Sandra Bullock on how her nanny's boyfriend inspired that amazing sequin jumpsuit in The Lost City
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Rain, mud, and Channing Tatum were no match for the bedazzled onesie romance novelist Loretta (Sandra Bullock) wears for most of The Lost City.
For all the jumpsuit's flashy glamour, it was really quite hardy: "The fabric held up under water and made it through a lot of mud with surprising strength," says veteran costume designer Marlene Stewart, who made 18 versions of the outfit for the star and her stunt double. "Strangely, the sequins were a bit like mini bits of chain mail!" We sat down with Bullock to learn more about the glittery garment.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Can you tell me a little bit about this amazing jumpsuit? Is it sequined? Is it lined?
SANDRA BULLOCK: I can tell you a lot about this jumpsuit. It was based on my real life in that I have such a panic when it comes to doing press and red carpet and I'm like, "I can't, I can't, I can't." And somehow I always navigate to some jumpsuit, and I'm like, "Yes, I am a superhero." And then I realize I'm just reverting back to my toddler days when everything was a onesie. [The jumpsuit] wasn't in the script. We thought, "What's the most uncomfortable, awkward thing that you can put [Loretta], this introvert, into?" So we were like, "Let's do a sequin jumpsuit in a jungle."
Kimberley French/Paramount Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in 'The Lost City'
Why purple?
I had gotten these gorgeous flowers for our nanny, who we love so much. But her boyfriend had gotten her a big bouquet. I was like, "Oh, I can't send her a bouquet. It's c---blocking his bouquet." So as it was dying, [costume designer] Marlene Stewart and I were on a Zoom, and I kept holding up the dead flower, like, "It's this color. Look how good it looks next to my skin."
What about the fabric?
Marlene found the fabric in Italy. They had just enough for us to make all these different versions of the suit. We didn't want to be leaving behind a footprint of sequins in the Dominican jungle. We actually have a moment in the film where I did drop sequins for the story, but we had to yank it off the suit because they were such great sequins. But they can't scratch Channing's face when you're doing physical stunts. Marlene thinks of things that anyone who is beginning in this industry wouldn't think of: How will it look if it stretches too tight? How much will we have to fix in post? Of course the one thing we thought was okay: Does it mess with the lines if you make it so I could pee? And we realized it did.
Ah.
I was like, "Oh, I'll be fine." Here I am for a month in the Dominican jungle in those high-heeled boots, a onesie, I can't pee, and every weekend I'm attached to an IV because we are so dehydrated and people are passing out on the ground. I was like, "I don't care. I'm not going to take this off and pee in the jungle." Because when you drop the top, you're naked. You're just naked to the jungle.
Kimberley French/Paramount (L-R) Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, and Channing Tatum star in 'The Lost City.'
Was it soft on the inside so it didn't scratch you?
Yeah, it had this black mesh. It wasn't crazy soft, but I didn't get out of it at the end of the day screaming in pain. Also, we didn't have any boob pasties because I would put it on and sometimes it would cut my boobs in half and it would look weird. So we'd just taped my boobs back. We were in the jungle, so basically it was duct tape. By the end of the film, I had duct tape burns all over my body. I'm like, "It's okay. The jumpsuit looked fantastic."
Amazing.
It was a character. We literally had an arc for the jumpsuit. It gets set up and it gets paid off in the very last scene of the film. It literally has its own story arc. Who cares about me? It's the jumpsuit. The jumpsuit is a true star. I just got word today that our jumpsuit is going on tour.
What?
We're going to have it in different countries and let people try it on. And I was like, "Good luck with that." It's kind of nice. It reminded me of the olden days when the costumes just had a real presence in films.
The Lost City hit theaters today.
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