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PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Thursday 29 October 2015
Bullock steps into a man’s role in ‘Our Brand is Crisis’
LINDSEY BAHR originally written.
Part of that is the strength
AP Film Writer of screenwriter Peter
Straughan’s script, said
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Is she Thornton.
The transition from male to
going to be hot? female was easy because
it was never a type to be-
That’s the question a stu- gin with — the gender was
almost incidental.
dio executive asked San- “I tend as a writer to not
identify characters unless
dra Bullock about the lead there’s a reason for it,” said
Thornton. “(Straughan)
character in a project she wrote it as a person.”
From there, director Da-
was pitching well into her vid Gordon Green and his
actors could focus on the
Hollywood career big ideas in this satirical
story about a failing Boliv-
“I looked at him and I go, ian presidential candidate
and the American lackeys
‘Well, it is me, so you get hired to try to manipulate
his image and a country
what you get. You do real- for the win.
As someone whose father
ize that I’m pitching this for worked in the Pentagon,
Bullock understands the al-
me?’” recalled Bullock in a lure of stories about the un-
derbelly of politics.
recent interview.
The do-anything candi-
“He goes, ‘Yeah, but I dates and unscrupulous
mercenaries in “Our Brand
want to know, like, what is is Crisis” are especially res-
onant now, she notes.
she going to wear?’” “You watch a debate and
you watch these people
Things have gotten a little doing their thing — even
if it’s a candidate you like
better since then. In “Our — you watch them just (ex-
pletive) people. q
Brand is Crisis,” out Friday, In this Monday, Oct. 26, 2015 file photo, actress Sandra Bullock arrives at the LA Premiere of “Our
Brand is Crisis” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, in Los Angeles.
Bullock plays a role origi-
Associated Press
nally written for a man,
and no one checked in she’s had to listen to a at roles for men. After all, lov to see if there was any
writer try to explain how the male characters don’t al- chance they might con-
to see whether or not the “the wife” is really the heart ways have to be likable. sider her for the lead — an
of the movie. Their comedies don’t have amoral, Sun Tzu-quoting
savvy political consultant “I know what that means. to be of the romantic vari- political consultant who’s
That means you’re going ety. come out of retirement for
character was going to be to be underwritten and And the first question from a showdown with an old ri-
you’re just going to be the studio executives prob- val. They said yes.
a bombshell, too. wife waking up in bed with ably isn’t going to be “Is he To adapt the part, they
the husband and making hot?” changed around some
But this is the exception. the coffee,” she said. “If When Bullock read the un- pronouns, they gave the
you say that I’m the heart produced screenplay for character a woman’s
Bullock’s conversation of the piece, I’m going to “Our Brand is Crisis,” she name, and they added
(expletive) clock you.” decided to call longtime some sexual innuendos with
with the studio executive That’s why Bullock and friends George Clooney her foe (Billy Bob Thornton).
her agent started looking and producer Grant Hes- But overall, it remained as
remains an all too familiar
scene for actresses in Hol-
lywood, where sexist pre-
sumptions are engrained in
the culture.
Then there’s the matter of
substance with roles for
women. Bullock can’t re-
member how many times
Broadway producers reach out to young people with new site
MARK KENNEDY for kids but also we want his Jan. 19, 2012 file photo shows a Broadway street in Times change all day, but it will
AP Drama Writer parents and also even ed- Square, in New York. all be G-rated.
NEW YORK (AP) — Broad- ucators to come and find “Everything on the site is
way producers have cre- content there and help Associated Press moderated. There’s always
ated a new website to promote it to their kids,” somebody saying, ‘Yes, I
reach out to a special de- she said. Modeled on Insta- league president, said the selves, partners like Playbill want that on the website’
mographic — one more gram and Tumblr, the mo- rather than anything flow-
familiar with twerking than bile friendly site is packed goal isn’t to sell tickets but or Broadway World and us- ing through automatical-
jazz hands. with various posts for the- ly,” said Neal Freeman, di-
The Broadway League, ater fans: backstage inter- to engage fans. “We know er-generated images and rector of digital and tech-
the industry’s trade asso- views with actors, photos of nology.
ciation, on Wednesday un- cute dogs owned by ac- that once we get families to stories. So far, the league is “We’re using content from
veiled its new BwayZone. tors, the rapper Drake who a lot of places, and we’re
com, an interactive site de- spins a Tony Award in a GIF theater that we’ve hooked funding the operation at a happy to feature content
signed to attract children from his “Hotline Bling” vid- that’s in various other pub-
ages 8 to 13 that’s packed eo and a time-lapse video them for life. But it’s getting loss without advertising. lications that’s Broadway
with video, photos and sto- of “Kinky Boots” actor Kyle related. We want to be a
ries about shows. Taylor Parker getting into them there,” she said. League staff will be curat- window — a portal — for
“There really is no place on- his Lola makeup on tour. our users.”
line where families and kids It’s part of the league’s Content for the site comes ing all BwayZone items, Billed as “Broadway’s Of-
can go and really interact overall push to engage ficial Family Club,” the
with Broadway content families. Other efforts have from four places: league- sifting through social me- league hopes to one day
that’s really about kids and included Kid’s Night on increase BwayZone en-
for kids,” said Jan Fried- Broadway, the National generated video and dia submissions, tweets gagement levels by add-
lander Svendsen, director High School Musical The- ing sweepstakes, games
of marketing and business atre Awards and Family photos, submissions from and content before put- and loyalty points that can
development. First Nights. be cashed in for badges or
“We want to make it cool Charlotte St. Martin, the Broadway shows them- ting it up. The content will even tickets to shows. q
