Contagion: Jude Law was warned while filming a similar pandemic was coming

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic was in its infancy in the United States and seemed much more like an overseas problem, pandemic films began to surge in popularity across streaming platforms. The one film that really seemed to find a new life was 2011's pandemic thriller, CONTAGION, which climbed high on the Itunes chart as many people seemed to be having pandemic influenced movie marathons before this overseas problem became a worldwide problem that has since made 2020 a year that many of us won't want to remember. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film concerns the spread of a virus transmitted by respiratory droplets and fomites, attempts by medical researchers and public health officials to identify and contain the disease, the loss of social order in a pandemic, and the introduction of a vaccine to halt its spread. The movie featured an impressive ensemble cast that includes Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, and Sanaa Lathan. As the pandemic has begun to surge again as we head into winter, one of the film's stars is sharing the news that they were warned while filming the film that a similar pandemic is pretty much inevitable.

Jude Law, who played conspiracy theorist Alan Krumwiede in the film, spoke with "GQ" for a career overview and the actor discussed the 2011 film. During the talk, Law revealed that scientific experts working with the production warned that a similar pandemic to that in the film was certainly coming:

"There was absolutely the sense that this was going to happen. The great scientists on set with us who had worked with Scott [Z. Burns] the writer and [director] Steven [Soderbergh] were very learned and experienced individuals who knew what to expect. And they all said to us that this was going to happen and it was a case of when rather than if. The way they described it, which is exactly as it has happened, just made sense. What's scary is you learn in a set like that because you're being advised by experts, but it doesn't necessarily sit."

Even though Law had filmed a work of fiction, the actor admitted to being terrified after the film wrapped, but after a while, he says his fear subsided. It wasn't until what we were seeing initially in China with the coronavirus outbreak, did his thoughts go back to what he was told while filming which made the inevitable outcome not that surprising.

"When 2020 started, and we heard what was initially happening in China, what fast became apparent around the world, it rang alarm bells. I wasn't hugely surprised."

At the time of its initial release, CONTAGION was well-received by critics, scoring an 85% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was described as a "tense and scary disaster movie" and now that we're living it, a lot of what the film portrays does ring true. Made for $60 million, the film grossed $136.5 million at the worldwide box office. By March of this year, CONTAGION was the seventh most popular film on iTunes, listed as the number two catalog title on Warner Bros. compared to its 270 rank the past December 2019, and had average daily visits on piracy websites increase by 5,609 percent in January 2020 compared to the previous month. HBO Now also reported that the film had been the most viewed film for two weeks straight on their platform. For us, the film was mere entertainment but I don't think many of us were thinking something like this was incoming. Now that we have been ravaged by this pandemic for months, it's truly clear that art imitates life and sometimes art knows exactly where we're headed.

What are YOUR thoughts on CONTAGION? Did YOU fear a similar pandemic was coming while watching the film?