Here’s this evening’s potential story that will cause, “wtf??” reactions.
Steven Soderbergh’s virus infection thriller written by Scott Z. Burns and starring a cluster of today’s top A-list talent — Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fishburne — is going 3D.
No really. And late last night Warner Bros. sent out a swarm of release dates for their 2011 schedule, so “Contagion” is now set for an October 21, 2011 bow in theaters which is obviously right in the heart of Oscar season.
The news will likely blindside some, and it is a questionable decision, especially as the film, while being marketed as an “action thriller,” is more of a dramatic thriller in the vein of Soderbergh’s Academy Award-winning 2000 film, “Traffic” (or at least it was in the taut draft we read earlier this year; we were told rewrites after that would bring more emotion to the characters, but that doesn’t mean eye-popping 3D sequences).
But, here’s the thing, the decision does make total sense, at least if you’ve followed Soderbergh closely over the last few years. Having shot “Che” on dripping-wet new RED cameras that may not have worked when he got to set (it was a leap of faith), and obviously omnivorous in his eclectic film taste and oeuvre so far, the filmmaker is clearly adventurous, inquisitive and willing to try every new thing.
Soderbergh is also good friends with James Cameron. Cameron produced “Solaris,” handpicked the director to helm the film and also let Soderbergh take a very early peek at “Avatar” (remember this film was a few years in the making) which he was wowed by. And yes, the maneuver might feel like it’s jumping on the recent 3D trend, but Soderbergh announced the musical “Cleo” in 3D in October of 2008, which is obviously more than a year and a half before studios started lazily re-upping every film into 3D to make a buck.
Also, we were recently told that “Cleo” looks like it may not be going to happen at this point — unless serious funding comes the crazy, ambitious picture’s way — and Ray Winstone echoed these sentiments recently in an interview with Digital Spy where he was unsure if the film would happen or not (also Soderbergh has still been talking retirement – “Liberace” could be his last picture).
So with “Cleo” potentially dormant for now, perhaps the filmmaker still wants to explore the medium and only has what he feels are only a few options left to do so (“Knockout” is supposed to hit later this summer, “Contagion” is scheduled to shoot this fall, and “Liberace” would ostensibly be next). We might sound like apologists for the decision, but to the contrary, we’ll admit, 3D for “Contagion” seems unnecessary and almost unsound. But you can’t say the filmmaker hasn’t been genuinely interested in the medium for quite some time now, so at least he’s got that going for him.
Update: and interesting news out of Cannes. When we spoke to our sources last, “Liberace,” would shoot in January of 2011. Evidently that’s been pushed. Brad Brevet from Rope of Silicon tweets, “Michael Douglas tells me production starts on Soderbergh’s ‘Liberace’ around this time in 2011.” So shooting begins May 2011, great. Sounds like finances and everything are finally coming into place.
Last we heard Soderbergh’s next picture, “Knockout,” starring Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum and Michael Douglas (among others) was set to arrive in theaters this August and while the speedy, multi-tasking director can probably have the film done in time, Lionsgate has made no mention of its release since its initial announcement last year.
Also of note, release date-wise, is David Gordon Green’s comedy, “The Sitter,” starring Jonah Hill. The picture — reminiscent of “Adventures in Babysitting” but with a B12 shot of hilarious Apatowian hijinx injected into it — shoots this fall and is now set for a July 15, 2011 opening. WB issued a massive assembly of release dates yesterday which you can see here, but the only really other notable picture is Catherine Hardwicke’s “Red Riding Hood,” now slated for an April 22, 2011 date with Amanda Seyfried and Max Irons as the leads.