In September 2009, just after Michael Oher's NFL debut, Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sue Mitchell went to see a private screening of "The Blind Side" in California. Their lives were about to be opened up to the world in the movie, a feel-good story that chronicled Oher's rise from homelessness to professional football, and naturally, the women were curious.
Tuohy had spent numerous hours with Sandra Bullock, so many that she now refers to her as "Sandy." Bullock wanted to immerse herself in the character, and she shadowed Tuohy and would call constantly, painstakingly trying to nail down her Memphis dialect.