“I couldn’t get it made”: Sandra Bullock Debunked Reports of Losing Out Her Dream Project to Clint Eastwood After Studios Laughed at Her Idea
American actress Sandra Bullock is one of the most popular and talented actresses of the 21st century. She has been in show business for more than three decades now and has starred in some of the greatest movies of all time including footballer Michael Oher’s biopic The Blind Side in which her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Sandra Bullock lost the golden opportunity to win the Academy Award due to the fact that she lost out on a major role in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby. Rumors circulated that the actress had turned down the role willingly. However, she defied any such claims saying that that was not the case.
Sandra Bullock Did Not Back Out Of Million Dollar Baby
Artists often back out of projects due to creative differences, personal issues, or getting on the wrong foot with someone else working on the project. Hilariously, the opposite of this happened with Sandra Bullock who had to fight to get cast in Million Dollar Baby as she did not want to lose out on it. Unfortunately, none of her efforts turned out to be fruitful as the role was later given to Hilary Swank.
In 2005, when rumors started swirling that Bullock had turned the role down, she immediately stood up to defend her as she told the Irish Examiner:
“We had Million Dollar Baby with someone else for a while, trying to get it made. I couldn’t get it made. We tried and tried and tried. (They were like) Female boxing movies don’t sell. I was like, ‘This is the most incredible piece.’ I then started doing Miss Congeniality 2 and they got Hilary (Swank) and they got Clint.”
The Ocean’s 8 actress’ frustration is understandable given how hard she tried to convince the studio executives to make the movie, only to get blasted by the media for turning her back on the movie.
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Million Dollar Baby Was A Critical and Commercial Success
The 2004 movie Million Dollar Baby, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood alongside Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman follows the life of a waitress and amateur boxer Margaret ‘Maggie’ Fitzgerald who aspires to be a professional boxer. The story has a tragic ending as the lead character Maggie pleads with her coach Frankie (Clint Eastwood) to let her die after she is rendered quadriplegic.
Sandra Bullock believed that the movie adapted from a story in F.X. Toole’s Rope Burns: Stories from The Corner told an incredible story but she was unfortunately unable to convince any studio to produce it. By the time it was greenlit, Sandra Bullock got busy with Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, and could no longer take up the part due to scheduling conflicts.
Million Dollar Baby went on to win four Academy Awards out of the seven it was nominated for. It grossed $216.8 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million making it a box office success. On the other hand, Miss Congeniality 2 grossed only $101 million and received mostly negative reviews.
Source: Irish Examiner
