'Contagion' writer reveals 'bizarre' link between Harris and Matt Damon's character in pandemic thriller

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Screenwriter Scott Z Burns, who wrote the pandemic thriller 'Contagion', recently revealed that VP Kamala Harris' husband Doug Emhoff was the inspiration behind naming Matt Damon's character in the 2011 film.

Burns explained how he named Mitch Emhoff, the Minnesota father played by Damon, during an episode of the 'Hollywood Gold' podcast, per Entertainment Weekly.

Burns reveals 'bizarre' connection between VP Kamala Harris and Matt Damon's character

Scott Burns said during the podcast, "Here's a weird Emhoff story: the reason the Emhoffs are named that is…For a while when I directed commercials, the woman who was my executive producer was named Kerstin Emhoff."

He added, "She was married to a guy named Doug Emhoff. They got divorced and, as we now know, Doug Emhoff is married to Kamala Harris, which is just a bizarre coincidence."

Kerstin is known for executive producing many feature films, including documentaries like 'Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden' and horror movies like 'The Monster', per the outlet.

She was married to Doug, who earlier worked as an entertainment lawyer, from 1992 to 2008. After he remarried in 2014, Kerstin supported Harris' campaign for the vice presidency in 2020 and ended up attending her inauguration in January 2021.

In 2024, Kirsten supported Harris' bid for the presidency and praised her kids Ella and Cole on the campaign trail. In an Elle essay in 2019, Harris talked about her co-parenting relationship with Kirsten. 

She wrote, "Kerstin and I hit it off ourselves and are dear friends. She and I became a duo of cheerleaders in the bleachers at Ella’s swim meets and basketball games, often to Ella’s embarrassment. We sometimes joke that our modern family is almost a little too functional."

Burns says people accused him for being 'Nostradamus'

During the podcast, Burns talked about the discomfort he felt after viewers made strange comments about 'Contagion's similarity to that of Covid-19 pandemic.

He said, "It got very uncomfortable for me on social media for a while, because, you know, people started writing to me, accusing me of being Nostradamus or working for the CIA. And at one point, it got really disturbing, so I left."

He added that what shocked him more was the media framing him as an authority on public health, despite not being a scientist. He added, "The other part, which was probably even more uncomfortable, is every once in a while, I would get a phone call from CNN or MSNBC, and people would ask if I would come on and talk about the movie and the pandemic."

He continued, "I would say, 'Okay, I'll do that, but I'm not an expert. And you really need to hear medical advice from a doctor, not a screenwriter. Like, that's insane that you are even asking me.'"

Burns added that media outlets were not interested in hearing from doctors. He mentioned, "They would say, 'But we've heard from doctors. These segment producers would go, 'Yeah, but it's just really exciting for people to hear from you.' I'm like, that's not — I mean, I wrote a movie. I'm not an oracle."

He said, "I made it kind of a rule. I always brought someone who knew this world."