Sandra Bullock: The Best of Both Award Worlds
by John P. HanlonOn Sunday, March 7th, 2010, the best picture winner at the Academy Awards will be announced. Although there are ten nominees in that category this year (up from the usual five), they will likely not include the following: “Twilight,” “The Hangover,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “The Proposal,” or “Star Trek.” Undoubtedly, none of the “Twilight” pictures will ever be recognized by the Academy, though one of them was named best movie of the year at the People’s Choice Awards (PCA) last week. Looking at the list of acting nominees and winners from that award show, it seems unlikely that many of those nominees will receive Oscar nods, but one person who might be able to get nominated for both is Sandra Bullock.
This year, Bullock won “Best Movie Actress” at the PCA. On the PCA website it does not clarify if she won for a specific movie or for her total work last year as a whole (where she appeared in movies like “The Proposal” and “The Blind Side”), but her performance in the latter has garnered her both commercial and critical success. In fact, “The Blind Side” may actually help to win Bullock an Oscar nomination.
Bullock has already had an exciting awards season. She was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for “The Blind Side” for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama.” (For the record, she was also nominated for “The Proposal” as the best actress in a comedy.) Bullock was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for “The Blind Side.” And now Dave Karger from Entertainment Weekly has predicted that she’s likely to garner her first Academy Award nomination this year for that movie.
However, as the Chicago Tribune points out, Sandra Bullock has a major problem to overcome. Susan King writes:
If Sandra Bullock is going to win a best actress Oscar for her role in “The Blind Side“ she may have one major obstacle to overcome: She’s too popular.
In that piece, King makes the solid argument that mainstream actors are frequently snubbed at the Academy Awards. That fact is discouraging because it would be nice to see Bullock recognized for a popular role that she absolutely excelled in.
Although I haven’t seen all the performances receiving Oscar buzz for best actress this year, I am still pulling for Bullock to land her first nomination. In the past, she made some bad mainstream movies. However, in “The Blind Side,” she made a great one and broke an industry record to boot. As Entertainment Weekly reported:
Bullock is now the only actress ever to have a film marketed with her name solely above the title (i.e. based on her star power alone, and not a franchise or tentpole picture) pass the $200 million mark in domestic gross.
Best of luck, Sandra.
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54 Comments
Yep, and she just donated a million smacks of her own money for Haitian relief. I love this woman.
Laughed out loud watching her in "Miss Congeniality" and have always thought that given the right material would garner both critical and popular reviews. I recall someone rfering to her as "the poor man's Julia Roberts" but she seems much more approachable and has a warm and open demeanor. She's one of a handful of hollywood types I'd actually want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with.With or without an Oscar nod, I'll still give her a look….here's to a well deserved nomination.
What a wonderful Lady! Her husband is not too bad either.
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If I remember correctly, she gave $1 million to help after Hurricane Katrina as well. Seems like she puts her money where her mouth is.
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I love Sandra Bullock!
And I've never heard her make any vile statements regarding President Bush, which immediatly ruins everything. (I used to have a crush on Julia Roberts. Now, I can't even watch her movies anymore without seeing hate in her face)
I have to remember to log-in.
It's funny how it lets you comment when not logged-in without even so much as a pop-up.
That's disappointing to hear. . ."too popular". Julia Roberts won for Erin Brokovich(SP?), and she was popular. Hopefully Sandra will win the nom., she has certainly earned it. . .for her body of work and for The Blind Side. I love her and her husband, and they are one cool couple.
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Yes, Julia's popular, but she's also very liberal, too. Perhaps, if Sandra starts "campaigning" and bashing Bush or the "tea baggers" then she might have a shot. I hate to sound so cynical but it seems that Hollywood is very insular.
Watch Ms Congeniality again and you'll hear some gratuitous smears against Cheney.
Some argue that last year Mickey Rourke lost the Best Actor Oscar to Sean Penn when he refused to bash George Bush in an interview.
I was a fan of hers until I saw her kiss Meryl Streep on the lips at the award show and heard her comments.
It's pretty sad what people will do to "belong".
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"Why is New Jersey called the Garden State?"
"Because it's too hard to fit Oil and Petrochemical Refinery State on a license plate?"
Saw the Blind Side. It was AWESOME. I'd be happy to hear that she won something for her terrific performance.
Still floored to see a movie like "The Blind Side" portraying people who identify themselves as Christians and Republicans doing what such people so often do: good things. Hollywood usually portrays them as small-minded, mean-spirited, superstitious bigots.
go south below the mason-dixon line – South Jersey grows tomatoes – a zillion different kinds, blueberries, corn, strawberries, lima beans, cranberries, watermelons, pumpkins, squash, zucchini, apples, peaches etc..
Her husband made vile statements against Pres. Bush. I guess he does it so she doesn't have to.
The joke is that Rourke still gets more high profile and lucrative gigs than Penn. See Iron Man 2.
Cream rises to the Top. Period. Sandra is whipped cream.
The kiss was tacky, but her comments bothered you..? Which parts? Where she praised Streep, her director, cast & crew, or asked for sympathy and help for the earthquake victims?
I find it notable that in that movie, you find portrayed (at the ladies' luncheons) exactly that sort of negative behavior. What I found profound was that Sandra Bullock's character stood up to that negative behavior in a firm, and yet positive manner. Her character acted as someone who was a principled Christian, conservative person should have acted in such a situation. The positive message was that such small minded bigotry was just that, and wasn't acceptable in polite society.
Haven't seen too many Bullock films, but I'm all for sheer bodysuits.
Wouldn't that depend greatly on whom is wearing one?
I liked Sandra in several of her relatively older films. "While You Were Sleeping" is probably my favorite. Though… "Two Weeks Notice" is actually not bad considering she plays a liberal wonky in it. I didn't care for the Miss Congeniality's however. The first one was somewhat watchable. The second was pure torture.
Every guy has different ideals of feminine beauty – and thank God for that, or we'd all be after the same girls (And what a mess that would be!) – but as for myself, I don't go for the blinged-out flashy glamorous types, I rather prefer wholesome girl-next-door cute. So, naturally, I've been head-over-heels for Sandra Bullock since I first saw her in Speed. She's kind of the last word in that department. Just awesome from my perspective…
Oh, and I enjoy her acting too. She does both drama and comedy well, and can mix them up in the same scene, which I always thought was a neat trick. I'd love to see her get a nod.
You know number II, I don't care if people hold left wing views. We have freedom of speech and everyone is welcome to speak their mind, but what I do mind is gratuitous name calling especially in films that have nothing to do with politics and lying about Bush, Cheney, the events of the Katrina debacle, the war for oil when we don't get a drop[ of oil of Iraq, trashing the Constitution, etc.
I think we who know better shouldn't patronize their products or spend our money of their films no matter how entertaining they might be — same goes for TV shows with Baldwin. They may get all the awards, but their ratings are in the mud wrestling class where they belong.
I'd be more floored if they could leave out the polticial snarks.
Are you referring to her mammary enhancements?
But…Rourke endured several decades of drug & alcohol abuse and obscurity…he's JUST enjoying a comeback, whereas Penn has had pretty steady high profile work for the same time frame…not really a fair comparison of careers, IMHO. Rourke also had a foul reputation for his behavior on set. No doubt that's what made his fellow actors vote for Penn instead.
I agree erp, the thing is, I really hate having a favorite actor totally spoil their image (at least in my mind) by spewing hatred. Yes, it is free speech and I don't care about their views in general, I just can't stand the hate some of them have against us average folk and anyone who represents us. I think it is disappointing when they do that. Very few actors are smart enough not to allow their political views enter into their job, a perfect example is Gene Hackman.
Yeah, although Christopher Walken is an awesome actor, I couldn't imagine him in a sheer bodysuit. If I did, I'd kill myself.
I could not agree more, I love the "natural" look and nice curves. Those gals nowadays try to look like spray painted two by fours with jewelry attached.
She is just so cute that I don't care what her political persuasion is. A good double bronski makes any leftist look good.
Sandra has always rocked!!!!! I hope she gets the Oscar, just for the sum total of her career.
Agreed. I know and love a lot of people who hold left-wing views, but we get along because we can either 1) discuss things in an adult manner or 2) leave it alone. Namecalling has no place there.
I know quite well that most of my favorite entertainment figures will never, *never* agree with me politically-but if they can express their views in a grown-up fashion I can at least still hold some respect for them.
Anyway, best wishes to Ms. Bullock. If she's earned it, I hope she'll get it.
Sandra is what they call in Hollywood a Working Actress. Occasionally, she will accept a less than stellar script just to maintain a screen presence, i.e., Premonition, but then on occasion she will be offered a gem of a project such as The Blind Side which allows her to utilize the totality of her talent. From the first time I saw Miss Bullock on screen, I was in love with her cute tom-boy looks and her no nonsense approach to onscreen relationships. Yes, I could also visualize myself having a rollicking good conversation with her over a couple pints of ale at the local pub.
Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1243...
I hope Sandra wins an Oscar!
Where was that – I missed it?
It will be interesting to see if Hollywood will allow a movie that shows any Republican in a good light to get any accolades.
Sorry, I don't have the precise location on the tape. It's somewhere in the middle. Like others who've commented, until that time, I also liked her films and the fact that whatever her opinions, she didn't bash Bush wherever she went, but I also will not tolerate these childish outbursts either.
By all accounts, Sandra Bullock is a great person. That's nice, but she's a tremendously limited actress – a malfunctioning slingshot has greater range. She's been in TWO good movies (Demolition Man and While You Were Sleeping) neither of which owed much to her. Her filmography reads like a rundown of the blandest, safest, least-interesting work of the last two decades, with "Blind Side" serving as one of the MOST egregious examples (no small feat, as this person was in "Speed 2.")
Generally, I regard her celebrity as being of a kind to Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts – i.e. primarily popular for fitting into the niche of "pretty enough" that male audiences don't mind her but women don't hate because she's not "threateningly hot" (see: Johanssen, Scarlett.)
If she actually walks away with an Oscar, it'll be strictly for all the popcorn she's sold over the years.
Yes, George Bush was such a wonderful president. Is it hoping for too much that Jeb might run with Sarah in 2012?
I'm very happy to see Sandra Bullock on a career high. She is one of my favorite actresses. She's cute and funny and just down right adoreable.
beautiful
Since you're being a smart alec, I'll leave you with this mental image: Rosie O'Donnell in a sheer bodysuit! :-O
The media has done a good job trashing the name Bush, but a lot can happen in two more years, so it is possible. Jeb doesn't have his brother's energy though and I wonder if he'd want the job. His son may be the next generation Bush to seek national office. He's good looking and smart and his mother is Cubana, but he's a little young yet.
Really Bob? Sandra doesn't contribute much to "While you were sleeping"? What-does Peter Gahlager carry the movie, Peter Boyle? both great actors btw, but without Bullock that movie is nothing. I also find Demolition Man an odd choice as one of the good ones. Could've had any attractive actress in that part–not especially challenging. One of the most underrated of her movies is "28 Days" (not the sci-fi series) where she goes to rehab after crashing a limo at her sister's wedding. Also Murder by Numbers pretty decent.
I like her, and I've enjoyed much of her work. She's pretty, talented and a welcome relief from the super botox/silicone and weave enhanced professional starlets or the grungey,pseudo intellectuals that populate so much of Hollywood.today.
Or "Exit to Eden", I mean. I think the typing part of my brain was trying to protect others from seeing it.
Having seen "East of Eden" I can unfortunately picture her in a leather dominatrix outfit. Ew.
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