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Contagion (2011 film)
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<p><i>Contagion</i> is a 2011 American <a href="/facts/Thriller_film/RLj4941a">thriller film</a> directed by <a href="/facts/Steven_Soderbergh/WII1y1Mq">Steven Soderbergh</a>. Its <a href="/facts/Ensemble_cast/2cJreBu1">ensemble cast</a> includes <a href="/facts/Marion_Cotillard/GjL5LcfL">Marion Cotillard</a>, <a href="/facts/Matt_Damon/LWdb85nz">Matt Damon</a>, <a href="/facts/Laurence_Fishburne/gkl30hlM">Laurence Fishburne</a>, <a href="/facts/Jude_Law/EVuSSElG">Jude Law</a>, <a href="/facts/Gwyneth_Paltrow/wqTXxtVU">Gwyneth Paltrow</a>, <a href="/facts/Kate_Winslet/TR9Wef2W">Kate Winslet</a>, <a href="/facts/Bryan_Cranston/asBAWTAn">Bryan Cranston</a>, <a href="/facts/Jennifer_Ehle/n38Dvtdl">Jennifer Ehle</a>, and <a href="/facts/Sanaa_Lathan/KL1FwaEF">Sanaa Lathan</a>. The plot concerns the spread of a virus <a href="/facts/Transmission_(medicine)/sSGEGhcd">transmitted</a> by <a href="/facts/Respiratory_droplet/oMugYAEa">respiratory droplets</a> and <a href="/facts/Fomite/0sTjFaIR">fomites</a>, attempts by medical researchers and public health officials to identify and contain the disease, the loss of social order in a <a href="/facts/Pandemic/KaJe9rTu">pandemic</a>, and the introduction of a <a href="/facts/Vaccine/QcXzLug2">vaccine</a> to halt its spread. To follow several interacting plot lines, the film makes use of the <a href="/facts/Hyperlink_cinema/al2arT1b">multi-narrative "hyperlink cinema" style</a>, popularized in several of Soderbergh's films. </p><p>Following their collaboration on <i><a href="/facts/The_Informant!/m2E0ygwc">The Informant!</a></i> (2009), <a href="/facts/Steven_Soderbergh/WII1y1Mq">Soderbergh</a> and screenwriter <a href="/facts/Scott_Z._Burns/Hj1P9LxB">Scott Z. Burns</a> discussed a film depicting the rapid spread of a virus, inspired by epidemics such as the <a href="/facts/2002%E2%80%932004_SARS_outbreak/3k6cvrqL">2002–2004 SARS outbreak</a> and the <a href="/facts/2009_flu_pandemic/UuwhjR9c">2009 flu pandemic</a>. Burns consulted with representatives of the <a href="/facts/World_Health_Organization/YNN3bgug">World Health Organization</a> as well as medical experts such as <a href="/facts/W._Ian_Lipkin/PgfYpYJ0">W. Ian Lipkin</a> and <a href="/facts/Larry_Brilliant/9Tgk6ysA">Larry Brilliant</a>. Principal photography started in <a href="/facts/Hong_Kong/4nAf3mqQ">Hong Kong</a> in September 2010, and continued in <a href="/facts/Chicago/yPMokrXH">Chicago</a>, <a href="/facts/Atlanta/8hPVGb78">Atlanta</a>, <a href="/facts/London/KozCCsy9">London</a>, <a href="/facts/Geneva/14gXxjcq">Geneva</a>, and <a href="/facts/San_Francisco/cb9l7hbC">San Francisco</a> until February 2011. </p><p><i>Contagion</i> premiered at the <a href="/facts/68th_Venice_International_Film_Festival/gKtPyIfv">68th Venice International Film Festival</a> in <a href="/facts/Venice/Xzc2uVDg">Venice</a>, Italy on September 3, 2011, and was theatrically released on September 9, 2011. Commercially, the film made $136.5 million against its $60 million production budget. Critics praised the film for its narrative and the performances, as did scientists for its accuracy. The film received renewed popularity in 2020 because of the <a href="/facts/COVID-19_pandemic/0xTsh7Ut">COVID-19 pandemic</a>. </p>