SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (Hollywood Reporter) - Actor Richard Gere launched a broadside at the Bush administration when he picked up a lifetime achievement award during the San Sebastian International Film Festival on Sunday.

Discussing his recently released film "The Hoax," about a fabricated autobiography of Howard Hughes, Gere linked the small lies "that people don't take responsibility for" to the "big lies" that lead to history-altering moments, like the decision to invade Iraq.

Holding forth at a news conference, he also appealed to Chinese authorities to rise to the occasion of next year's Olympics by becoming an open society.

"Boycott is not the answer. Isolation is not the answer. This is China's moment for radical change. You don't achieve greatness through human rights abuses. You achieve it through openness," said the actor, who often has backed the cause of Tibet.

San Sebastian runs until September 29 in the seaside town in Spain's northern Basque region.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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