Although more than a dozen years have gone by since Richard Gere tap-danced his way into our long-term memory in Chicago, it seems the actor’s name can still draw a bevy of strong actors to his next project. Yes, it must be the chance to work with Buddhist silver fox Gere—and definitely not the director whose last movie received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film—which has attracted Michael Sheen and Steve Buscemi to upcoming drama Oppenheimer Strategies.
Gere will play Norman Oppenheimer, a man whose life “dramatically changes after the young politician he befriended during a dark period in his life becomes an influential world leader.” In addition to Sheen and Buscemi, the film has also landed the talents of Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, Isaach de Bankolé, and Lior Ashkenazi. Oppenheimer Strategies is being written and directed by Joseph Cedar, whose 2011 movie Footnote pulled off the rare feat of making laborious academic research in Talmudic studies look reasonably compelling. Oren Moverman, who recently made Gere look both homeless and boring in his own film Time Out Of Mind, is producing, so hopefully Cedar didn’t take too many notes there. Oppenheimer Strategies just began production, and no release date has been set.