July 27, 1995
(CNN) -- The lead role in "The Net" required some big screen electricity, and some computer screen literacy. Enter the actress with gigabytes of cerebral moxie, Sandra Bullock. When CNN's Paul Vercammen told her, "I don't mean this in a demeaning way but you are bit of a computer geek," she laughed and asked how she should take that. "As a compliment." Well, she responded, "If I'm the end result of that, then I am, and I'm proud of it."
In "The Net," Bullock plays a computer-virus killing whiz, Angela Bennett, a character shaped with her own Internet surfing safari experience. She says, "It's fun. It's like, you know, you have little chat lines every single day, you can log in and meet new people, and find out new things about the world. Current events, traveling, everything, anything, you know it's pretty much there." (816K Quicktime movie)
Bullock talks daily with family and friends on the Internet, and she admits to flirting once. What happened? Not much. "You go in the flirt nook but you know, me being new, you're always a little hesitant. You're like 'hello?' and nobody answers ... 'Hi, anybody out there?'"
In "The Net," a rendezvous with a handsome Englishman proves near-fatal. Thus, says Bullock, "The moral of the story is you don't go to Mexico and have an affair, because he'll try to kill you."
So who would want to delete her? Try some cyber-terrorists manipulating computers at the New York Stock Exchange and airports. Bullock, as the hacker who can stop them, mysteriously loses her identity, her house, and gains a criminal record. Bullock believes such high-tech espionage is possible in real life: "Somebody knows what you bought, what kind of habits you have, what kind of movies you watch, if you have a drinking problem -- because you just bought a case of vodka. So you know, it's all there."
But lest you think Bullock's sole outlet is romancing the keyboard: "I love to dance, I love to restore old places, I love to like go on road trips, I love to do what normally everybody does, hang out with your friends and watch TV." Like her character in "The Net," Bullock strives for normalcy. It's not easy when you're one of the hottest stars ever to log on.
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