Contagion Star Kate Winslet Wants You to Help Stop the Spread of COVID-19
Studios, stars, and now the cast of one of the best films ever made about a pandemic have come together to deliver PSAs about the spread of COVID-19. Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 film Contagion is a deeply chilling thriller, and also a realistic glimpse at how healthcare professionals, government officials, and regular people try to deal with a global pandemic. Writer Scott Z. Burns researched the film by going to the CDC and learning first-hand how they handle pandemics, but he wasn’t the only member of the Contagion team to consult professionals. Star Kate Winslet, who played an epidemiologist trying to stop the spread of a lethal virus in the film, also consulted with experts. Winslet appeared in a recent PSA offering tips on the best way to flatten the curve and stop the spread of the novel coronavirus in a new PSA.
“I spent time with some of the best public health professionals in the world,” Winslet says in the video. “And what was one of the most important things they taught me? Wash your hands like your life depends on it. Because right now, in particular, it just might.”
Check out Winslet’s PSA here:
Winslet joins a growing list of stars and studios pitching in to do their part. The major studios, in collaboration with the Ad Council, have created a host of PSAs, some geared towards kids, some towards parents, and all towards getting the right information out there, and broadcast them across their wide array of channels. These efforts include PSAs like this from Disney, in which Zombies 2 star Meg Donnelly shares her tips for staying inside on the Disney Channel’s YouTube page. NBCUniversal has a host of videos, available in both English and Spanish, focused on sharing crucial information with high-risk populations and the general public about protecting themselves and others from the coronavirus. ViacomCBS’s #AloneTogether videos have featured everyone from Trevor Noah to 68 Whiskey‘s Gage Golightly, who share the importance of social distancing and how you might be able to help higher-risk groups in need.
These studios are hardly alone. Comcast, Fox, Verizon Media and WarnerMedia have utilized their reach to deliver information, offer services, and add share a little joy where they can. Every bit of useful, correct information that stars, studios, and individuals share, from China to Italy to the United States, can help save a life.
Featured image: Kate Winslet, who starred in Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Contagion,’ delivers a PSA to help stop the spread of Coronavirus. Courtesy Columbia Public Health.
Here’s more of our coverage on how COVID-19 is affecting the entertainment industry, and how the entertainment industry is trying to do their part to help:
The Walking Dead & Better Call Saul Director Bronwen Hughes Talks Drama, Real & Imagined
Costume Designers Guild to Sew Masks for Hospitals
The below-the-line talent who will be hit the hardest.
Read Christopher Nolan’s Passionate Piece on the Importance of Movie Theaters
How cinematographer Kira Kelly shot Netflix’s Self Made and is responding to her sudden furlough.
Amy Adams & Jennifer Garner Team Up to Help Kids Affected by COVID-19
