Screen Junkies » Contagion

‘Contagion’ Might Become A Weekly Series

Penn Collins — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:34:32 +0000

Contagion screenwriter Scott Burns has said recently that he and director Steven Soderbergh are considering shifting the plot to a weekly TV series.

This makes sense. Contagion is an outbreak and survival story not all that different from The Walking Dead, and the huge breadth of scope that the film dealt with surprisingly deftly would lend itself well to a serial examination in the ilk of Homeland and, dare I say it, The Wire.

The status isn’t known, but one would hope that the braintrust is gunning for a release on a cable network so a) it won’t get cancelled, and b) it will be good. Sadly those two are rarely exclusive of one another.

No word on casting yet, but maybe if we just start saying that Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, and Marion Cotillard are all coming back for the TV series, then it will happen.

Weekend Box Office Report: It’s Good To Be The King

Joseph Gibson — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:27:06 +0000

Conventional wisdom is that audiences are always craving something new. Cynical wisdom is that “new” is that absolute last thing most audience members want, and the 3D rerelease of The Lion King would seem to affirm the latter wisdom more than the former. The 3D version of the movie every kid in America already owns on DVD made a very generous $29 million in its opening weekend (of a two-week “limited engagement”).

'Drive' Trailer Has Fast Cars And Albert Brooks

Holding the number 2 spot was last week’s big opener Contagion with a respectable $14.5 million weekend gross. The critically stratospheric (but unfortunately unseen by me this weekend) Drive had a nice, indie-friendly 3rd place opening of $11 million. Maybe it’ll do better when it gets rereleased in 3D. (The Playlist)

Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Bucky Larson’ Has A Sucky Opening

Joseph Gibson — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:43:29 +0000

It’s truly rare that a movie earns the scorn of both critics and audiences, but Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star has managed to do just that, with a rare 0% rating on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes and a laughably tiny box office opening of $1.45 million. This puts it behind other Adam Sandler-produced comedy’s like Grandma’s Boy.

EXCLUSIVE: Nick Swardson Does Porn In 'Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star' Trailer

Shockingly, this didn’t put Bucky Larson in last place for new releases over the weekend. That honor goes to the scifi/horror/whatever Creature, which grossed, and this is not a typo, $331,000. For you record-hounds out there, this is the worst-ever opening gross for a movie premiering on 1500 or more screens. Yes, even worse than Bucky Larson.

In less unprecedented news, Steven Soderbergh‘s epidemic thriller Contagion is the number one movie this weekend, finally ending The Help‘s reign of terror by way of an opening weekend gross of $23.1 million. Thanks, infectious disease! (Box Office Mojo)

11 Scariest Disease Outbreaks In Movies

Wookie Johnson — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:51:14 +0000

Believe it or not, I hate getting sick. Whether caused by eating something that didn’t agree with me or catching a cold from sleeping with the air conditioner on, I don’t like it. However, neither of those illnesses seem that bad when compared to turning into a zombie or randomly going blind. The whole “being able to walk away from bullet wounds” thing is cool, and so is having a guide dog. But besides that, being blind or a zombie or a blind zombie is just a suckfest.

Though disease will claim us all someday (either that or runaway trucks), there’s no way we’ll have it as bad as the disease victims on this list. Let’s just be thankful that these don’t exist…. yet.

11.) REC / Quarantine

Though very scary, REC (and it’s American remake, Quarantine) find themselves in the last slot because of their implausibility. A lady reporter and her crew ride along with a group of first responders investigating a bizarre disturbance in an apartment building. It isn’t long before everyone is running around rabid and tearing each other to pieces. Like on Jersey Shore.

10.) 28 Days Later

When a Rage Virus escapes from a lab (not sure why they were making that) and sweeps through England, very few uninfected are left behind. However, those that are still around are angry, blood-barfing spazzoids. So, yes, it’s a lot like London after the pubs close.

‘Contagion’ Review: “It’s Like ‘Traffic’, But With A Disease Instead Of Drugs.”

Penn Collins — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:01:02 +0000

“It’s like Traffic, but with a disease instead of drugs.”

Similar to director Steven Soderbergh’s other ensemble film portraying the far-reaching effects of an epidemic,

The result is a voyeuristic relationship with the characters that exists the same way one may watch ants scurry after their hill is kicked – You’re too busy watching them deal with it all to want to step inside their heads. Damon’s character seems to be the only one really tethered by emotion, as the rest of the cast seems to act out of dutiful obligation. The fact that five medical professionals are followed over the course of the outbreak puts the film in danger of becoming myopic in the same way the natural analog Outbreak was, but it never happens. The character investigations, again, with the exception of Damon are superficial enough and spiked with enough gravity and purpose that it makes for a compelling spectacle, but make no mistake: you’re here to watch these people do their jobs.

The fact that the film runs at only 105 minutes and still manages to address a six-month outbreak and still touch upon so many representative lives is a testament to efficiency in storytelling: calculated, but certainly not inhumane. At the end of the film you feel closer to the outbreak than you do the characters, which is an unnatural feeling, but Soderbergh’s intention all along.

Contagion

Screen Junkies — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:03:07 +0000

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law

Synopsis: An action-thriller centered on the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak.

Release Date: September 9, 2011

‘Contagion’ Posters Tell You Six Times Not To Touch Or Talk To Anything

Penn Collins — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:59:05 +0000

We get it. There’s a disease and it’s bad. You don’t need to tell us twice. And you certainly don’t need to tell us six different times.

But he does anyway with these character posters for Contagion, which I’m just going to start describing as “Outbreak-but-better.”

We’ve got posters here for Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Kate Winslet. There’s acknowledging that you’ve got a great cast, then there’s bragging about it, and right now director Steven Soderbergh is toeing the line. Seriously, though, this cast looks lights-out.

It’s not clear if the film will be as scary as the posters would lead us to believe, but I have hopes that it will be every bit as good as the hype that surrounds it.

New ‘Contagion’ TV Spots Are Really Catchy

Joseph Gibson — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:43:23 +0000

The 'Contagion' Trailer Will Kills Us All!
Steven Soderbergh‘s upcoming viral thriller Contagion is premiering in just a few weeks, provided humanity can survive that long. And you know what that means: TV spots! Here are two, fresh off the Petri dish. Above is the first one, which focuses more on Matt Damon and wife Gwyneth Paltrow before branching off into worldwide panic, while the other one (below) is pretty much all worldwide panic. You can also catch glimpses of Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, and Kate Winslet. Can’t wait to watch them all slowly die of an incurable virus!

I think these both look great, and I’m excited to see Soderbergh take on such an established genre. And it’ll almost definitely be better than Outbreak.

The ‘Contagion’ Trailer Will Kills Us All!

Penn Collins — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:41:49 +0000

We’ve got the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh‘s latest, Contagion. The plot is similar to Outbreak, in that it’s a medical thriller about a race against the clock to find a cure…yadda yadda, but Steven Soderbergh gives us hope that this could be a more moving, thoughtful film. Oh, and the cast features a murderer’s row of Oscar winners that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet as well as Lawrence Fishburne, Bryan Cranston, Marion Cotillard, and, of course, Demetri Martin. Wait, what?

Contagion opens September 9th. If we even last that long with this, this THING out there.

Jude Law Chillin’

Col. Longshanks — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:56:21 +0000

Contagion – Part 2″ src=”http://www.screenjunkies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/jude-law-dont-catch-the-contagion-04.jpg” alt=” width=”353″ height=”527″ />

Earlier today pics were released of Jude Law lazin’ about on the set of his new film, Contagion, in some kind of ungodly hazmat suit. The human condom scene in Naked Gun was less awkward. So we of course decided to exploit the above ridiculous pose and create a meme. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Jude Law Chillin’. I’ve also provided a template at the end for your own enjoyment. Send your creations to feedback@screenjunkies.com and we’ll post some.

First Look At Jude Law Dressed Ridiculously On ‘Contagion’ Set

Wookie Johnson — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:17:20 +0000

Tee hee. Jude Law looks ridiculous dressed as some kind of dick on the set of Contagion.

In Steven Soderbergh‘s unofficial sequel to Bubble Boy, Law plays a scientist recruited by the CDC to prevent the spread of a deadly virus no matter what Yo Outfit snaps may be lobbed his way. He’s joined in the film by Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Lawrence Fishbourne, Bryan Cranston, Demitri Martin and Elliott Gould. Look forward to silly pictures of them soon. Seriously, though. It’s 2011. There have got to be less dorky ways to prevent infection.

This is sooo my Halloween costume next year. (Just Jared)

Steven Soderbergh To Quit Directing For Painting

Wookie Johnson — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:40:48 +0000

Joining the great ranks of Tony Bennett, Tony Curtis Paul McCartney, and that elephant that can paint elephants, Steven Soderbergh may retire from filmmaking to focus on his love of the palette. It seems that Che bombing and the creative differences on Moneyball have tarnished the director’s love for movie-making. Screen Junkies cub reporter Matt Damon says:

“He wants to paint and he says he’s still young enough to have another career,” Damon said. “He’s kind of exhausted with everything that interested him in terms of form. He’s not interested in telling stories. Cinema interested him in terms of form and that’s it.”

If he’s really spent, then Contagion or Liberace or Man From U.N.C.L.E may be our last chances to see a Soderbergh film. After that he’s just going to paint a series of portraits of George Clooney which will receive varying degrees of praise anyways. (LA Times)

Steven Soderbergh Wipes His ‘Contagion’ On Hong Kong

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:30:00 +0000

^{Safety first. Hello Kitty second.}

Steven Soderbergh is gearing up to offend China. The director has decided to dredge up bad SARS memories by setting his next film Contagion in Hong Kong. Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Matt Damon, and Laurence Fishburne have all signed up to come down with a case of the Hong Kong Achooeys in the virus gone wild drama. Hong Kong native Josie Ho has also signed on to play the sister of “Patient Zero” aka that asshole that never buys his own Chapstick. (THR)