QUICK TAKES - Oct. 17, 2009

Richard Gere said Friday that he “cried like a baby” when he read the script of his new movie -- a remake based on a cherished Japanese story about a faithful dog that died at a train station waiting for its owner.

“Hachiko: A Dog’s Story” was so moving, Gere said, he would choke up when talking about it.

“I was telling people over dinner, and I could only get halfway through the story and I would start crying,” the Hollywood star told a news conference after the film was screened out of competition at the Rome Film Festival.

The story of Hachiko was made into a 1987 Japanese movie.

The new version, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, moves the tale to a station in modern Rhode Island. The movie had its U.S. premiere in June at the Seattle International Film Festival, and opened in Japan in August.