“Gravity” has the most hype of any film this year — and for good reason. The Oscar hopeful set a record for biggest October opening last week, bringing in an estimated $55.6 million (beating out former front-runner “Paranormal Activity 3,” which earned $52.6 million in 2011). It was also the biggest opening ever for A-list co-stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, who have long sought the perfect film to work on together. Whether you’ve already seen it in the theater or are waiting for the buzz to die down, here are some of the secrets to this week’s hottest movie:
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1. George Clooney had to be reigned in
Clooney is a notorious prankster on film sets, but due to the intensity of shooting “Gravity,” he left Bullock alone. “There was a truce . . . This film was so hard — pranks had no place. We had no downtime. How are you going to prank someone who’s hanging from a scaffolding where 12 wires are rigged up all day? We had a truce from the very get-go because that just wasn’t the appropriate place to prank someone,” Clooney told the audience during a Comic-Con panel in San Diego in July.
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2. There is no wardrobe department in space
There were really only two looks for Bullock’s character. When she wasn’t in her spacesuit, the Oscar-winning actress donned Under Armor mesh boy shorts and a Navy-issue tank top.
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3. The music is out of this world
Because there’s no noise in space, “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuarón wanted a musical score that avoided the stereotypical explosions you hear in action films. Thus, Cuarón demanded that percussion be omitted from the soundtrack.
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4. Bullock tried to look like a man for the role
Six months before shooting commenced, Bullock began a daily workout regimen. Her goal was to strip her character of her femininity to reflect the tragedy her character had experienced as a mother. “I wanted to remove what she looked like as a woman, what reminded her of being feminine and motherly, just so that the body was a machine,” Bullock said at the Toronto International Film Festival.
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5. She also had a direct line to the Space Station during filming
The actress’ brother-in-law happened to meet the brother of astronaut Cady Coleman, who was aboard the International Space Station while Bullock was filming. Bullock passed along her cellphone number and Coleman was patched through from space, offering tips on issues ranging from how to move in zero gravity to how to deal with the psychological toll of being unable to go home.
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6. It's true: it is lonely in outer space
To fake the feel of zero gravity and perfect the lighting, Cuarón created a “light box” — a 9-by-9-foot box filled with lights and monitors where Bullock and Clooney would spend hours on end suspended by cables. But Bullock spent considerably more time in the box than Clooney.
“In the middle of the shoot, I was so lonely and frustrated — it’s kind of like solitary confinement. I thought, if I were up in that thing [the spaceship], at least I’d be communicating with some people,” Bullock said in a CNN interview.
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7. Unlike real astronauts, Bullock got permission to bring her son, Louis, with her
Before accepting the lost-in-space role, Bullock insisted on accommodations for her 3-year-old son. “It has to be a great time for my son. I can’t miss him. If I miss him, I will be of no use to you,” Bullock, in a People interview, recalled telling Cuarón .Co-star Clooney helped with that, reportedly playing basketball with the tot on the set while Bullock was busy filming.