SANDRA BULLOCK PLOTS WINNING STRATEGY IN “OUR BRAND IS CRISIS”

Press release

Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock stars in Warner Bros. Pictures' “Our Brand is Crisis” (my review linked) as political strategist Jane Bodine, once considered among the best in the business, who has lately retreated from the political spotlight.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

In “Our Brand is Crisis,” a Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine. In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), now coaching the opposition.

Bullock explains of her role, “When we first meet Jane, she’s had to remove herself from the world in which she’d spent most of her life, for the sake of survival. She was brilliant at her job. But it became an addiction to her, and what it turned her into and the mindset it required became dangerous. Jane is fragile. She has some instability issues, some addiction issues. And clearly all of that was exacerbated when she was in that world, so she just had to stop.”

“The thing I loved about this role was that there didn’t seem to be any rules or boundaries, whether emotionally or in the tone,” Bullock continues. “And that was indicative of the whole story, which, I feel really represents life in that there’s no such thing as all drama or all laughs in day-to-day events. Even serious stories can have painfully funny elements and you can find drama and tragedy in funny moments, and I was drawn to this character and this film because of those complexities.”

“Jane feels her life is being navigated by other people,” says director David Gordon Green. “We meet her at a vulnerable moment where she’s stepped away from the industry that has brought her so much success, and is then summoned back into action like a legendary gunslinger. She feels misguided in this impressive skill set she has, and that she’s not really proud of anymore, and is trying to figure out how to use it in a way that’s more meaningful. So it’s a journey in which Jane is testing her ethics and her motivations even while forging ahead to get a man she barely knows elected president.”

Interestingly, producer Grant Heslov reveals that in the script’s earliest incarnation, as they were still developing the project, the part of the lead strategist was male. After Bullock read it and noted what a great role it could be for a woman, they took another look: “We thought that was a good idea,” he recalls. “So we went to the writer, Peter Straughan, and said let’s change it, let’s make this character a woman and see how that works. And we really liked it.”

Apart from fleshing out some minor details and subtleties, the transformation proved relatively effortless, as the conflicts and aspirations Jane reflects are universal. Recalls Bullock, “I didn’t want the character to change, or her being a woman to alter the main story points or connections.”

While fictional in both its characters and story, “Our Brand is Crisis” was inspired by true events depicted in the 2005 documentary of the same name from writer/director Rachel Boynton, which chronicles the real-life presidential campaign of Bolivia’s Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. “It was inspiring on every level,” notes Bullock, “but we had to let it go and create our own story.”

Opening across the Philippines on Jan. 13, 2016, “Our Brand is Crisis” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

THORNTON TAKES ON BULLOCK IN “OUR BRAND IS CRISIS”

Press release

Academy Award-winner Billy Bob Thornton (“The Judge,” FX's “Fargo”) stars as Pat Candy, the rival election strategist of Sandra Bullock's character, Jane Bodine, in Warner Bros. Pictures' satirical comedy, “Our Brand is Crisis.”

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

As the story opens, the infamous campaign fixer Jane Bodine is in seclusion, following a tragically unsuccessful run that left her more shattered than she can admit. She’s not quite ready to return to the fray when a former associate comes knocking in hopes that Jane can help turn things around for a hugely unpopular presidential candidate in Bolivia, named Castillo. She declines. But when Jane learns that her bitter rival Pat Candy has been hired by the opposing party, her competitive nature kicks in. Having lost to Pat more than once before, this could be her chance to even the score.

“I imagine political consultants are, in a lot of ways, like actors,” says Billy Bob Thornton. “Sometimes you do things because it’s something you really love and are passionate about and other times – hopefully not too often – you do it because you’re a professional and you’re getting paid, so you go in there and turn it on in that moment.”

Clearly, this isn’t the first time Jane Bodine and Pat Candy have taken positions on opposite sides of a fight. For strategists at their level, it’s no surprise they have frequently crossed paths. And swords. “I love this kind of powerful, adversarial relationship that may also have just a hint of affection,” says Thornton. “They get it, what most people wouldn’t understand. They know what it’s all about.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and worked with a lot of actors, and I have to say that working with Sandra has been a real pleasure,” he continues. “She’s been the girl next door, she’s been a big commercial movie draw, and she’s been an edgy actress who delivers award-winning performances; Sandra’s run the gamut and she knows what kind of weight to bring to a role like this. She’s got grit.”

Conversely, “Billy Bob was the perfect choice for Pat because he can say the nastiest things and you still love him,” director David Gordon Green remarks. “There’s a very specific quality and charisma that comes with a great actor that, no matter what he does, you know you’re going to forgive him just a little. As Pat tests Jane, we wanted an actor who could be a formidable counterpart for Sandra, someone with gravitas and wit…and that smile that lets him off the hook.”

Describing that smile as “Cheshire cat,” Bullock adds, “Billy Bob just transforms on screen with all that mischievousness and evil. I would have to take a deep breath every time we started a scene because I had no idea what that man was going to bring. Yet I trusted him completely.”

For Thornton, “Jane and Pat are chess players, but chess players moving real people around the board. Pat Candy is so confident and so good at what he does that he probably gets bored easily and so he constantly has to stir things up to keep himself interested. When he sees Jane, he thinks, ‘Good, now I have someone to play with.’”

“In a way, Pat is the devil on her shoulder, always keeping her alert and aware,” says Green. “Pat is convinced he taught Jane everything she knows and delights in anticipating her next move.” Consequently, they dig deep and elevate each other’s game. If he scores a photo op for his camp, she undercuts it; she organizes a rally and he sabotages the coverage; he floats a damning rumor and she turns it to her advantage. And so it goes, riding the polls and counting down the hours to Election Day.

Opening across the Philippines on Jan. 13, 2016, “Our Brand is Crisis” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

SANDRA BULLOCK IN “THE HEAT”

Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock stars in “The Heat” and tries on improv comedy for the first time under director Paul Feig.  

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

                Bullock stars as Sarah Ashburn, an FBI agent hoping for a promotion and high-tails it from her home base in New York City to Boston, to help solve the mystery behind several murders.  Standing in Ashburn’s way is a hard-hitting Boston police officer, Shannon Mullins played by Melissa McCarthy, who’s not happy that the FBI – especially the stuck-up Ashburn -- is treading on her turf.  Ashburn is determined to wrestle the case away from Mullins, but the disheveled, foul-mouthed, in-your-face cop is a formidable adversary.  They’ll soon discover they have more in common than they ever thought possible, including their misfit status and complementary skillsets. 

                “Ashburn’s effectiveness as an FBI agent comes from her meticulousness, stubbornness and thoroughness,” says Bullock.  “But she’s completely inept when it comes to any kind of social interaction.  She’s trying so hard to make up for that particular weakness that she becomes insufferably arrogant on the job.  Ashburn is respected but not liked because she isn’t a team player.  Every time she opens her mouth, people cringe.”

                The improvisational nature fueled the fun and on- and off-screen bonding. “It is great working with Melissa,” enthuses Bullock. “She comes through the door and improv is the way that she does things. Then we had a director who comes from that world too and nearly everyone in the cast was also from that world. The world of comedy that I had been familiar with was always very controlled. There was the script and you had to go through 27 people and the studio before you could change a line.  I always wanted to do this kind of comedy that we have in THE HEAT (which I have done in real life, sort of free form,) but I was never really allowed to experience what it was like before on a film. 

Walking onto the set of THE HEAT it took me a couple of days to realize: ‘I’m allowed to do it.’ It was very liberating. When you are around that, you take it in and you want to improve your game. It is a muscle that you have to exercise and if you haven’t had much time exercising that muscle, it gets stale. Watching these people work is exciting and inspiring, but daunting sometimes too.”

“Melissa has great moves,” says Bullock,”discussing McCarthy’s comedic skills. “When I saw her dance, I knew we were going to be fast friends.We did the dancing with no practice whatsoever,” she continues.

“We said: ‘let’s not rehearse anything,’ ”interjects her co-star. “Let’s just be as terrible as we’re capable of being. Poor Paul turns around and we both have our faces taped,” laughs McCarthy,  “and he’s like, ‘What’s happening?’ It was a weird descent into controlled madness. It was really fun. There was a lot of ruined tape,” she says. McCarthy adds: “Yeah, I got the moves, but I don’t have the sense to stop whatever’s going on.”

“We really hit it off, she is like my sister,’’ adds Bullock. “I’d say it’s rare that actors get together and have the kind of chemistry and connection we have together. It somehow just works and it’s something inexplicable that is bigger than what is on the page.”

“The Heat” is distributed by Warner Bros.