It was a surprise that 'Gravity' was not disaster: Cuaron

Director Alfonso Cuaron says they were surprised to see the success of 'Gravity' as there was a time when he was not sure that the film would work.
The stunning 3D space disaster drama, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, is one of the front-runners at the upcoming Oscar awards where Cuaron is nominated in the best director category.
"The first surprise was that the movie was not a disaster. Putting it together, there was such a long time in which we didn't know if it was going to work. We had a preview that was terrible, when it was in a very rough, animatic state. So you have that ghost hovering around," Cuaron told the Wrap.

The film premiered to a great response at the Venice film festival but Cuaron was nervous as they had just finished the film.
"...We put everything together and finished only two weeks before Venice, which was unsettling. And the surprise had to be the reaction of the audiences...
"So it was a great surprise to see audiences embrace the film because of the all the technology and stuff, but also emotionally engage in the film. That's what the journey is for, and that was the coolest thing," the director said.
The film has 10 nominations at the Academy award matching its closest competitor 'The American Hustle'.

The story went to actors like Angelina Jolie, Robert Downey Jr, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson before Warner Bros settled for Bullock and Clooney.