Both David Gordon Green and Sandra Bullock are in the good books of moviegoers again. The director of Joe and Prince Avalanche has redeemed himself after a few big-budget comedy misfires (do I even need to mention Your Highness?), and Bullock has turned into a quality actor who can also bring in big crowds. Three of her last four films – The Blind Side, The Heat and Gravity – were resounding box office successes, and landed her two Oscar nominations and one win. With that in mind, the indie director is now attached to Our Brand Is Crisis, a political dramedy that Bullock is set to star in.
Our Brand in Crisis comes from Smokehouse Pictures producers Grant Heslov and George Clooney and was recently greenlit by Warner Bros., the studio behind Argo, another true-story political drama from Smokehouse. Green’s film is based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, which looked at American strategists-for-hire who work for political campaigns around the world, spreading an idealized American democracy into countries as far as the Middle East and South America.
Green’s film will likely focus more specifically on the role of James Carville’s political consulting firm and how that changed a presidential election in Bolivia, as the documentary had. It will likely be the director’s most political film to date, and with The Men Who Stare at Goats scribe Peter Straughan on writing duties, Our Brand Is Crisis could be sharply funny as well.
Sandra Bullock has not starred in many political films in her career. While this project looks like it could be for a niche audience given the subject matter, Bullock is a proven draw and could bring this story a larger audience. Meanwhile, Green is on a bit of a role in terms of crafting quality, character-driven dramas, such as Joe and his upcoming Manglehorn, starring Al Pacino and debuting at the Toronto Film Festival next month.
An intriguing topic, a big box office star, a revived indie giant and the producing team behind Argo should make Our Brand in Crisis a must-see whenever it hits theaters.