Steve Buscemi), a mogul (Harris Yulin), his assistant (Dan Stevens), and a treasury official from the Ivory Coast. Norman’s kaleidoscopic plans soon go awry, creating the potential for an international catastrophe he must struggle to prevent. The new film by Academy Award® nominated director Joseph Cedar is a comic and compassionate drama of a little man whose downfall is rooted in a human frailty all too easy to forgive—a need to matter.

For the official page of the film, click here.