Comic-Con: The bizarre story of how Sandra Bullock spent ‘Gravity’ shoot locked away in an isolated cube

Sandra Bullock speaks to crowd at Comic-Con (AP)When director Alfonso Cuarón set out to make his next film, “Gravity,” he knew capturing the scenes of astronauts floating through space would require the use of innovative, new technology.

And for unlucky star Sandra Bullock, that meant spending 10 hours a day locked in a 9-by-9-foot cube that kept her isolated from her fellow cast members, and the world. Furthermore, inside the cube, she was strapped in a harness that kept her largely immobile. For comparison, the average prison cell measures 8 feet by 6 feet.

“There was no improvising. The physical part was so scary,” Bullock said of her experience during an appearance in support of the upcoming film at Comic-Con on Saturday.

Not only was Bullock locked inside the cube during filming, but Cuarón used a special camera that would rush toward Bullock’s face at 25 mph, stopping only about an inch from her face, according to producer David Heyman. And because she was strapped in place inside the cube, there was no way for her to move out of the camera’s way should something go wrong.

“What was even scarier than that was the technology was being created on the spot,” Bullock said. Cuarón "was like the evil puppeteer. If that robot did decide to continue through my face, I couldn't have gotten out of the way.”

The film crew created the cube to capture footage that would accurately simulate the look of an astronaut floating through the darkness of space. "The cube was designed to continually capture her point of view while floating alone in space," Cuarón said.

Bullock spent so much time hidden away inside the cube that she and the crew had to come up with creative ways to help keep her from going stir-crazy.

“They had me strung up for 8-10 hours day,” she said. “I learned to meditate up there. Alfonso gave me boxes of CDs with sounds that would set the tone for a scene and help me stay in the right head space.”

Still, Bullock said the isolation and cramped space were preferable to the original plan: Sending her and co-star George Clooney into a “vomit comet,” a reduced-gravity airplane that flies up into the Earth’s stratosphere and then enters periods of free fall, dropping several thousand feet per second, briefly creating a zero-gravity environment.

“It was a very intense experience for Sandra,” Cuarón said. “Sandra was completely insulated inside that cube. In between takes, she would stay inside there, with her music, inside her zone.”

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Comic Con: 16 hours in line and thousands of dollars spent

Thousands of fans wait in line to attend a presentation in Comic Con's
Ballroom 20 (Eric Pfeiffer/Yahoo! Ne …Want to be first in line for a coveted seat inside Comic Con's Ballroom 20 or Hall H? You might want to get used to sleeping outdoors.

And just waiting for the opportunity to spend hours in line will set you back a pretty penny.

"For panels you'll spend most time in line," attendee Andrew Dinglasan told Yahoo! News. "We've been here since 4pm yesterday."

Dinglasan and his friends had already waited more than 16 hours in line to attend a panel on anime inside Ballroom 20. The ballroom is Comic Con's second biggest venue, only trailing behind the infamous Hall H, home to the biggest panel presentations put on by the major television and movie studios.

"Being in front of the line is a big deal," added Max Gamble, an attendee not in costume but whose actual name puts him in good company with the thousands waiting in line. "You realize most at the convention is spent in line. So, you have to pick and choose what you really want to see."

Andrew Dinglasan and Max Gamble celebrate their front of line
victory at Comic Con (Eric Pfeiffer/Yahoo! Ne …

And then there's the cost. Technically, a ticket to Comic Con is only $175. But for most attendees there are travel expenses, hotel accommodations, meals, and the oh so precious fan merchandise and memorabilia on sale.

For example, attendee Jeff DeLeeuw told Yahoo! News he spent about $400 for his round trip flight to San Diego from Seattle. He's crammed into a two bedroom hotel with seven other friends still spent about $200 a night for the cramped accommodations. Other individuals spend upwards of $1,000 per night for a room within walking distance of the San Diego Convention Center. Even a hotel several miles away can cost upwards of $500 per night, if you're lucky enough to even book one.

DeLeeuw said he's budgeted around $200 to spend on toys, even though he said they aren't a priority for him.

And let's not forget about food. "We by about $100 in groceries each day and split those," DeLeeuw said.

"You basically start saving throughout the year," Gamble added. "But yeah, it's definitely worth it."

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Up to 80% of the time spent online at work is ' wasted, ' according to study

Almost 80 percent work hours spent online are wasted on quote "cyberloafing" (AFP) are you're reading this article when it is supposed to work.

A new study from Kansas State University suggests that we spend even more time than previously thought browsing aimlessly on the Internet during office hours.
"Cyberloafing" — wasting time at work online — takes as much as 80% of the time people spend online at work, according to data collected by Joseph Urgin-minefield, an Assistant Professor at Kansas State and John Pearson, associate professor at Southern Illinois University.
The results were published in the latest issue of the journal computers in human behavior.
Their findings also suggest that the traditional guidelines surrounding the use of the Internet is not sufficient to police worker behavior, and that if companies really want to downsize the amount their employees time browsing on the Web, they must "constantly apply" sanctions to support their policies cyberloafing.
"We found that for young people, it was hard to get them to think that social networking was unacceptable behavior," said Ugrin. "Just have a policy in place will not change their attitudes or behavior at all. Even when they knew that were monitored, they still didn't care. "
Then again, not necessarily all "cyberloafing" can be measured as a net loss for businesses. 2011 study found that in certain fields, when people spend time casually browsing the Web at work, actually end up being more productive and creative.
The risks for employers go beyond lost productivity. Ugrin and Pearson point out that also poses risks cyberloafing lawyers for companies if their employees are engaged in activities such as viewing pornography or participate in illegal transactions.
Ugrin and Pearson found that waste of time was spent in almost equal measure among the different age groups but that generational differences have been expressed in various ways in which people specifically wasting their time.
"Older people are doing things like managing their finances, while young people are much more acceptable to spend time on social networking sites like Facebook," said Ugrin.
And while the study authors approve tougher sanctions to enforce the conduct of employee and productivity, say employers must maintain a healthy balance so as not to negatively affect Office morale.
"People feel like big brother is watching them, so companies need to be careful when you take these kinds of actions," said Ugrin.

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