Mar 11, 2020 as coronavirus spreads fear and panic across the world, streaming services have been observing a spike of interest in the 2011 movie contagion. Contagion, steven soderberghs 2011 thriller, is climbing up the. The most riveting player in contagion, the starladen thriller about a global pandemic, is a virus the socalled mev1 paramyxovirus that an american businesswoman spreads from hong kong to. Hextall and eisenberg are seen in the lab putting the mev1 virus into longterm liquid nitrogen storage next to some other nearly eradicated virus cultures, hopefully never to be seen again. Did the pandemic film contagion predict coronavirus.
Contagions scifi monster is mev1, a virus that kills in just a matter of a day or so after contact. The premise is that the mev1 virus is spread persontoperson via airborne droplets produced by sneezes or coughs, as well as by viruses deposited on. Binge contagion, outbreak and world war z all you want. It might be because all the new movies are delayed, but mostly because of how the story is jawdroppingly similar to the conditions across the globe today. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Mar 19, 2020 since the news began breaking in january, 2011. Sep, 2011 the most riveting player in contagion, the starladen thriller about a global pandemic, is a virus the socalled mev1 paramyxovirus that an american businesswoman spreads from hong kong to. The multiple pandemic scares of the 2000s, including sars, bird flu, and swine flu, which serve as a major so. Contagion is now the secondhottest movie in the warner bros. Lipkin directs the center for infection and immunity at the mailman school of public health at columbia. Remember to wash your hands more often over the next few months as the. Its the most scientifically accurate and eerily prescient of the three with a plot remarkably similar to whats currently happening with covid19.
Apr 12, 2020 the final scene in contagion reveals that the fictional mev1 virus originated from a pig that ate a piece of banana dropped by an infected bat escaping the destruction of its palm tree forest habitat in china. Starring matt demon, gwyneth paltrow and lawrence fishburne, the movie follows the outbreak of a deadly virus called mev 1 and its disastrous impacts on society. Mev1 virus contagion explored by filmcomicsexplained. Gwyneth paltro plays patient zero beth emhoff and matt damon, her husband mitch who is immune to mev 1 virus. Til that the mev 1 virus from the movie contagion is hypothetically possible to create. In the united states and canada, contagion was shown in 3,222 theaters, of which 254 screenings occurred at imax venues. The news comes straight from the company as they talked to the new york times about how. It is jennifer ehle as dr ally hextall, a research scientist, who discovers that the hithertounknown mev1 virus causing deaths is a mix of the. The mev1 virus in the movie is deadlier with a mortality rate of 25% to 30% while cdc places covid mortality about 1. The final scene in contagion reveals that the fictional mev1 virus originated from a pig that ate a piece of banana dropped by an infected bat escaping the destruction of its palm tree forest. Contagion is a deeply unsettling, haunting and mostly. Premiered feb 1, 2020 a brief, simple comparison between the novel coronavirus and the fictional mev 1 virus from contagion.
Contagion starring gwyneth paltrow, jude law, laurence fishburne, kate winslet, marion cotillard and jennifer ehle, contagion tells the story of a virus called mev1 transmitted by. Mev 1 spacecraft, the first mission extension vehicle spacecraft mev 1 fictional pathogen, the fictional virus in the film contagion see also. As with sarscov2, its a novel virus, meaning it has never been in the human population. You just had sex with me in a hotel and left without saying goodbye. Mar 27, 2020 well, the films mev1 virus is a strain containing pig and bat dna that beth emhoff gwyneth paltrow contracts in hong kong. This was based on the nipah virus, which can travel from bat to pig to human.
The fictional mev1 virus begins to spread when an infected bat drops a piece of banana that is eaten by pigs. From contagion to i am legend, these films about viruses. Cinematography is a character in contagion, and an acutely germaphobic one at that midway through steven soderberghs 2011 medical thriller, someone says, a virus is. The premise is that the mev 1 virus is spread persontoperson via airborne droplets produced by sneezes or coughs, as well as by viruses deposited on. What it is showing is an alignment of a hypothetical mev1 genome to a bunch of other viral genomes. In comparison to nipah virus, mev1 is rather restrained, killing only one out of every four of the people it infects and spreading to two people for. Contagion premiered on september 3, 2011 at the 68th venice film festival in venice, italy, and a wider release followed on september 9. Mar 19, 2020 the mev1 vaccine goes into mass production. Rather than a 75 percent mortality rate, the movie assumes a 25 percent rate, but that is still appallingly high.
Contagion, the 2011 thriller about the fictional mev1 pandemic, is unsurprisingly the piece that everyone is rewatching at the moment. Mev 1 virus is the highly contagious and lethal meningoencephalitic virus that appeared in the 2011 disaster film, contagion. Mev 1 is shown to be highly contagious and highly fatal, which in reality is unusual for viruses. Contagion had three key sources of inspiration, which help us reasonably determine the likely source of the bats exposure to a virus. It is a paramyxovirus that infects both the lungs and the brain, causing hacking coughs and fever, a severe headache, followed by a seizure, brain hemorrhage, bleeding eyes, bleeding brain, brain damage, and ultimately, death. Mev 1 is a fictitious virus, inspired by the nipah virus, which featured in the 2011 medical disaster film, contagion. Til that the mev1 virus from the movie contagion is hypothetically possible to create. How the movie contagion laid the blueprint for the. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A cdc virologist, played by jennifer ehle, has now isolated and defined the genetic sequence of the epidemic virus, which she calls mev1. Praised for its scientifically accurate portrayal, the outcome of indepth research conducted by screenwriter scott z burns, contagion tells the viewer how quickly and. It was modeled on nipah virus because we wanted something more interesting cinematically than an agent that causes. The final scene in contagion reveals that the fictional mev1 virus originated from a pig that ate a piece of banana dropped by an infected bat escaping the destruction of its palm tree forest habitat in china. Contagion becomes secondhottest movie in warner bros.
The final scene in contagion reveals that the fictional mev 1 virus originated from a pig that ate a piece of banana dropped by an infected bat escaping the destruction of its palm tree forest habitat in china. Hextall jennifer ehle places the remaining samples of mev 1 in cryogenic storage along with samples of sars severe acute respiratory syndrome and h1n1 swine flu. The matt damon and gwyneth paltrow movie depicted a global epidemic, showing the virus originated with a bat in china, as the coronavirus did. Novel corona virus outbreak vs contagions mev1 virus. A man in hong kong falls sick with mev1, the fictional virus. Here is how the virus and drama of contagion compares with the real life coronavirus pandemic as it currently stands.
In contagion, the movies scientists predict that mev1 will affect 1 in 12 people with a mortality rate of 2530% mortality. Mev1 is shown to be highly contagious and highly fatal, which in reality is unusual for viruses. Jun 23, 2018 a cdc virologist, played by jennifer ehle, has now isolated and defined the genetic sequence of the epidemic virus, which she calls mev 1. Mev1 virus contagion explored mev1 is a fictitious virus, inspired by the nipah virus, which featured in the 2011 medical disaster film, page. Sep 19, 2011 the fictional mev 1 virus begins to spread when an infected bat drops a piece of banana that is eaten by pigs. Contagion is about the outbreak of fictional virus mev1. Ive even spotted a few places where people are warning others away from the film, because its so totally nothing like the book they should just go read it instead of bothering with the flick. The mev1 virus in the movie is the brainchild of dr. The film shows how quickly such a contagion could spread in the jet age. Hextall jennifer ehle places the remaining samples of mev1 in cryogenic storage along with samples of sars severe. Cdc officials in contagion warn that one out of every 12 people on the planet will contract mev 1.
I dont know if anyone involved in contagion read my book, but bunnings final chilling comment summarizes the basic premise of the film. Theres no recovery from the mev1 in contagion each infection resulting in death, in cases of covid19 who has the recovery rate pegged at 80% recover without needing specialized medical intervention. The plot concerns the spread of a virus transmitted by fomites, attempts by medical researchers and public health. Its ensemble cast includes marion cotillard, bryan cranston, matt damon, laurence fishburne, jude law, gwyneth paltrow, kate winslet, and jennifer ehle. The fictional mev1 is a paramyxovirus that infects the lungs and the brain. Jory finds a box in her room from her father telling her to be ready at 8.
What are the serious lessons in the hot zone, outbreak. Sep 11, 2011 first of all, ive seen a few places around the net where people are asking if this is based on the book contagion by robin cook. In books like daniel defoes a journal of the plague year 1722, richard prestons the hot zone 1994 and albert camus the plague 1947 the human toll of epidemics are explored. She does not contract mev1 and the vaccine is declared a success.
If the virus in the movie were that virulent, it wouldnt take many virus particles to spread. What it is showing is an alignment of a hypothetical mev 1 genome to a bunch of other viral genomes. How contagion pushed hollywood to get science right. Laurie garrett also served as a consultant on the film because she wrote the 1994 book. Well, the films mev1 virus is a strain containing pig and bat dna that beth emhoff gwyneth paltrow contracts in hong kong. Day 2 at the airport lounge beth gets a call on her cell phone, beth emhoff. Hextall takes a martyr approach to research and tests the vaccine on herself. August 20 the flu is the first ever south korean disaster film about a viral pandemic. The final scene in contagion reveals that the fictional mev 1 virus originated from a pig that ate a piece of banana dropped by an infected bat escaping the destruction of its palm tree forest.
In contagion, a fictional respiratory virus called mev1 originates in china and spreads throughout the world. Elliot gould playing the research scientist dr ian sussman would identify the mev1 cell culture, and hextall produces a vaccine that turns out to be the right medicine. After making bail, krumwiede is back on the street street, taking photos of the long line outside the mev1 vaccination center to post on his blog. Hextall and eisenberg are seen in the lab putting the mev 1 virus into longterm liquid nitrogen storage next to some other nearly eradicated virus cultures, hopefully never to be seen again. A streaming hit, contagion has been heralded as prophetic, but really its just wellresearched.
Apr 03, 2020 the final scene in contagion reveals that the fictional mev 1 virus originated from a pig that ate a piece of banana dropped by an infected bat escaping the destruction of its palm tree forest. The narrative is mostly similar to whats happening today with covid19 pandemic. The screenwriter researched the science behind the movie and consulted with experts in. The signs of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, covid19 are similar, but there havent been any reports of seizures or frothing at the mouth.
First of all, ive seen a few places around the net where people are asking if this is based on the book contagion by robin cook. As the novel virus spreads, several cities are placed under quarantine. As coronavirus spreads fear and panic across the world, streaming services have been observing a spike of interest in the 2011 movie contagion. In contagion, the movies scientists predict that mev 1 will affect 1 in 12 people with a mortality rate of 2530% mortality. The fictional mev 1 is a paramyxovirus that infects the lungs and the brain. The virus in contagion, mev1, was deadlier and more transmissible than covid19, but the response to it was instantly and appropriately serious.
Its ensemble cast includes marion cotillard, matt damon, laurence fishburne, jude law, gwyneth paltrow, kate winslet, bryan cranston, jennifer ehle, and sanaa lathan. In contagion, as mev 1 spreads in the united states, the american government flees to an undisclosed location and looks for a way of working online. By the end of the movie, 26 million people have died of the virus, including at least 2. Scientists determine mev1 is spread via respiratory droplets and. In the opening sequence, we see sick people travelling on aeroplanes, trains and buses, sweating, visibly febrile and touching surfaces, and that is where it starts ticking the boxes. Mev1, the films fictional virus, is modelled upon the batborne nipah virus. Ehle explains that mev 1 is a combination of genetic. He was contacted by soderbergh and the films writer, scott z. Mar 17, 2020 contagion is about the outbreak of fictional virus mev 1. So after rewatching the movie at home, i was able to pause it at this scene no spoilers.
Burns, with whom steven soderbergh had just made the informant. In a similar vein, jose saramagos 1995 novel, blindness ensaio sobre a. Also like sars, contagions mev1 is depicted as originating in china and. Inspired by the 2009 h1n1 swine flu pandemic, burns consulted with medical experts from the. The outbreak of a novel coronavirus has many convinced that we are. Starring matt demon, gwyneth paltrow and lawrence fishburne, the movie follows the outbreak of a deadly virus called mev1 and its disastrous impacts on society. Contagion was a film released in 2011 about a fictional pandemic of a virus.
Mar 14, 2020 contagion tracks the arrival of a fictional virus called mev 1 that sends officials from the cdc and the world health organisation scrambling to stop the outbreak and quell growing fear and. After making bail, krumwiede is back on the street street, taking photos of the long line outside the mev 1 vaccination center to post on his blog. The final scene in contagion reveals that the fictional mev1 virus originated from a pig that ate a piece of banana dropped by an infected bat escaping the destruction of. The plot concerns the spread of a virus transmitted by respiratory droplets and fomites, attempts by medical researchers and public health officials to. No, the coronavirus outbreak and contagion arent the same. Mar 14, 2020 contagion is now the secondhottest movie in the warner bros. Til that the mev1 virus from the movie contagion is. The screenwriter researched the science behind the movie and consulted with experts in epidemiology, which is highly commendable. Mev 1 virus contagion explored mev 1 is a fictitious virus, inspired by the nipah virus, which featured in the 2011 medical disaster film, page 1 3. Feb 24, 2020 mev 1 virus contagion explored by filmcomicsexplained. Contagion tracks the arrival of a fictional virus called mev1 that sends officials from the cdc and the world health organisation scrambling to stop the outbreak and quell growing fear and. Contagion, the 2011 thriller about the fictional mev 1 pandemic, is unsurprisingly the piece that everyone is rewatching at the moment. Apr 02, 2020 here is how the virus and drama of contagion compares with the real life coronavirus pandemic as it currently stands.
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