Sandra Bullock and George Clooney have long been close friends and collaborated on several projects, including the Oscar-winning film Gravity. However, one of the notable collaborations between the two has been the 2015 comedy-drama, Our Brand Is Crisis.
The film, following Bullock in the role of a political consultant Jane Bodine, didn’t achieve the box office success that was expected. However, its script, originally centered on a male character, piqued her interest. The actress later reflected on how her friend Clooney almost led the movie, while highlighting the complexities of gender representation in Hollywood.
Sandra Bullock Reflected on Transforming Male Role in Our Brand Is Crisis
The 2015 comedy-drama Our Brand Is Crisis follows a political consultant, Jane Bodine, who returns to the fray to help a struggling Bolivian presidential campaign while navigating her personal and professional challenges.
However, the role of the political consultant was originally written for a man, as the actress Sandra Bullock revealed in an interview with Glamour. Reflecting on how she got the role in the movie, she said,
My agent said, “Let’s just start reading the scripts.” She came up with this one. I read it. She goes, “Should we ask them if they’re willing to make it a female?” I said, “Yeah.”
The actress shared that while she didn’t expect to get a “yes” for adapting the character for a female lead, to her surprise the makers agreed. “We’re cool with it,” she recalled their response.
Sandra Bullock Commended Filmmakers for Preserving Character Authenticity
Sandra Bullock further discussed the complexity of her character in Our Brand is Crisis, sharing that the character, Jane Bodine, struggled with addiction and mental illness while being highly skilled in her field.
“I mean, it was so beautifully written for a man,” the actress said, subtly critiquing traditional gender norms in film. However, she applauded the filmmakers for preserving the essence of the character when they decided to adapt it for a female role.
Highlighting that the character’s depth and complexity were strong enough to resonate regardless of gender and implying that the core traits and struggles of the character remain universal, the Practical Magic actress said,
It wasn’t one of those things where you go, “Hmm, how do we change it to a woman?” You just change the sex; that was pretty much it. She’s human. She deals with addiction; she deals with mental illness. She’s brilliant at what she does, and she gets lost in the fact that all she cares about is a win.
Initially, reports speculated that the Gravity actor might direct and star in the film, given Warner Bros. Pictures had acquired the feature for George Clooney’s production company, Smokehouse Pictures.
However, the role eventually went to Bullock with Clooney co-producing the film. Although it was not a box-office success, grossing only $9 million on an estimated budget of $28 million, Bullock received significant praise for her performance, with many critics calling it one of the best roles and performances of her career.
Our Brand is Crisis is available on Apple TV.
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