Way before Sandra Bullock was cast as the lead in the blockbuster movie, “The Blind Side,” execs at 20th Century Fox wanted Julia Roberts to star in the film.
Roberts turned down the role. Fox reportedly wanted to alter the script and change the lead to a male.
The film is based on the true story of Leigh Anne Tuohy, a Caucasian interior decorator in Memphis who adopts a homeless African American teen and assists the young man in achieving academic and athletic success. He is presently a starter for the Baltimore Ravens NFL football team.
All the major Hollywood studios had taken a pass on the movie. Enter Alcon, a small independent production and finance company with a very powerful financial ally named Fred Smith, founder and CEO of Federal Express.
As a matter of fact, ever since Smith’s youngest son, Cannon, took a date with the Tuohys' daughter, Collins, Smith has been a friend of the family.
Using the Fed Ex connection, Alcon produced some relatively low budget family friendly films like “My Dog Skip” and “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” which did fairly well at the box-office.
When Bullock was approached for the starring role in “Blind Side,” her standard fee was north of $10 million and 10% of the gross. However, Alcon was dealing with a limited $35 million movie budget.
Following negotiations, Bullock agreed to take half her normal fee upfront and a larger piece of the box-office take.
Without Bullock in the role, it is unlikely that the film would have had the magic that it did and possibly would never have been completed. The actress will reap the rewards, though, since the movie’s staggering box-office will actually put her take higher than $25 mill.
Once again Alcon exposed an underserved part of the American audience. The company marketed to communities that are not typically on Hollywood’s radar screen.
As a result, the film’s initial box-office in major cities was relatively small. But it was phenomenal in places like Sacramento, CA and Plano, TX.
Eventually, word of mouth took over and catapulted “The Blind Side” right into the big-screen stratosphere.
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