Sandra Bullock has lifted the lid on her Ocean’s 8 cast mates, going into details on their roles in the film and how the actors stay in touch behind the scenes.
Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling and Rihanna will all star in the latest addition to the Ocean’s Franchise.
In just a few months, Ocean’s 8 will hit theatres worldwide. For several years, a reboot of the star-studded was rumored to be in the works but there was more than a little surprise when the cast for the fourth film was announced by Warner Bros. in 2015. The likes of Brad Pitt and George Clooney were out as lead characters and instead, Sandra Bullock was the star of an all-female ensemble cast.
The film and its predominantly female case will undoubtedly face scrutiny from some sections of the public. Not just for the sheer audacity of putting women on screen but for re-rebooting a popular franchise. The feature was itself, of course, a remake of the 1960 original starring Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack. Some minor reinvention was required for the trilogy which started with Ocean’s Eleven way back in 2001. A fresh-faced George Clooney starred alongside the late Bernie Mac, Matt Damon and the constantly-snacking Brad Pitt.
Ocean’s Eleven was an undoubted success. It grossed over $450 million at the worldwide box office and featured what Betway Casino considers to be the single best movie scene set in a casino, high praise considering the wealth of films set in Sin City. Ocean’s Twelve followed and despite a slump in critical reception – Twelve scored 55% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to 82% for Ocean’s Eleven – still performed well at the box office. The quality returned for 2007’s Thirteen but box office numbers continued to fall, perhaps suggesting at audience fatigue. In all, The Ocean’s Trilogy took in over $1.1 billion at the box office and marked a unique achievement for director Steven Soderbergh.
As far as ensemble heist films were concerned, that seemed to be that. Audiences appeared to vote with their feet but Warner Bros. were not content to let the idea die. Production for Ocean’s Eight began in October 2016 with Gary Ross taking the director’s chair from his long-term mentor, Soderbergh.
Sandra Bullock will reprise her role as Debbie Ocean and while it’s unclear whether her brother, Danny will appear in the film, we can still expect a star-studded cast. Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter complete the billed lineup with expected cameos from familiar faces and some of the original cast.
So, what can we expect from the new characters? In the Ocean’s Trilogy, every member of the team had their own niche like the planner, Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) or the munitions expert, Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle). Well, it seems like that is something which will continue in Ocean’s 8.
“Everyone has their specialty, yes,” the film’s star, Sandra Bullock said in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“What’s fun is that it’s not their whole life. And they haven’t been able to do what they’re brilliant at because the industry if you can call it the industry, the industry of crime hasn’t really allowed them to excel and execute what they’re good at.
“So you’ll find one who’s a stay-at-home mom with two children who sells things on the QVC. And here comes Debbie Ocean who enlists their help of them, but not because she only wants females.”
It can be hard for actors to establish on-screen relationships in large-scale ensemble films like this but it seems that the cast is having no such problems behind the scenes. Bullock claimed that the main cast share a group text conversation where they discuss, according to the Gravity star “being moms, working hard, aging, not aging and being fearful.
“We don’t realize we probably shouldn’t say those things, so we’re very open.”
Bullock also claimed that making the film was “just a great love-fest” and that “we all really value [each] others’ support because they try to keep us ladies apart for so many years.
“We’re sort of hanging on tightly because we don’t want it to be where they pull us apart again.”
It’s good to see that the cast is tight and should only improve what we see on screen. The Ocean’s Trilogy was a huge commercial success for both its cast and for Warner Bros. and the studio will be hoping that this new reboot proves just as successful. There will be a lot of intrigue once Ocean’s 8 hits theatres on June 8 and director Gary Ross will be quietly hoping to surpass the achievements of his long-term mentor and collaborator, Steven Soderbergh. If the film performs well at the box office then perhaps it could be the first in a whole new Ocean’s Trilogy. It’s probably no coincidence that the number 8 is three away from 11.
Ocean’s 8 is out nationwide June 8
