'We got the science right': Contagion producer reacts to 2011 film's coronavirus resurgence

The meticulously researched thriller meant to ‘scare people into taking precautions’ has rocketed up the rental charts amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak

The producer of the 2011 pandemic film Contagion has spoken out after its popularity surged amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

Talking to Buzzfeed News, Michael Shamberg said: "It was very deliberately designed to be a cautionary film. We got the science right."

Directed by Steven Soderberg, Contagion starred Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and Kate Winslet, and told the story of a deadly virus outbreak.

In the wake of coronavirus dominating headlines, the film experienced a popular renaissance, rising to become one of the Top 10 most popular rentals in iTunes film chart. Buzzfeed News also reports that it is the second most popular Warner Brothers film in 2020.

"Is it giving [people] comfort?", Shamberg asked. "Well, it shows that ultimately there will be a solution and humanity will recover."

"If it's scary, it's only meant to scare people into taking precautions and it's only meant to scare the infrastructure into doing the right thing."

He continued: "Ee're not trying to scare people that they're all going to die. We're trying to scare people that you can do something."

Even though Contagion is a thriller, Shamberg has noted that medical experts were consulted extensively during the film's production.