'Contagion' director Steven Soderbergh to head Directors Guild's COVID-19 committee

Seen ‘Contagion’ yet? The film that was revisited a thousand and more times last month when people realised that it had a similar plot as what the world is facing right now in real time. Bracing a virus that emerges from Asia, with people dying of symptoms of flu and cold -- the film has caught on the nerves of many who still can’t believe that the scriptwriter envisioned that plot.

Now, ‘Contagion’ filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is up to lead a new Directors Guild of America committee in times of COVID-19. The Committee is formed to assess when and how the Hollywood entertainment industry will be able to bounce back once the pandemic threat is over.

On the day that the US unveiled its three-phase "Opening Up America Again" blueprint, the DGA president Thomas Schlamme and national executive director Russell Hollander wrote a letter to members addressing concerns about the novel coronavirus pandemic and disclosing the new task force chaired by Soderbergh.

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The DGA letter read: "A major concern we're hearing most right now is about when we'll be returning to work, and how we can be certain that it's safe to do so. Rest assured, this is something we've been spending a great deal of time thinking about as well.”

"While we don't have an answer as to when production will resume, we are taking steps to address how we can be safe when it does happen. A National Board committee, spearheaded by Steven Soderbergh, and with members from all categories, has been appointed to do a thorough examination of the issues at hand, and to make recommendations to the Board."

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The letter stated: "The committee is consulting with top epidemiologists in the field, and we will collaborate with our sister guilds and unions and the employers as we put together a comprehensive guide to help us all return safely to work."

Recently, director Steven Soderbergh along with the cast of ‘Contagion’ including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fishburne, partnered with the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health for a series of public service announcements on COVID-19.

Ever since a number of deaths were reported in the United States, theatres and malls have been shut with almost the entire world going into lockdown. All film shoots and productions have been stalled for some time now.