Dog is the real star in Gere’s new movie

Dog is the real star in Gere’s new movie

TOKYO — Richard Gere stars in a Hollywood remake of Japan’s long-cherished story of Hachiko, a faithful dog that died at a train station waiting for its master. But “Hachi: A Dog’s Story” is more about the dog than about Gere, the 59-year-old actor said Wednesday.

“On this movie, I was definitely second-class,” he told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.

The movie premiered in the U.S. at the Seattle International Film Festival in June, and opens in Japan in August.

The story of Hachiko is a legend among Japanese, a pet-loving nation that honors self-sacrificing loyalty.

Hachiko, the story goes, always used to wait at Shibuya train station for its master, a professor at the University of Tokyo.

Even after the professor died, the dog waited every day at the station for a decade, until it died in 1935.

People were so moved they built a statue of Hachiko at the station, which remains a popular rendezvous spot for Japanese today.

The story of Hachiko was made into a 1987 Japanese movie. Gere’s version transports that story to a station in Rhode Island.

Gere said the Japanese breed of dogs called Akita used in the movie are close to wild dogs and very difficult to train. In the beginning, Gere was instructed not to even look at the three dogs that played Hachi.

“They only do something because they want to. You can’t really buy them with food,” said Gere.

Opry’s McDaniel suffers heart attack

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Grand Ole Opry spokeswoman says Opry performer Mel McDaniel is in the hospital after suffering a heart attack.

Spokeswoman Darlene Bieber said Wednesday that McDaniel had a heart attack last month. No other details were immediately available.

The 66-year-old singer had a run of hits in the 1980s that included “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On,” “Stand Up” and “Louisiana Saturday Night.”

A native of Checotah, Okla., McDaniel sang for oil field workers in Alaska in the 1970s before becoming successful in Nashville.

Besides his solo hits, he’s also written songs recorded by Kenny Rogers, Conway Twitty and Earl Scruggs.

McDaniel has been a regular on the Grand Ole Opry since 1986.

Today’s birthdays

Actor James Hampton (“F Troop”) is 73. Actor Brian Dennehy is 71. Actor Richard Roundtree is 67. Actor Chris Cooper is 58. TV personality-turned-musician John Tesh is 57. Country singer David Ball is 56. Singer Debbie Sledge of Sister Sledge is 54. Actor Jimmy Smits is 53. Actor Tom Hanks is 53. Singer Marc Almond of Soft Cell is 52. Actress Kelly McGillis is 52. Singer Jim Kerr of Simple Minds is 50. Singer Courtney Love is 45. Bassist Frank Bello of Anthrax is 44. Actor David O’Hara (“The District”) is 44. Drummer Xavier Muriel of Buckcherry is 41. Actor Scott Grimes (“ER,” “Party of Five”) is 38. Actor Fred Savage is 33. Singer Dan Estrin of Hoobastank is 33. Singer-actress Kiely Williams of 3LW (“Cheetah Girls” films) is 23. Actor Mitchel Musso (“Hannah Montana”) is 18.