Just like Warner Bros.‘ “Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows,” cheap bootlegged footage from Entertainment Tonight made its way online from Steven Soderbergh‘s virus thriller “Contagion” today. So following the pattern, WB has just decided to drop the trailer like it’s hot (so how about the “The Dark Knight Rises“?).
Featuring a stellar ensemble cast that includes Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, plus supporting players Bryan Cranston, John Hawkes, Elliott Gould, Demetri Martin, Jennifer Ehle and more, “Contagion” looks and feels a lot like Scott Z. Burns‘ excellent script we read — it’s a horrifying account of a H1N1-like virus that spreads uncontrollably over the globe and it feels like it could actually happen.
Cliff Martinez, who composed the haunting score for Soderbergh’s “Solaris,” wrote the music for this one and while we’re not absolutely sure the “Blade Runner”-ish notes of this opening trailer are his, it’s quite effective nonetheless.
Here’s the official synopsis to get you started:
“Contagion” follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.
If you’re paying close attention to this trailer you’ll kind of see a major spoiler too — one of the cast members dying. Interesting that WB decided to show this so early, but it’s likely they all assumed there would be no way to hide it — plus it’s a gripping way to grab the viewer and throw you into the story. Originally scheduled for an October 21st bow, “Contagion” is now set for a September 9th release. We presume that means a Toronto International Film Festival premiere (though that would be the first day of the festival), so maybe that actually means something in Venice. Also, we had no idea the film would be presented in IMAX as well, which is an intriguing proposition (it was also originally planned for a 3D shoot but technical hiccups prevented Soderbergh from shooting in the format).
Soderbergh has called it his version of a “horror” movie, but it’ll be an all-too-realistic one and likely not fit into the “horror” genre so nicely. “It’s a horror movie actually. We kill kids. It’s brutal. It’s scary,” he said earlier this year. One of our readers saw the film and gave us some thoughts on it here but the short version is that it’s rather terrifying and that’s exactly how the script went down. We’ve been told you’ll be leaving the theater wanting to reach for some hand sanitizer.
See the trailer here in HD or check it out below.
