While the 2011 plague thriller Contagion did benefit from military support it is perhaps more important for being the big screen debut of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This lesser-known government agency recently released nearly 1000 pages of internal documents on their role in supporting the movie, as well as their PR efforts exploiting its release.
I will be doing a full analysis of the documents (and the film) in this weekend’s subscriber podcast, but they include:
* Details of the consultants provided to the film-makers
* Information about the filming at CDC properties
* Emails on the input the CDC had on the script
* Files on the CDC’s attempts to leverage the 9/11 and anthrax attacks anniversaries to gain PR for themselves
* How the film inspired senators to ask if the US is spending enough on tackling and preventing pandemics