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Featuring the star of All About Steve...

Kim Hollis: Do you think The Blind Side does as well as it did if someone other than Sandra Bullock had starred in it? How much of it is star power and how much is story?

Pete Kilmer: This was the role Susan Sarandon or Goldie Hawn would have done 20 years or so ago. Having Bullock do it now is smart for her and her career. And I agree with Jason about comparing this role to Julia Roberts/Erin Brokovich deal. However, Sandra has been smarter in her career choices in the last few years compared to Julia and she may have the longer term career because of it.

Josh Spiegel: I would argue that having Bullock as the lead did a big help. The story is interesting no matter who the star is, but Bullock seems a good fit for the role; unlike the flop that is All About Steve, this seemed like something closer to her style, a character we could buy her playing. Of course, the previews made it seem like Connie Britton's Tami Taylor on Friday Night Lights fosters a new student, but Britton wouldn't be getting enough butts in seats.

Reagen Sulewski: The only other person I can think of that might have had the same effect and would have been right for the role is Julia Roberts.





Jim Van Nest: Unfortunately, this kind of movie needed a Sandra Bullock. Without the "ooh, new Sandy Bullock flick", no one would have cared enough to find out that it is a great story.

Kim Hollis: I agree, Jim. Without her, it's a very small box office performer. She has a real charisma and humor in the commercials that really appeals, on top of the fact that she's already coming off The Proposal.

Jason Lee: Bullock is indispensable. You get the wattage of her star power, plus the buzz of "Bullock is doing a great turn in a dramatic film." To me, this follows in the vein of Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich - but without the Oscar ending.

Tom Macy: Certainly a combination. After horror films, sports movies are probably the most paint- by-numbers movie mold out there. So that safe bet factor will always get a certain number of people out. But I give that girl who drove the bus in that one movie her due. It's easy to dismiss Sandra Bullock sometimes. As Hollywood actresses go, she doesn't have the real iconic award role, like Hilary Swank or Reese Witherspoon, or giant franchise of Kirsten Dunst, or Keira Knightley - that jumps out when you think of her. But looking over her track record, she's maintained a remarkable level of consistency. Clearly she has a quietly devoted fan base. Even if they don't show up every time, people pay attention when she's in something. Since breaking out in Speed in 1994, she's made 34 films that no one remembers (do NOT say the C word to me, in order to get out of bed every day I need to pretend that movie doesn't exist) yet 27 of them opened over to $10 million. With a bland, yet still nourishing presence that continues to resonate with audiences, Sandra Bullock is the oatmeal of leading ladies.

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