“Contagion” Writer Comments On Coronavirus Pandemic: As coronavirus plays out, fans are flocking to the 2011 movie “Contagion.” Now, the movie’s writer Scott Z Burns has spoken out about the hype, explaining that he heavily researched the film with the Center for Disease Control. While the outbreak is “upsetting,” he says it’s not “surprising,” because the scientists he spoke to “all said” it was “a matter of when, not if.”