It’s the sleeper hit no one saw coming. The Blind Side has amassed almost $150 million. Last weekend, it even charged past the seemingly unstoppable The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

For Sandra Bullock, the surprise success could well translate to her first best-actress Oscar nomination. Why? Because not only is it the sort of showy, fact-based role Academy voters tend to reward (Erin Brockovich, anyone?), but Bullock is also having one of the best years of her career. This summer, The Proposal crested to $300 million in worldwide box office.

Also benefitting is Quinton Aaron, the acting newcomer who stars as Michael Oher, a homeless African-American teenager who, after being adopted by the family of a Memphis socialite (Bullock), goes on to become a gridiron superstar. Oher is now an offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens.

“Me and Michael have a lot of similarities as far as our personalities,” says Aaron. “We’re both gentle giants and keep to ourselves. We were both the biggest kids in our school.”

But that doesn’t mean he felt the need to meet Oher beforehand. “I’m playing the person he was — not the man he’s become.”

MONEYBALL BOUNCES BACK: Brad Pitt might have his eye on the Moneyball, after all.

Earlier this year, Steven Soderbergh was on-board to direct Pitt in Moneyball, the fact-based account of how Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane led his unconventional team of underdogs on a sensational winning streak.

But just days before cameras were to roll, Sony executives shut the production down, at odds with Soderbergh over the film’s tone.

Now, Capote director Bennett Miller has been drafted to salvage the project, after rewrites by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). At this point, Pitt is still expected to star as Beane.

UN-BOURNE? It’s starting to look like it’s three-strikes and out for Jason Bourne.

Matt Damon told QMI Agency last weekend that he will not be onboard for another Bourne movie if director Paul Greengrass is not onboard.

Greengrass (who directed the second and third instalments, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum) issued a statement 10 days ago saying, “My decision to not return a third time as director is simply about feeling the call for a different challenge.

“There’s been no disagreement with Universal Pictures. The opportunity to work with the Bourne family again is a difficult thing to pass up, but we have discussed this together and they have been incredibly understanding and supportive.”

However, reports have popped up saying the dispute is over a Bourne script Universal commissioned without consulting Greengrass, plus studio concerns over his free spending.

Asked if it was “no Greengrass, no Damon,” Damon replied, “I’ve always said that.” But he added he was hopeful the rift between the studio and director could be mended. “I think it’ll happen down the road. We just don’t have a script yet that everybody can agree on.”

SKY PILOT: Add Morgan Freeman — who plays Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s Invictus — to the list of high-flying actors with private planes.

Freeman, who has been a licenced pilot for seven years and has been known to commute to film sets via Cessna, flew his brand new $5-million Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 Light Business Jet to South Africa last week for the openings of Invictus in Johannesburg, Capetown and Soweto.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 12th, 2009 at 2:52 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.