Sandra Bullock believes the Bird Box crew felt “fear” working under a female director.
The actress stars in the film as a mother of two children, who are forced to travel blindfolded in order to escape a supernatural entity which takes on the appearance of its victims’ worst fears and causes them to commit suicide. Susanne Bier, the first female director to win a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, an Emmy Award and a European Film Award, has helmed the post-apocalyptic thriller, and Bullock reckons her male colleagues experienced some uneasiness working under a woman.
“Because the boss was a woman. I did see a lot of fear in our crew members,” she recalled in an interview with The Independent. “The men were walking on eggshells. So I said: ‘Guys, you’re allowed to joke, we’ll tell you when you’ve gone too far.’”
Bird Box began a limited release on 14 December (18) and will begin streaming worldwide on Netflix on 21 December. Features made specifically for streaming services have proven to be controversial with film executives in the past, with Netflix films even being banned from competing in this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Though Bullock is adamant that “cinema is not going anywhere,” she has also seen benefits of incorporating movies into streaming platforms.
“I know it struggled, but the streaming world has elevated the bar for cinema,” the Gravity star insisted. “(Before), if you were a superhero, you were able to get a movie made; anything else was not getting made. Now, with streaming, we have all kinds of work available, so we can act again. This wonderful business is changing, and providing so many more opportunities for women, and people of colour. There’s a great change happening.”
