As the star of some of the most iconic rom-coms and thriller movies to grace our screens, it is no exaggeration to say that Sandra Bullock has made history. But something that might surprise you about the Miss Congeniality star is that she’s made history in more ways than one, as in 1995, she was the first person ever to buy cinema tickets online.
Ironically the film she was buying tickets for was ‘90s movie The Net, where she played a computer programmer drawn into a high-tech conspiracy with all her colleagues dying and her identity being entirely erased. As an E! News reporter at the time put it, “While Sandy played a computer expert in the movie she was still learning the ropes in real life.”
The cable news outlet captured the moment back when it happened in 1995, with a self-described “emotional” Bullock and her entourage gathered round a very thick, ’90s-looking computer as they slowly work their way through buying two tickets to the action movie at a cinema in Hollywood.
“It’s amazing I just want to make a little point here about modern technology,” she said in the footage. “I’m just very emotional today.” Of course, you don’t star in a science fiction movie about the dangers of computers without getting at least a little sceptical, with Bullock pointing out that when it comes to inputting credit card data, there isn’t double verification.
When asked about whether it was nice interacting with a “friendly” computer after her role in The Net, she quipped, “How is it a friendly service, it took my money, didn’t it? But it’s a friendly service, did you notice how neurotic I became when I started punching in the numbers? These things are nice, its very nice, its great but anything where I have to punch in my credit card number is a little scary so just make sure you punch in the correct number.”
But despite her reservations, the order went through successfully, with the room erupting in applause as someone exclaimed to Bullock, “You’re the first one!” Her response? “Let’s have some champagne.” Forever a woman after my own heart.