- Bullock said she didn't deserve the Oscar for "The Blind Side
- Toronto International Film Festival buzzing over her in "Gravity"
- Filming the role of an astronaut set adrift was difficult
(EW.com) -- Spiraling into oblivion really helps you see things from a different perspective.
At Sunday night's premiere of "Gravity," Sandra Bullock said she felt she didn't deserve the Oscar when she won it for "The Blind Side" three years ago — and now her performance as an astronaut stranded in orbit when space debris demolishes her shuttle could win her another one.
The survival drama, out Oct. 4, got an intense reaction as the Toronto International Film Festival's opening weekend drew to a close, with many marveling at both the technical and emotional achievements of director Alfonso Cuarón ("Children of Men," "Harry Potter" and the "Prisoner of Azkaban.")
Actors Liam, from left, Chris and Luke Hemsworth attend the "Rush" premiere during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 8, in Toronto. The festival runs until September 15. More than 200 features will be shown, including more than 100 world premieres.
Actress Hilary Swank attends the amfAR Inspiration Gala during the festival on September 8.
Mireille Enos, a cast member in "Devil's Knot," poses with her husband, actor Alan Ruck, at the premiere of the film on September 8.
Actor Adrien Brody attends the amfAR Inspiration Gala on September 8.
Director Ron Howard attends the "Rush" premiere on September 8.
Actor Steve Coogan of "Philomena" poses at the Guess Portrait Studio on September 8.
Actors Richard Grant, from left, Jude Law and Emilia Clarke attend the party for Fox Searchlight's Premiere of "Dom Hemingway" on September 8.
Actress Sandra Bullock signs autographs at the "Gravity" premiere on September 8.
Actress Katee Sackhoff attends the "Oculus" premiere on September 8.
Actors Idris Elba and Naomie Harris appear at the press conference for "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" on September 8.
Actor Alan Cumming attends the amfAR Inspiration Gala during the festival on September 8.
Actress Reese Witherspoon attends the "Devil's Knot" premiere on September 8.
Actress Jennifer Morrison arrives at the premiere of "Gravity" on September 8.
Actress Catherine Keener, from left, director Nicole Holofcener and actresses Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Toni Collette pose for a picture at the photo call for "Enough Said" on September 8.
Actors Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis attend the "Rush" premiere on September 8.
Actress Amy Poehler signs autographs at the "You Are Here" premiere at the film festival on Saturday, September 7.
Irrfan Khan, left, and Ritesh Batra appear at Guess Portrait Studio on September 7.
Actors Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin appear at the press conference for "Labor Day" on Day Three of the film festival on September 7.
Actor Terrence Howard of "Prisoners" poses at the Guess Portrait Studio on September 7.
Actor Richard Ayoade appears at the Variety Studio at Holt Renfrew on September 7.
Keira Knightley and Adam Levine introduce the film "Can a Song Save your Life?" at the premiere on September 7.
Actors Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto arrive at the "Dallas Buyers Club" premiere on September 7.
Actress Elizabeth Olsen appears at the Variety Studio at Holt Renfrew on September 7.
Actor Tom Felton of "Therese" poses at the Guess Portrait Studio on September 7.
Documentary subject/music manager Shep Gordon, left, and musician Alice Cooper attend the "Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon" party on September 7.
Actor Clive Owen arrives for the screening of the movie "Words and Pictures" on September 7.
Actress Jessica Lange appears at the Variety Studio at Holt Renfrew during the festival on September 7.
Actors Sarah Paulson and Paul Giamatti attend the Fox Searchlight TIFF Party on September 7.
Actor-director Mike Myers attends the "Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon" premiere during the film festival on September 7.
Actor Michael C. Hall attends the Sony Pictures Classics' cast dinner on September 7.
Actor Brad Pitt arrives for the screening of the film "12 Years a Slave" at the film festival on Friday, September 6.
Actress Susan Sarandon appears at "The Last Of Robin Hood" premiere during the festival at Isabel Bader Theatre on September 6.
Actor Jake Gyllenhaal arrives for the "Prisoners" screening on September 6.
Actor/director Jason Bateman, actor Rohan Chand and actress Kathryn Hahn of "Bad Words" pose at the Guess Portrait Studio on September 6.
Jason Reitman, left, Scott Thompson, Dakota Fanning, Jesse Eisenberg, Dane Cook, Marc-André Grondin, Jason Sudeikis, Olivia Wilde, Josh Brolin, Jordan Hayes and Jarod Einsohn arrive at Jason Reitman's live reading of "Boogie Nights" on Day
Two of the film festival at the Ryerson Theatre on September 6.
Kristen Wiig, a cast member in "Hateship Loveship," arrives at the premiere of the film at The Princess of Wales Theatre on September 6.
Hugh Jackman, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal arrive at the premiere of "Prisoners" at the Elgin Theatre on September 6.
Actors Daniel Radcliffe and Juno Temple of "Horns" pose at the Guess Portrait Studio on September 6.
Producer Livia Giuggioli and actor Colin Firth arrive at "The Railway Man" premiere at the Roy Thomson Hall on September 6.
Actress Nicole Kidman arrives for the film premiere of "The Railway Man" on September 6.
Actors Paul Giamatti, from left, Jacki Weaver, Zac Efron and Colin Hanks and director Peter Landesman of "Parkland" take a group shot at the Guess Portrait Studio during festival on September 6.
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch arrives at "The Fifth Estate" premiere during the film festival on Thursday, September 5.
Actress Glenn Close arrives at "The Big Chill" 30th anniversary screening at the Princess of Wales Theatre on September 5.
Actor Kevin Kline attends "The Big Chill" 30th anniversary screening on September 5.
Actor Tom Hiddleston greets fans at the "Only Lovers Left Alive" premiere at the Ryerson Theatre on September 5.
Actress Carice van Houten attends "The Fifth Estate" premiere on September 5.
The "All Cheerleaders Die" premiere at the Ryerson Theatre featured its own cheer team.
Actress Alicia Vikander arrives at "The Fifth Estate" premiere on September 5.
Actor Dan Stevens at the gala for "The Fifth Estate" on September 5.
Tom Berenger shares a laugh with co-stars Meg Tilly, from left, Glenn Close, Mary Kay Place and JoBeth WIlliams before the reunion screening of the 1983 film "The Big Chill" on September 5.
Musicians Lenny Kaye and Patti Smith attend the "Only Lovers Left Alive" premiere at the Ryerson Theatre on September 5.
Photographers and fans vie for celebrities' attention on the red carpet at the gala for "The Fifth Estate."
Photos: Toronto Film Festival 2013
Expect "Gravity" to be a major player at the Academy Awards this year in all the top categories. It should easily win in the visual effects category, and will be a heavy-duty competitor in the others. Bullock is also a near certain Best Actress nominee, although she said her 2010 win still hasn't sunk in.
"I think most people have that out-of-body experience when they win the Oscar. I had a little newborn at home, so my body was already out of itself," Bullock said in response to a question about awards season during the post-screening Q&A with festival-goers. "I still haven't gotten around to having my moment with it yet. Maybe one day it will come."
She'll face formidable opponents in the race. Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine, Kate Winslet in "Labor Day," and Emma Thompson from "Saving Mr. Banks" are among the potential nominees generating voter buzz.
Bullock said awards talk is just part of the fun of festivals, and tried to put the coveted prize in a more grounded context. "What it does do is make you realize how hard you have to work to earn it," she said. "I didn't feel worthy of it when I got it. So I thought, okay, I'm going to spend the rest of my life hopefully earning it --- but having a really good time in the process, as well."
Except the making "Gravity" was ... anything but fun.
Since the film is set in orbit, she was often strung up on wires, or locked in a device that spun her wildly in different directions while multiple cameras shot close ups of her face. That footage was later woven into photo-real animation of her and George Clooney in jeopardy, floating far above the Earth.
"It was painful, I remember. Not for me -- but for you," Cuarón said.
Bullock didn't hesitate to agree. "Jess," she said, imitating his accent as she explained to the crowd: "That's 'yes.'"
Whenever she got frustrated, she would mock his Spanish accent, Cuarón said.
"It was frustrating, it was painful, and it was isolating. But how lucky am I that I got to have all those frustrations, you know, built in?" Bullock told the crowd. "That's something people who are in the position these characters are in [would be] experiencing a thousand-fold."
That didn't mean she let Cuarón or David Heyman (producer of the "Harry Potter" films) escape a little of the agony.
"After a while you just used it. And you wanted to kill David and Alfonso regularly, and I used that as well," she joked. "Just all your hate, and anger, and rage -- you just give forth in your work, and hope it translates on the screen."
Clooney didn't attend the screening (he's on the other side of Canada shooting director Brad Bird's "Tomorrowland" in Vancouver.) But most of the movie is focused on Bullock's character anyway, with Clooney in a supporting turn as the captain of the space shuttle.
Turning serious, Bullock said there was one part of the role that was particularly special to her.
"It was an amazing experience to do as an actor, but I think more importantly as a woman," she said, thanking Cuaron, who wrote the script with his son, Jonás . "It could have very easily [become] the role of a man.
See the original story here at EW.com.
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