March 08
2020
March 08
2020
The Rewatchables
with
Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessy
Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessy, and Chris Ryan revisit Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion in the context of the 2020 coronavirus outbreak, focusing on how uncannily the film captures modern pandemic anxiety through its early depiction of transmission, public panic, and everyday hygiene behaviors. They discuss Soderbergh’s stylistic choices—fast global structure, grounded realism, and withholding “day one” until the end—as well as the unusually stacked cast and the decision to play the material completely straight rather than as a star-driven hero narrative. The conversation digs into the movie’s research-based approach to epidemiology and vaccine development, and how its portrayal of institutions and global cooperation now feels both plausible and more fragile than it did in 2011. They also highli...