LATEST NEWS

Bryan Cranston, Demetri Martin and More Joining 'Contagion'

by Ethan Anderton
September 17, 2010
Source: The Playlist

It's not easy to improve a cast that already includes the talents of Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and John Hawkes, but damn it, director Steven Soderbergh is certainly trying. According to The Playlist, rounding out the already impressive cast of his thriller Contagion will be Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), Demetri Martin (Taking Woodstock), Jennifer Ehle (Pride & Glory) and Elliot Gould (Ocean's 11 trilogy). The film plays out over four different continents as an international team of doctors and scientists try to contain a deadly viral outbreak.

Apparently the film is supposed to be ultra-realistic and with the large ensemble cast (most playing the doctors and scientists), it sounds like it will be in the same vein as Soderbergh's Best Picture nominated film Traffic. For now it's unclear what specific roles these new cast members will play, but when Fishburne was cast awhile back, he said his role was just as big as the other big name talents. Therefore we can only assume we'll be spending equal time with a majority of the cast members as the story unfolds around the world. Remember that Martin was once lined up for Soderbergh's take on Moneyball before they both fell off the project. Also, this is just one of a couple action thrillers Soderbergh has on his roster.

According to The Playlist, his other project, formerly known as Knockout, has since had its titled changed to Haywire and switched distributors from from Lionsgate to Overture Films. So it looks like the film that will see MMA fighter Gina Carano's big screen debut alongside Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas will be delayed a bit. Personally, I'm looking forward to both of these projects with Soderbergh working with A-list talent again after his stint with unknowns in indie films like Bubble and The Girlfriend Experience. How about you?

Tweet

Explore tags: Casting, Movie News, Opinions