What's behind Richard Gere's age-gap movie with Diana Silvers
Richard Gere, 76, was photographed filming romantic scenes in New York with Diana Silvers, 28, for the upcoming drama Asymmetry. The film adapts Lisa Halliday's novel about a secret romance between a celebrated older author and a young editorial assistant—and the set photos have sparked online backlash over the nearly 50-year age gap.
Key Takeaways
- Richard Gere and Diana Silvers were spotted filming cozy romantic scenes in New York for Asymmetry.
- The movie adapts Lisa Halliday's 2018 novel about a 70-year-old author and a young editorial assistant.
- Online commenters blasted the nearly 50-year onscreen age gap after set photos circulated.
- Oscar winner Edward Zwick is directing; no release date has been announced.
What is Richard Gere filming with Diana Silvers?
According to The Cut and Page Six, Richard Gere was photographed this week shooting romantic beats with Silvers for Asymmetry. Set stills show the pair walking hand in hand around New York City, sitting close on a park bench, and looking ready to kiss.
In the story, Silvers plays Alice, a young editorial assistant. Gere plays Ezra Blazer, a world-renowned author written as about 70. Their characters meet by chance in Central Park, spark a private romance, and risk exposure when the secret relationship comes out.
Page Six reported Thursday park scenes of deep conversation, with Gere's arm posed behind Silvers on a bench. Earlier Monday photos showed him wrapping an arm around her waist as she draped an arm across his shoulders—standard intimacy for the roles, but eye-catching given the cast ages.
Why is the age-gap casting drawing backlash?
The Daily Beast reported that after Instagram account FauxMoi shared behind-the-scenes images, commenters piled on. One widely liked remark joked that Silvers "better be playing his granddaughter." Others called the pairing another "predatory age gap" story Hollywood does not need to normalize.
That reaction sits in a familiar celebrity breaking news cycle: onscreen romance photos travel fast, and a nearly five-decade gap between leads becomes the story before the film even has a trailer. The Cut noted some stills look more like a senior-living ad than a swoony drama—even with Gere, long Hollywood's go-to romantic lead, in the frame.
Who is behind Asymmetry, and is there a release date?
Asymmetry is based on Halliday's critically acclaimed 2018 novel. Page Six notes the book has multiple sections, including a strand about an Iraqi-American man detained at Heathrow, but the film's published logline centers on Alice and Ezra's New York romance.
Oscar winner Edward Zwick wrote the screenplay with Halliday and Marshall Herskovitz; Zwick is also attached to direct and produce. Halliday has said working with Zwick and Herskovitz was a "pleasure and a privilege." No release date has been set.
Off-screen, Gere is married to Spanish publicist Alejandra Silva, 43—an age gap of about 33 years. They began dating in 2014, married in 2018, and share two sons; the family has lived in Spain. That real-life context is being cited alongside the Asymmetry chatter, but the current buzz is driven by the film's casting and those New York set photos.