Contagion - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Contagion or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Contagion

[francisco]

On March 27, 2020, the cast released a public service announcement on the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic that infected nearly 2 million people across the globe. Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, and Jennifer Ehle were featured in the video published in partnership with the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Each actor filmed themselves speaking about the importance of staying home, practicing social distancing when one goes out for essentials, and listening to scientists. Their videos were compiled into the PSA.

[michele]

The key to growing the virus was "a fetal bat cell line from Geelong". Geelong refers to the Australian Animal Health Laboratory, a high security laboratory for exotic animal diseases located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

[lena]

This is the first film that Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, and Jude Law have worked together since "The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)." However, Law doesn't have any scenes with either. And although Damon's and Paltrow's characters are husband and wife, they barely share the screen for a minute.

[addison]

Fears of the CoVid-19--or simply the Coronavirus pandemic that began overwhelming the world in December, 2019--have prompted movie fans to re-examine this movie. According to Warner Bros, the film was listed at 270th position among its catalogue titles at the end of December. Since the beginning of 2020, this film has jumped to second place, bested only by the Harry Potter movies.

[nina]

Kate Winslet and Jude Law previously played brother and sister in "The Holiday (2006)." They've also appeared together in "All the King's Men (2006)" where Winslet plays Law's love interest.

[harry]

The first film of Steven Soderbergh to be released in the IMAX format.

[michele]

The film is notable for its all-star cast. However, the trailer and other promotional materials never mention Bryan Cranston, even though the movie was released during the height of his "Breaking Bad (2008)" fame.

[harry]

Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Ehle all starred in films based on Jane Austen novels: Sense and Sensibility (1995), Emma (1996), and Pride and Prejudice (1995), respectively.

[wesley]

Long after this film was available via iTunes, the producers updated the special features section to include information about covid-19. This information was presented by Matt Damon, Jennifer Ehle, Kate Winslet, and Laurence Fishburne. As was indicated by the film, these public service presentations stated that the best advice for dealing with a pandemic (such as the fictional one in the film) comes from medical experts and not from others with contrasting agendas.

[clayton]

Monique Gabriela Curnen, Chin Han, and Marion Cotillard all appeared In Batman films. Curnan ("Ramirez") and Han ("Lau") were in The Dark Knight (2008) and Cotillard ("Miranda") was in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

[ray]

Most of the main cast took very little pay to be in the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow worked basically for free and shot her scenes in less than 3 days.

[bernice]

The film cast includes five Oscar winners (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, and Steven Soderbergh) and five Oscar nominees (Laurence Fishburne, Elliott Gould, John Hawkes, Jude Law, and Bryan Cranston).

[dustin]

Second collaboration between Jennifer Ehle and Matt Damon in the same year. They co-starred earlier that year in "The Adjustment Bureau (2011)."

[darrell]

In the magazine "New Scientist," from the article "Contagion doesn't skimp on science" (15/9/2011): "It's hard to name many Hollywood blockbusters that are as invested in the realities of science as "Contagion" ... Although it is by no means flawlessly accurate--it's not a NOVA documentary--"Contagion" has been well fact-checked compared to most science/y blockbusters...very few Hollywood productions realistically portray the process of science, both its successes and frustrations. That's what makes "Contagion" unique."

[bernice]

A stark contrast between the fictional outbreak in the film and the real outbreak of Covid-19 is that in the film the issue is not politicized. In the film, theories are proposed that the virus could have been weaponized but this was dismissed. In addition, the question of the impact on the economy is not addressed. With Covid-19 in the United States there is a conflict between the advice of medical professionals and the will of the administration, along with sometimes angry confrontations and a willingness to dispense with masks and a rejection of social distancing. In addition, the film does not address the issue of loss of personal income, the ability to pay bills, and the like. One similarity is the promotion of an untested and poorly documented medication.

[eli]

In this movie, the CDC chooses those born on March 10 to be the first to receive the vaccine. March 10 1995 was the original U.S. release date of the original viral blockbuster "Outbreak" (1995).

[riley]

Marion Cotillard, Chin Han, and Monique Gabriela Curnen have all appeared in "The Dark Knight Trilogy." Han played Lau and Curnen played Anna Ramirez in "The Dark Knight (2008)." Cotillard played Miranda Tate in "The Dark Knight Rises (2012)."

[ava]

The COVID-19 outbreak in Spring 2020 sparked a renewed interest in this film, sending it to the top of iTunes rentals charts.

[kylie]

The actual desk of Benny Evangelista, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, appears in the film as Lorraine Vasquez's desk. Evangelista's desk is notoriously messy, and it was left as it was by the crew.