SANDRA BULLOCK - FALLING BACK IN LOVE WITH LIFE

THE LOST CITY STAR SPILLS ON HER NEW ROLE, WORKING WITH THE MEN BEHIND MAGIC MIKE AND HARRY POTTER

- Jennie Noonan

After a tough couple of years riding out the pandemic, Sandra Bullock reveals that she jumped at the chance to produce and star in the raucous adventure comedy The Lost City. “It's been a long time since I have laughed, other than at myself, and just relaxed with a project," says the star, who in her last film The Unforgivable barely cracked a smile in her role as a murderer released after 20 years in prison.

In this fun adventure movie, Bullock plays a romance novelist who is yanked out of her daily rut when kidnapped by a wealthy, eccentric criminal (Daniel Radcliffe) who takes her on a treasure hunt deep in the jungle. Channing Tatum plays the novelist's clueless cover model who endeavors to rescue her, sporadically helped out by a mysterious mercenary (Brad Pitt, in a cameo).

"It's the kind of pure escapism we really need right now," continues Bullock, 57. "I love how this is a movie about life and we all need to find a way to fall back in love with it. This is a movie we can all enjoy and laugh at together as a community, which I think is really important right now."

If watching the movie is half as fun as making it, that would be a great start. "It was three months of pure joy in the jungle." Bullock, who found she had great comedic chemistry with Tatum, says. "Every day, we would laugh and laugh together. We were also so lucky to have such a brilliant script to work with and also the freedom to explore those scenes and come up with more and more hilarious lines ... I'm amazed we managed to make a movie out of it actually because we were just too busy having fun." One scene, in particular, stands out as a highlight. “It's not every day you get to dig leeches out of Magic Mike's ass and speak to his crotch!" she laughs.