FATAL VISION

In his own words, writer Scott Z. Burns on the eerily prescient warnings contained in his 2011 pandemic thriller Contagion…

Ever since the appearance of this virus, one of the questions that I have been asked consistently is, “Why is the movie so prescient and why is it so accurate?” This has come to me in the form of questions from journalists as well as from people assaulting me on social media. They seem to think I somehow knew this was going to happen.

My response is very simple. When I pitched the movie to [director] Steven Soderbergh, I said, “I only want to do this movie if it can be accurate and fact-based.” Thankfully, Soderbergh agreed. With this in mind, I was able to get in touch with Dr. Ian Lipkin, who is the best virologist we have in the US. He said the same thing to me, “I will only help you if the movie is fact-based and science-based. I will only help you if it isn’t conspiratorial bullshit about a virus coming from a lab or a cellphone tower.”

In Contagion, there were mass riots and hunger after the outbreak. In our

current situation, the supply chain for food hasn’t broken, so I don’t think we are at a point where we have to worry about hunger. Unfortunately, I think we might be seeing the start of civil unrest in the USA. There are people who think it’s okay for old people and vulnerable people to die for our economy. We have elected officials who have said that. If we continue to pull at these schisms, then we are going to have continued escalation of social unrest and riots are a possibility. That’s a scary thought.

The virus we chose for Contagion was a paramyxovirus. It’s different to

‘EVERY EXPERT I SPOKE TO SAID IT WAS NOT A MATTER OF IF, BUT WHEN’

threat,” she sighs. Her research led her to Planned Parenthood and the film’s intriguing title – a reference to the four-option questionnaire that under18s must take to establish if there was consent in the pregnancy. “It’s really a tool to open up a dialogue, more than a questionnaire,” the director adds.

Crucially, Hittman found two great newcomers to play Autumn and Skylar. While Ryder has since gone on to be cast in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story, she and Flanigan immediately bonded. “They both discovered they have dark and fractured relationships with their fathers, just in a very casual conversation,” says Hittman. “I felt there was a connection.”

Launching at Sundance (winning a Special Jury Award for Neo-Realism) and then Berlin (ditto the Grand Jury Prize), the film is now getting a VOD release due to cinema closures – which thankfully under the Academy’s recent rule relaxation means it will qualify for next year’s Oscars. For Hittman, it’s not a question of how people watch the film. “I want everyone to see it,” she says. “It should be looked at as a universal story… it’s a journey that women take all over the world.” JM

ETA | OUT NOW / NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS IS AVAILABLE ON VOD.