Sandra Bullock joined her fellow cast members, including Regina King and Diedrich Bader, at the historic Grauman’s Theater for the U.S. Premiere of “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous” where her co-stars couldn’t say enough good things about working with the actress/producer. Enrique Murciano, who plays a fellow FBI agent in the sequel, couldn’t stop praising Bullock’s talent and work ethic. Murciano said, “She really knows how to tell compelling stories and that’s a gift a lot of people don’t have. And she’s wonderful.” ‘Down to earth’, ‘professional’ and ‘generous’ were other compliments tossed around by Bullock’s “Miss Congeniality 2” co-stars at the movie's March 23, 2005 premiere.
INTERVIEW WITH SANDRA BULLOCK:
Why was it important to not have a love interest in this sequel?
Everyone’s made such a big deal about this. Why can’t women be in films where there’s not a love interest?
Why can’t they?
I don’t know. I think they can be. There’s love in this, there’s a lot of love in this. There’s a really developed loving friendship and people being strong with who they are and taking care of each other and backing each other. And, you know, everybody gets dumped.
You’re a producer and you have pull, why aren’t there more female buddy movies?
We’re working on it. We’re working on it. You know, there are several slated to come out. It’s a matter of if something is considered bankable. I mean, again, nothing gets made unless they think it’s got some kind of shot at something, financially or critically. And even then, it’s always a struggle to get something made. So we’re working on it. We’re getting it; we’ll fix it.
How quickly did you and Regina King click?
Oh my God, from the minute we sat down and had tea. She’s not a coffee drinker; she’ll let you know that she’s a lot healthier than I am. Instantly. And I was hoping that’s what the relationship would be like when we worked together. From the minute she opened her mouth in the audition, it was like we were just so relieved that we found the person because we thought we’d written something that couldn’t be cast. Then she blew us away. Look at her, she’s Regina King. She’s been in three Academy Award nominated films. I don’t know if you know that.
I do know that.
I know she lets me know that all the time. Ask me how many I’ve been in.
How many?
None. (Laughing) I don’t care. I have no problem with that…
What’s the funniest thing that happened on the set?
We worked so hard that the funniest thing that happened was that we got actually got 8 hours of sleep. There was no time for dilly dallying or shenanigans, we had a tight schedule.
But you did film in Vegas. Didn’t you have a chance to do anything fun during your down time?
Nothing, we slept. When you’re doing two things on a film, even though we’re done with the acting, I’m still working on the other stuff. We really didn’t do much.
So do you think you could handle it as a real FBI agent?
Of course. (Laughing) Actors always think that whatever they play on screen, we’re automatically that. Like if I’m playing a doctor, I would know what to do.
ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS FROM THE “MISS CONGENIALITY 2” PREMIERE:
Heather Burns / Diedrich Bader / Abraham Benrubi / John Pasquin & Marc Lawrence
Premiere Guests – Shohreh Aghdashloo / James Denton / Kim Raver
