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'Our Brand Is Crisis' star Sandra Bullock: 'Politics have always been a comedy/tragedy'

Bullock stars in 'Crisis' as Jane Bodine, a political strategist who helps boost the campaign of a Bolivian presidential candidate. 'You can't write stories like this based on pure fiction,' she said of the politics in the movie. 'This is based on absolute reality.'

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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/AP
'Our Brand Is Crisis' stars Sandra Bullock.
  • By Reuters

Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock plays a political spin doctor in satirical comedy "Our Brand is Crisis," taking a look at the tactics of election campaigns.

The Hollywood actress portrays political strategist Jane Bodine, who is coaxed out of a self-imposed retirement to help boost the campaign of a Bolivian presidential candidate struggling in the election polls.

"Politics have always been a comedy/tragedy," Bullock said at the film's premiere in Los Angeles. "I think now the curtain has just been pulled back and everyone gets to see it. It has always been the same. You can't write stories like this based on pure fiction. This is based on absolute reality."

Spurring Bodine's decision is the opportunity to beat her rival, Pat Candy – played by fellow Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton – who is with the opposition.

"The (film's) message – yes, politics as a backdrop, but it is more about consequences, big business, how far is too far? When you start harming others for power and extreme wealth, eventually you have to get off the carousel," Bullock said.

"Who is going to grow a conscience and who is going to say enough money is enough money? It is more about big business than it is about politics. But politics made a fun backdrop because it is so real and in your face."

Bullock's "Gravity" co-star George Clooney is a producer on the film, which was directed by David Gordon Green, known for "Pineapple Express."

Bullock won an Oscar for her role in the 2009 movie “The Blind Side,” which tells the story of a family who takes in a teenage football player. She was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the 2013 science fiction movie “Gravity,” in which she plays an astronaut who becomes stranded in space and must find her way home.

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