Sandra Bullock’s ‘Gravity’ Director Ignored James Cameron’s Advice for Her Acclaimed Film

Sandra Bullock’s 2013 hit film Gravity enjoyed a lot of praise from both audiences and critics alike. But even fellow filmmakers lauded the film’s quality, including sci-fi filmmaker James Cameron.

James Cameron opened up on what impressed him about ‘Gravity’

Gravity was one of Bullock’s biggest films. It was both a major critical and commercial success, and was congratulated for its technological achievements. The film’s director, Alfonso Cuaron, was very candid about the difficulty it took bringing the movie to the big screen. While developing the feature, Cuaron was offered advice by a couple of experienced filmmakers in the industry.

David Fincher, who was used to implementing cutting edge technology in his own films, felt Cuaron should hold off in making the feature. Fincher believed it would take at least five years for technology to catch up to the film’s ideas. Cuaron didn’t listen, only to discover that Fincher’s assessment wasn’t too far off.

“We were stubborn [and] said we’re going to make it work,” Cuaron told Variety. “But you know what? David was right. It took us 4 ½ years.”

Cameron would also recommend that Cuaron should use the motion capture technology that was used in Avatar. Especially since Gravity would try to accomplish a very difficult visual feat.

“I read the script, and I thought it was tremendously challenging to shoot with a high degree of veracity to get the real look of zero gravity,” Cameron said.

Still, Cuaron did the film his way, which Cameron believed worked.

“I’m sure Alfonso had a real uphill battle with the studio, with everyone involved, to get it the way it needed to look. But he knew in his mind how it needed to look, and he went after it,” Cameron said.

James Cameron called ‘Gravity’ the best space film ever

Bullock’s Gravity was released to much box-office success and critical acclaim. Cameron himself was one of many who sung the film’s praises.

“I was stunned, absolutely floored,” Cameron said about the film. “I think it’s the best space photography ever done, I think it’s the best space film ever done, and it’s the movie I’ve been hungry to see for an awful long time.”

What was more impressive than the film’s use of technology, however, was the film’s star Sandra Bullock. The Terminator director felt Bullock played a significant role in Gravity’s accomplishments.

“She’s the one that had to take on this unbelievable challenge to perform it. [It was] probably no less demanding than a Cirque du Soleil performer, from what I can see,” Cameron said. “There’s an art to that, to creating moments that seem spontaneous but are very highly rehearsed and choreographed. Not too many people can do it.”

Sandra Bullock found the idea of doing ‘Gravity’ both magical and frightening

One of the reasons Bullock did Gravity was for the opportunity to work alongside respected filmmaker Cuaron. But when she read the script, she admitted to experiencing a mix of emotions since Gravity was unknown and unexplored territory.

“Because I wasn’t at all in control, and I had no idea the extent of technology that was involved, to me, it was all sort of fantastical and futuristic, which made it exciting and magical and frightening, all in the same breath,” Bullock once told Collider. “But, I had to be very true to what someone was dealing with, who would be in the character’s position, which is factual today.”

To prepare for the role, and give the kind of performance Cameron would find impressive, she would consult real-life Astronauts.

“They were very helpful. So, just for what I had to do, it had to be very human, in this technologically advanced space that felt very futuristic to me because it had never been done before on film. So, I had the benefit of both,” Bullock said.