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

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.

The 'Contagion' Trailer Will Kills Us All!

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.

6 photosKate Winslet

Kate Winslet wants to take off her serious face and put on her not as serious face. The actress is in talks to star in Labor Day, Jason Reitman’s adaption of the Joyce Maynard novel that he’ll write and direct. Winslet will play “a single mother of a young son who takes in a stranger with a dangerous past. She falls in love with him over the course of Labor Day Weekend.” So no, it’s not a pregnancy comedy, if that’s what you were thinking. We all know Jason Reitman tackled that subject in Juno, and he can’t possibly come up with anymore quirky synonyms for “baby” or “woman with child.” (Deadline)

A word from Kate: “Cameron Diaz could eat me under the table.”

“There’s a whole generation that’s never seen ‘TITANIC’ as it was meant to be seen, on the big screen.  And this will be ‘TITANIC’ as you’ve never seen it before, digitally re-mastered at 4K and painstakingly converted to 3D.  With the emotional power intact and the images more powerful than ever, this will be an epic experience for fans and newcomers alike.”

Cameron then bellowed, “Titanic 3D is UNSINKABLE!” before flying away on a helicopter made of money. It’s funny to think that Cameron, who’s been vocal in his criticism of 3D conversion as opposed to shooting in 3D in the past, is now putting his support behind a 3D conversion project like this one. Maybe he needs to make a car payment or something.

“It all happens in real-time, so it’s about an hour and 45 minutes of negotiation between two sets of parents and how it all falls apart. Kind of like ‘Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?,’ but a little funnier. There’s a lot of wit.”

Sounds pretty good, right? Almost good enough to make you forget about Polanski’s, uh, hobbies. Anyway, here are three set photos from the film, which you can look at in either righteous anger, eager anticipation, or both. (via The Playlist)

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli told Total Film (via MI6), “Well, our timeline’s a littl up in the air what with the situation at MGM, so we have to be flexible. We just don’t know enough about the situation to comment, but we know it’s uncertain.”

Peter Morgan, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade are all working on a script, with the hopes that someone someday might actually shoot it. Sounds like the producers don’t even know what’s being put on the page. Wilson said, “You know, often at this stage, I find myself saying, ‘Oh, we’re gonna do this and that’, then six months from now you’ll say, ‘That isn’t in the film at all – you told me it was…’ I think we’re at the stage where a lot of ideas are floating around that sound very good, but whether they make the final cut, who knows?”

Why worry about a final cut when you can’t even get bloopers in the can? So right now, don’t count on another Bond film until MGM figures out its shit. By that time, Justin Bieber will be old enough to play him. I meant that as a joke, but now I’m stuck with the haunting realization that it could happen. (ThePlaylist)

Just like that scene in A Christmas Story.

Kate Winslet is saying things about her ex-husband’s affairs. The British actress told The Daily Mail that she is looking to move her children back to London as Sam Mendes, her former hubby, directs the newest Bond film. Shooting could begin as early as the end of next year. How quickly we go from canceled, to November 2012 release, to convincing Mendes to direct again.

“Sam is doing the next Bond film, all being well, and we’ll all be in England if that happens. It’s such a massive commitment for him and it’s not fair for him to commute backwards and forwards to New York from London. It would be impossible. The children will be there with me.”

It’s nice that she’s being so accommodating. Fathers need their children around to lift their spirits, and vice versa. You hear that, Dad! As far as Winslet appearing in the film herself, she shouted, “No! [But] I can see us working together again — that’s the way it is.” I guess you could say there’s a BOND between them that can’t be broken. …Nailed it. (ThePlaylist)

^{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)

Sometimes I feel like Hugh Jackman extracts his life-force from gay jokes. Between all the song and dance and now this casting announcement, it has to be the only explanation.

In Peter Farrelly‘s upcoming anthology film, titled Untitled Comedy, Jackman will play a bachelor on a date with Kate Winslet. Kate has a hard time concentrating during the social call as Jackman’s character has testicles attached to his chin. Nice work, guys. 1999 is laughing its ass off. The short segment, known as The Catch, is just one of several sketches that populate the film.

Now that Jackman and "balls on chin" are forever wed in Google bliss, it’s a good thing he didn’t star in Brokeback Mountain. The combined might of those gay jokes could cause him to go supernova and destroy us all. FLAME ON! (Digital Spy)