Her latest film is being touted as a hot prospect for Oscars – but then Sandra Bullock is no stranger to the Academy Awards after winning the Best Actress statuette for The Blind Side in 2010.
In Gravity, she plays a scientist on the Space Shuttle alongside George Clooney, when disaster strikes.
First of all, I have to ask you if you and George have ever dated.
No! And I think we are probably the only two people in the whole of Hollywood who haven’t. We are far too similar.
He’s a notorious prankster who once tricked you into jumping into a pool which ruined your dress. His response was, “It happened in 1996. Get over it!” What do you think of that?
Yeah... he wants me to let it go because he knows it is coming back to him someday. He’s worried.
Was all that floating about in Gravity done using a green screen?
A green screen would have been nice!
There was just blackness, or bright white lights.
Basically, you had to retrain your body from the neck down to react and move as though in zero gravity, but without the benefit of zero gravity moving your body.
I did a lot of training, then you had to connect it to the emotion and tell the story.
What was your reaction when you saw the final images?
The first time I saw it all put together was in Venice.
Usually, when an actor sees themselves for the first time, they just picking their performance apart.
But there was no time for that because you were overwhelmed by the extreme beauty and emotion that had been created visually.
The technology created such a visceral, physical experience in this movie.
You find yourself affected in unexpected ways. I think George and I both had the same reaction.
We went, “Wow!” I mean, you can’t really speak when the film is over.
But what was it like to be the only actress on screen and perform for a great deal of the movie by yourself?
I never thought about being the only person on screen.
The technology was a constant character around you. I never once thought I’m the only person.
Then there’s George – he’s a vital part of this film who represents life and this outlook on living. If you don’t have that, this film could not exist.
You have a three-year-old adopted son, Louis. Would you like more?
I have been asked that a lot lately and if all of a sudden my house had eight kids in it, if it was OK with Louis and it felt like a good safe family, I would be fine with that.
It would be because that is what my home is for. So it is up to him.
