Richard Gere accepted a lifetime achievement award during the San Sebastian International Film Festival this past Sunday, but his acceptance speech carried a few surprises. Gere talked of lies and the decision to invade Iraq, turning his thank-you speech into a political platform for opinion. Gere further made an appeal to the Chinese government, asking them to rise to the occasion for the Olympics (which are scheduled in country) by becoming an open society. After generations of negotiations with the Chinese government by all of the world’s best diplomats, surely it will be an American actor that finally ends Communism in China. Right. Gere delivered an impassioned speech, perhaps better suited for the Presidential debates than a film festival. Will Gere be the catalyst for change in China? Sure. And tomorrow, several of Hollywood’s finest will undertake a diplomatic mission to end the war. Or maybe they’ll just keep making movies for entertainment value.