Sandra Bullock Stole Role From George Clooney In ‘Our Brand Is Crisis’


Sandra Bullock knows what she wants and won’t stop until she gets it.

Most recently, this was evident when the actress took a movie role made for and developed by George Clooney and turned it into her own. Sandra Bullock stars in the upcoming political strategy film Our Brand Is Crisis, which opens Friday. While George Clooney was originally set to star in the movie, once Sandra Bullock won the role, he remained on as producer.

As the Toronto Sun reports, Our Brand is Crisis is based on a documentary of the same name that focuses on the 2002 Bolivian presidential election and the American political campaign strategies that were used. While the original documentary surrounds a male strategist working for the company Greenberg Carville Shrum, this film changes the central figure into a woman — “Calamity” Jane Bodine — played by Sandra Bullock. The film also stars Billy Bob Thornton as Pat Candy, a man who leads the opposition’s campaign and becomes Jane’s nemesis.

George Clooney began developing the project with the intent to star as the lead role. However, once Sandra Bullock became involved, things quickly changed.

The gender swapping of this role began with a quest Sandra Bullock was on to find meatier roles to portray, roles that were traditionally being offered to male actors.

“My quest started before this film when I started looking at comedies! I was so done! So, could I look at every script that Jim Carrey didn’t want to do and just see if that could be switched? But nothing really popped up that I thought was extraordinary.”

While Sandra Bullock was unsuccessful with her drive to find a male-starring comedy and adapt the role for herself, her time spent acting The Heat (2013) with Melissa McCarthy was able to help her fill the void.

“The need to have a comedy that wasn’t centered around getting a man. I love men. I just don’t always need to be talking about you!”

Sandra Bullock Our Brand Is Crisis
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

Sandra Bullock’s determination in creating more dynamic roles for herself has made her push through any insecurities. It has helped her to fight for her visions.

“I have learned that you can’t worry about getting a no. You have to keep going forward or you would never work again. So I’ve learned that it can’t hurt to ask — and I’m glad I asked [on Our Brand is Crisis.] They could have said no, but they didn’t, you know.”

In an interview with People, Sandra Bullock reiterates this life motto.

“You can’t repeat anything that you’ve ever done before, you should do things that are just scary and frightening,” Sandra Bullock said.

George Clooney Our Brand Is Crisis
George Clooney, the producer of ‘Our Brand Is Crisis’ and the actor originally set to star as the lead in this film. [Photo by Kevin Winter]

As for George Clooney, who spent time developing both the film Our Brand is Crisis and its main character, he was more than happy to relinquish the role to Sandra Bullock. As soon as she suggested the idea, George Clooney knew it would work. At the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where the movie was first screened, George Clooney took the opportunity at a press conference to tell Sandra Bullock how thrilled he was to work with the seasoned actress.

“We wanted to work with you, and the minute you suggested the idea we looked at it and said: ‘This is silly to even think it wouldn’t work. It made total sense!’ It is just a natural progression. There are a lot of roles that could be [switched].”

Hollywood’s film industry is notorious for not creating enough genuine, dynamic roles for actresses, especially for those who are over 40. Yet this hasn’t stopped Sandra Bullock from carving out a challenging and successful path for herself.

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

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