The Point Radio: Sandra Bullock Lost In Space In GRAVITY

Sandra Bullock is lost in space, literally, in ‎Alfonso Cuarón’s new film GRAVITY. It was a totally new experience for Sandra and she shares her thoughts for us here, plus we go to the set of the new buzz worthy Fox comedy, BROOKLYN 99 and talk exclusively with serious star Melissa Fumero about having to live up to all the hype. Meanwhile, SHIELD scores big on TV, but, here comes GOTHAM. THE POINT covers it 24/7! Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

Transcript

The Point Radio Hey it's Mike Raub, welcome to The Point. Sandra Bullock talks about being lost in space and Melissa Fermero checks in from the set of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And SHIELD sets a record. Come on, well you're really shocked.

Let's get to The Point. This is The Point. The Point Radio. Get The Point Radio. Beautifully crafted seems to be the term everybody's using when describing gravity.

The new film co-written, co-produced, co-edited and solo directed by Alfonso Cuaron. And the center of the film is actress Sandra Bullock who stars along with George Clooney. And started out by talking about the difficulty in filming those scenes where she's just floating in the middle of nothing. There was just blackness or bright white lights or metallic objects. You had to retrain your body from the neck down to react and move as though it's in zero-g without the benefit of zero-g moving your body.

Because everything that your body reacts to with a push or a pull on the ground is completely different than it is in zero-g. So to make that second nature just took training and then weeks of just repetition and then syncing it with Alfonso's camera and the mechanics and the mathematics of it all. And then separating that from your head where you had to sort of connect to the emotion and tell the emotional story. So there were various contraptions that existed on the sound stages which were, you know, when I first saw them, you just made them your friend as quickly and as physically as you could. Because if you didn't, you know, they were so confusing and complex.

You had to figure out how to communicate in a language, you know, that you're not understanding coming at you and it didn't make sense with my rhythms and then going back going, that doesn't make sense. Can we musically do this? Because in rhythmically I will note, you know. So it was just such a collaborative experience. What was it like seeing the final product? I always say, you know, an actor when they see themselves for the first time, you spend all your time just watching yourself and hating yourself and picking your performance apart and saying, I look horrible, I should quit, you know. There was no time to pick apart one's performance because you were inundated with the extreme beauty and emotion that he created visually.

And I hate using the word technologically because it sounds like it's an inanimate object. We always go to things like this, you know, technology is something that's heady. It was turned into such an emotion and such a visceral physical experience in this movie. I don't know if you saw it, but you just went, I don't know how they did it with sound, that coming here behind your head, all of a sudden you found yourself affected in ways that you were not planning on being affected. So we had that same reaction. I mean, I think George and I both did. We went, wow.

That's all. I mean, you can't really speak after the film is over. So I think I was lucky enough, you know, in my career to finally be able to view a movie I was in as it was supposed to be viewed as a newcomer. With a film like this, of course, there's Oscar buzz and Sandra right now wants everyone to know that 100% of her credit goes to Alfonso. I mean, I've always said, you know, that the experience of meeting, you know, an artist that you are in awe of and you hope to create with one day, you know, is usually disappointing because you put them up on a pedestal and then you're like, wow, that's not a nice person. But the exact opposite was true in the meeting with Alfonso in that I, you know, I got to meet a human being whose evolution is a human being. I don't know, evolution. I don't know, similar paths in life and how we looked at things and events and the unknown. We didn't really know why we were there. You just sort of going, okay, how do you deal with that?

And then then we went into the technological side and we went, wow, I don't know how I'm going to pull this off. And then I met on us and I saw, wow, his son and his co writer is exactly the same. There's a sense of calm and understanding. It always went back to the emotion of the story. Then you meet the producer and you're like, oh, here comes the person you're going to hate. All of our priorities were the same in that we were all stepping into a completely unknown world. They had been in it far longer than I was. I had to play catch up, you know, and my important thing for me was, you know, I can't selfishly take journeys anymore because I have to take a little boy along with me. And I said, if you make it an amazing experience for him and make him, you know, make it so I'm not somewhere not paying attention because I'm so worried about where is he? Is he having fun? Is this a good life experience? And I think the general sense of the unknown bonded everyone together on such a human level. It was just, I, you know, if you, if you have an experience that spoils you, it ruins it for a lot of other people. And I can say that that honestly happened.

Sandra is known for her ability to expertly play off other characters, but in this film, she pretty much carries it by herself on screen alone most of the time. What was that like? I never thought about I'm the only person on screen. I thought, you know, you had the story, the elements that Haunas and Alfonso wrote, the technology was a constant character around you. How was, how were the visuals? What was it? I always went back to what was in their heads that I need to honor and help execute. So I never once thought I'm the only person because there's George who's a vital part of this film and represents life and this outlook on living that if you don't have that, this film could not exist. I still don't think about it because I feel like I'm third or fourth on the list of characters before the story, the emotional visuals, the sound, the experience of what they've created. And so that was it. It's a different type of role. Is it something she's always wanted to do?

I, you know, I had longed, I'm always, always longing to do emotionally and physically what my male counterparts always got to do. I was like, I just felt envious every time I saw a movie that I was in awe of and it was usually a male lead. And, you know, those kinds of roles weren't available. They weren't being written. So in the last couple of years, you know, whether it was by us searching for something and turning it to a female character or, you know, developing it yourself, you weren't seeing it. But they said in the last couple of years, things have shifted. And then the fact that Honas and Alfonso wrote this specifically as a woman, it wasn't, you know, an afterthought. It was, I think the integral part of the story is, I don't want to say revolutionary, but it's, it's revolutionary. And the fact that a studio on blind faith would fund something as unknown as this is revolutionary. So to be able to be the person to do it is beyond humbling. And, you know, it made you realize I have to step up and be the best version of myself. So whatever is asked of me, I can, I can produce.

So yeah, I, every day I'm, you know, I'm so grateful, so grateful. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in Gravity coming to theaters next week. Right into it. It's the very latest in pop culture. Seems like all the hype may have been worth it. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D premiered with the highest numbers in four years in the coveted 18 to 49 demo just a few days ago. It picked up 11.9 million viewers and that does not have added to it any DVR watching, by the way, that'll be put together in another number we should see within a day or so.

Right now, this puts S.H.I.E.L.D pretty close even to stuff like The Walking Dead, which had 12.4 million viewers for their series finale a few months ago and again as the best premiere on television in four years. Fox has ordered a new series called Gotham and it is one that ties into, yeah, Gotham City and Batman. It features a young Commissioner Gordon, but it will not have Batman in the series. It will focus on Gordon's early years as a detective and there will be some tie ins to some of the Batman villains and characters done by Bruno Heller from The Mentalist and also co-produced by Warner Brothers television. Actress Joanna Kelly, so famous for so many years on Warehouse 13 and about ready to wrap up that show with a five episode run coming soon to sci-fi, is now joining the cast of hostages. She'll be playing the sister of the First Lady of the U.S. on the show and should turn up in an episode sometime over the next couple of weeks.

Following a pretty popular trend, ABC has a show called Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Declassified, a catch up program to talk about the episodes each week and to give you information on things that are going on. It will appear on ABC.com, Marvel.com, WatchABC.com and the WatchABC apps that are available on various mobile devices as well. Brett Erlich will be the host, sorry Chris Hardwick, there will be recap sketches and featurettes as well and it should premiere after next week's episode. Get the point, radio. The buzz started as far back as pilot season last spring and continued right up through the premiere of Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Fox just a couple of weeks ago and we weren't disappointed.

So if we were that excited out here, imagine what it was like on the set. For people like actress Melissa Fermero who was pretty excited to talk about her role. Yes, I play detective Amy Santiago. She's a little type A, very good at what she does, definitely a tough cookie. But she wants to win all the time. She's super competitive and when she's failing at that, she can stumble around and fall on her face a little bit. We'll see that she's also kind of a nerd. She's really smart and she's proud of it.

Melissa's character balances a few different components from tough cop to cute nerd with a touch of damsel in distress tossed in. It is a difficult balance but I think we're all human beings that are not just one note and Amy is definitely that. So she's a very capable detective and what we will see in later episodes is that she can also… Amy always thinks that she's 100% dialed in and when it comes to detective work, she's on it. But when it comes to social situations and people and impressing her new captain, which she wants to do more than anything, she's not always 100% dialed in.

She can fall on her face a little bit, feel a little awkward, a little nerdy. In the past, Melissa's acting roles have pretty much been close to the way she is, well, in real life. But she loves it when she gets to stretch a bit. Yeah, I think when we were working on the show and shooting the episodes, we were just all so excited. And really, I would say the whole cast feels like we're part of something special because the characters are so great and the writing is so great.

And the cast just really gets along and we have so much fun together. So then when the reviews and things started coming out, it was like each one was just like, oh my God, it's not just us. We're not just 100% biased. Like people are joining in on the fun and liking what we're doing. And we're loving what we're doing and trying to do the best show possible.

So then to hear those responses is just very rewarding and humbling and satisfying and all those emotions. And I think for the most part, everyone felt relief than pressure, you know, because for the most part, everyone's got a good head on their shoulders. And we're just trying to go in and make the funniest show possible. So to hear that people like it is great. So beyond Brooklyn Nine-Nine, what would be Melissa's dream role?

Gosh, it's kind of a hard question to ask because before Brooklyn Nine-Nine came to me, this was it. This was the dream job. Like this, you know, I was for two years saying, I want to play a tough girl on a TV show and I want it to be funny. And I want it to be an ensemble because I want to be part of a team. And it was just when this happened, it was checking boxes off down a list of like the actor bucket list.

So I think I have to kind of like sit down and I don't know, I haven't even thought about what else I want to do. Oh, well, you know what, I guess the number one dream for me would be to be on Broadway because that was my parents took me to see a Broadway show when I was 10. And that's what really made me want to become an actor. So for me to be on a Broadway show, Broadway stage one day, I don't know, I might just retire after that because then it would be like what else is there left to do between Broadway and Brooklyn Nine-Nine like I'm done. Oh, Broadway, maybe a little singing. Does that mean we might see a musical episode down the line?

You know, there's been some jokes about that on set because there is a lot of singing that happens on set. Andrae Brower loves to sing. Terry and obviously Andy with The Lonely Island loves to sing and make up songs. Chelsea Peretti is always making up songs. So we joke that we should cool it on the singing on set because they're going to hand us some script one day that's like a musical episode. We're all going to be like, ah! All in all, she's more than willing to keep on stretching.

Yeah, absolutely. I really love what I do. And I think it's all about pushing yourself and challenging yourself and trying to be the best actor that you can be. So I don't think I would ever shy away from any roles. And I have gotten to play a couple roles where it got to be a complete B word. And it was fun. And I think in real life I'm a nice person and I don't like to be like that with people. I think you're super uncomfortable and really nervous to be that way.

But it was super fun to do it in acting. I kind of like it when you get to explore parts of your personality that you don't necessarily like to use for real life because you just be a jerk all the time. So it's fun when you get to play it for make believe. Catch Melissa along with Andy Samberg and the entire crew of Brooklyn Nine-Nine every Monday on Fox. That's it for right now. We're back in a few days with a scoop on a brand new web series that stars Gina Gershon, Emmanuelle Shaquarie, Missy Pyle and some of your other favorite faces as well. We had the exclusive scoop coming right here. In the meanwhile, follow us on Twitter and Facebook under the point radio.

Check out the podcast on websites like ComicMix dot com and Michael Davis World dot com. And of course in the iTunes podcast directory. But better than that, you can follow pop culture 24 seven at get the point radio dot com. Listen, anytime you want right down on your laptop or on your desktop and get the point radio dot com on your iPhone or your iPad with a free app available in the iTunes app store and pop culture in the point or on your Android device with the app called tune in and it's free to keep in touch. We'll see you back here in a few days. Thanks for watching.