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‘Gravity’ Teaser Trailer: Bullock & Clooney Are Lost in Space

Gravity
Gravity

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney find space travel to be mighty perilous in "Gravity," the new sci-fi thriller from director Alfonso Cuaron and the filmmaker's first feature in seven years.

Bullock is taking a major step out of her comfort zone in her first-ever sci-fi film. At one point in the teaser trailer, Bullock, dressed in full astronaut gear and floating away in space says in a panic, "I'm spinning. ... Can't breathe!"

The new trailer opens with Clooney and Bullock sharing an idyllic moment in space, with Clooney musing over how "terrific" the sunrise is from their particular position. A title card then tells us that the duo is 372 miles above the surface of the Earth, seemingly involved in repairing a satellite. It's all very pleasant and set to soothing piano music until some sort of debris smashes into their space shuttle, and from there it's an "Apollo 13" kind of crisis ... except the astronauts are actually outside their ship in this scenario.

After that, there's Bullock panicking and spinning around as things crash into each other until the teaser closes in deadly silence, with Bullock seemingly alone and pleading, "Anybody ... please copy." Apparently, she and Clooney get separated, and it looks like getting back to Earth is going to be quite the difficult undertaking.

Watch the teaser trailer for 'Gravity':

The teaser trailer isn't much (and barely runs 90 seconds), but it succeeds in getting one excited simply for the fact that Alfonso Cuaron is making another movie. The ultra-intense and extremely moving "Children of Men" (2006) was nothing short of spectacular, and Cuaron's contribution to the "Harry Potter" franchise, "The Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004), was the first "Potter" film to have any personality (this writer considers it the best of the series, actually). And then there's "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (2001), Cuaron's brash, brazen and heartbreaking tale of two teenage boys and the older woman who teaches them how to be men.

"Gravity" has something of a difficult time getting off the ground. It was in development at Universal for several years before being acquired by Warner Bros., where it got the attention of Angelina Jolie, who ultimately declined the role due to alleged salary disputes and to concentrate on her directing debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey" (2011). Cuaron offered the role to Natalie Portman upon her receiving accolades for her performance in "Black Swan," though she declined shortly before she announced her pregnancy. Robert Downey Jr. was also originally attached to the project but dropped out in November 2010 to pursue a starring role in "How to Talk to Girls," a project that never came to pass.

Production commenced in London in May 2011, with the film originally set to be released in November 2012. "Gravity" will finally land in theaters on October 4.