Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock at the New York premiere of Gravity.
Born	Sandra Annette Bullock July 26, 1964 (age 49) Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedienne, film producer
Portrays	Dr. Ryan Stone

Sandra Annette Bullock (born July 26, 1964) is a German-American actress and producer.

She portrays Dr. Ryan Stone in the movie Gravity and has since called her participation in the film (for which she left a self-imposed hiatus from acting) her greatest life decision. She was also paid $70 million for the role.

Career

She rose to fame in the 1990s with roles in films such as Demolition Man (1993), Speed (1994), The Net (1995), While You Were Sleeping (1995), A Time to Kill (1996), and Hope Floats (1998). In the new millennium, Bullock starred in Miss Congeniality (2000), Two Weeks Notice (2002), The Lake House (2006), and the critically acclaimed Crash (2004). In 2007, she was ranked as the 14th richest woman in the entertainment industry with an estimated fortune of $85 million. In 2009, Bullock starred in two of the more financially successful films of her career, The Proposal and The Blind Side.

Bullock was awarded the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama, and the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. She is listed in the 2012 edition of the Guinness Book Of World Records as the highest-paid actress, with $56 million. In 2013, she starred in The Heat, financially the most successful comedy of the year at the domestic box office, and Gravity, which was released on October 4, 2013 to coincide with the beginning of World Space Week. As one of the highest grossing films of the year, Gravity is her most successful film critically and commercially. The Blind Side, The Proposal, The Heat and Gravity, each grossed over $150 million, making her the most bankable star in Hollywood today.

Work in Gravity

Director Alfonso Cuarón first met Sandra Bullock after going through his list of actresses to portray the lead. He spoke to her for over an hour not even about the film and knew that she was perfect for the part. The only problem is that she was on a hiatus from acting and he didn't know if she would want to work. Luckily, Sandra said yes and has since called it the best decision of her career.

While filming an underwater scene, Alfonso Cuarón held his breath along with Sandra Bullock to make sure he wasn't asking too much of her. He soon found he couldn't match her lung power. A chance meeting between their siblings led Astronaut Cady Coleman to call Sandra Bullock from the International Space Station to talk to her about life in space. To prepare for shooting, Sandra Bullock spent six months in physical training while reviewing the script with Alfonso Cuarón. Cuarón said, "More than anything else, we were just talking about the thematic element of the film, the possibility of rebirth after adversity." They worked out how she would perform each scene, and her notes were included the pre-visual animation and programming for the robots. Cuarón and Bullock zeroed in on Stone's breath, "and how that breath was going to dictate her emotions," he said. "That breath that is connected with stress in some instances, but also the breath that is dictated by lack of oxygen." Their conversations covered every detail of the script and Bullock's character. "She was involved so closely in every single decision throughout the whole thing," Cuarón said. "And it was a good thing, because once we started prepping for the shoot, it was almost more like a dance routine, where it was one-two-three left, left, four-five-six then on the right. She was amazing about the blocking and the rehearsal of that. So when we were shooting, everything was just about truthfulness and emotion." James Cameron, best friend of Cuarón and a huge fan of the film, said "She's the one that had to take on this unbelievable challenge to perform it. (It was) probably no less demanding than a Cirque du Soleil performer, from what I can see. There's an art to that, to creating moments that seem spontaneous but are very highly rehearsed and choreographed. Not too many people can do it. ... I think it's really important for people in Hollywood to understand what was accomplished here." Because of Alfonso Cuarón's lengthy takes, Sandra Bullock had to memorize long combinations of precise movements to hit her marks at different points in the shot. She often had to coordinate her own moves with those of the wire rig attached to her and the camera. Bullock also says that she interpreted the film as choosing to try when there is nothing to try for. 

Bullock's performance in Gravity has been praised with critics saying that it is the best work in her career and many are calling her as a major frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Unfortunately, Sandra did not win the Oscar and lost to Cate Blanchett.

Interview

Sandra Bullock Gravity interview

External Links

• http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/06/sandra-bullock-pain-gravity-oscars-george-clooney-2014
• Sandra Bullock at TriviaTribute.com