{{short description|American filmmaker (born 1975)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = James Vanderbilt | image = 2025 James Vanderbilt - 2 (cropped).jpg | caption = Vanderbilt at the 2025 [[Zurich Film Festival]] | birth_name = James Platten Vanderbilt | birth_date = {{birth date and age text|November 17, 1975}} | alma_mater = [[University of Southern California]] | father = [[Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III]] | relatives = [[Vanderbilt family]] | occupation = {{Flatlist| *Screenwriter *director *producer }} | spouse = {{marriage|Amber Freeman|2005}}<ref name=nytimes05 /> | children = 2 }} '''James Platten Vanderbilt''' (born November 17, 1975) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer.<ref name="nytimes75">{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=Laure |date=December 6, 1975 |title=Notes on People |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40A11F73D5C1A7493C4A91789D95F418785F9 |access-date=June 4, 2010 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sps.edu |url=http://www.sps.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=112277 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004030321/http://www.sps.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=112277 |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |access-date=November 6, 2009}}</ref> He is best known for writing the films ''[[Zodiac (film)|Zodiac]]'' (2007),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.moviemaker.com/hop/editorial.php?id=461|title=James Vanderbilt goes back in time for David Fincher's Zodiac|website=www.moviemaker.com|access-date=2024-09-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821080147/http://www.moviemaker.com/hop/editorial.php?id=461|archive-date=August 21, 2007|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man (film)|The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' (2012) and its [[The Amazing Spider-Man 2|2014 sequel]], and ''[[Independence Day: Resurgence]]'' (2016). He also co-wrote, produced, and co-story ''[[Scream (2022 film)|Scream]]'' (2022), its [[Scream VI|2023 sequel]] and its [[Scream 7|2026 sequel]]. Vanderbilt also contributed as producer for several films, including ''[[The House with a Clock in Its Walls (film)|The House with a Clock in Its Walls]]'' (2018), ''[[Ready or Not (2019 film)|Ready or Not]]'' (2019) and ''[[Ready or Not 2: Here I Come]]'' (2026).
== Early life and education == A member of the [[Vanderbilt family]] of New York, James is the son of Alison Campbell (''née'' Platten) and [[Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III]].<ref>[http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/g/o/s/Jeanann-Goss/ODT2-0332.html Familytreemaker.genealogy.com]</ref> His paternal great-grandfather [[Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr.]] died on the {{RMS|Lusitania}} in the [[sinking of the RMS Lusitania|1915 sinking]], his paternal grandfather, [[Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr.]], once chaired the [[New York Racing Association]], and his maternal grandfather, Donald Campbell Platten, was the chief executive and chairman of [[Chemical Bank]].<ref name=nytimes05 /><ref name=nytimes75 /><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/27/nyregion/donald-c-platten-ex-chairman-of-chemical-bank-is-dead-at-72.html?pagewanted=1?pagewanted=1 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=Donald C. Platten, Ex-Chairman Of Chemical Bank, Is Dead at 72 |first=James |last=Barron |date=August 27, 1991}}</ref> Journalist [[Anderson Cooper]] is his second cousin.
Vanderbilt was raised in [[Norwalk, Connecticut]], and attended school at [[New Canaan Country School]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=HANP&p_multi=NCAB&p_theme=hanp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10DE8FD214CCDB3D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=Hersam Acorn Newspapers Archives |date=May 5, 2005 |work=The [[New Canaan Advertiser]] |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=June 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190420/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=HANP&p_multi=NCAB&p_theme=hanp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10DE8FD214CCDB3D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is a graduate of [[St. Paul's School (Concord, NH)|St. Paul's School]] and the [[University of Southern California]].<ref name=nytimes05>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/fashion/weddings/22vows.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |title=Amber Freeman and Jamie Vanderbilt |first=Strawberry |last=Saroyan |date=May 22, 2005}}</ref>
== Career == His production company, Mythology Entertainment, started in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|last= Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=November 18, 2011|title=Phoenix Co-President Bradley Fischer Forms Mythology With Scribes Laeta Kalogridis And James Vanderbilt|url=https://deadline.com/2011/11/phoenix-co-president-bradley-fischer-forms-mythology-with-scribes-laeta-kalogridis-and-james-vanderbilt-196642/|access-date=October 15, 2020|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref> It was later reincorporated into Project X Entertainment as of 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|last= Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=October 30, 2019|title=James Vanderbilt, William Sherak & Paul Neinstein Launch Project X Entertainment With Spyglass Deal|url=https://deadline.com/2019/10/project-x-entertainment-spyglass-media-group-james-vanderbilt-william-sherak-paul-neinstein-1202772699/|access-date=October 15, 2020|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref>
In May 2016, Mythology acquired intellectual property rights to [[Slender Man]] from the character's creator Eric Knudsen.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/movies/slender-man-a-horror-meme-gets-ready-to-step-out-of-the-shadows.html?_r=0|title = 'Slender Man,' a Horror Meme, Gets Ready to Step Out of the Shadows|newspaper = The New York Times|date = May 6, 2016|last1 = Rogers|first1 = Katie}}</ref> Vanderbilt later produced a [[Slender Man (film)|film adaptation of the character]] in 2018.
In 2020, Vanderbilt co-wrote the script for the [[Scream (2022 film)|fifth installment]] of the [[Scream (franchise)|''Scream'' franchise]], starring [[Neve Campbell]], [[David Arquette]], [[Courteney Cox]], [[Melissa Barrera]], [[Jenna Ortega]], [[Jack Quaid]], [[Marley Shelton]], [[Dylan Minnette]], [[Mason Gooding]], [[Kyle Gallner]], [[Jasmin Savoy Brown]], [[Mikey Madison]] and [[Sonia Ben Ammar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/05/scream-david-arquette-cast-in-sequel-spyglass-media-group-1202937288/|title=''Scream'': David Arquette Returning As Dewey Riley In Spyglass Media Group Reboot|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=May 18, 2020|access-date=July 4, 2020}}</ref> The film was released on January 14, 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3629595/scream-5-slashing-theaters-january-14-2022/|title=Relaunch of 'Scream' Slashing Into Theaters on January 14, 2022!|last=Miska|first=Brad|work=BloodyDisgusting|date=August 28, 2020|access-date=August 28, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kroll |first=Justin |date=June 24, 2020 |title=New ''Scream'' Movie From Spyglass Media Will Be Released by Paramount (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/paramount-and-spyglass-scream-1234648119/ |access-date=June 24, 2020 |work=Variety}}</ref> Vanderbilt's most recent project, ''[[Nuremberg (2025 film)|Nuremberg]]'', is about the [[Nuremberg trials]] and was released on November 7, 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/russell-crowe-rami-malek-michael-shannon-nuremberg-1235827513/|title=Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon to Star in Nazi Drama 'Nuremberg'|last=Brew|first=Caroline|date=7 December 2023|work=Variety}}</ref>
== Personal life == Vanderbilt has been married to Amber Freeman since 2005, the couple has two children together; Jack and Charles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Allan Freeman Obituary (2014) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/allan-freeman-obituary?id=17405532 |access-date=2025-11-18 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>
== Filmography == {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title !width=65| Writer !width=65| Producer ! Director ! Notes |- | rowspan="3"| 2003 | ''[[Darkness Falls (2003 film)|Darkness Falls]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | [[Jonathan Liebesman]] | |- | ''[[Basic (2003 film)|Basic]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | [[John McTiernan]] | |- | ''[[The Rundown]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | [[Peter Berg]] | |- | 2007 | ''[[Zodiac (film)|Zodiac]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | [[David Fincher]] | |- | 2010 | ''[[The Losers (2010 film)|The Losers]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | [[Sylvain White]] | |- | 2012 | ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man (film)|The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | [[Marc Webb]] | |- | 2013 | ''[[White House Down]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | [[Roland Emmerich]] | |- | 2014 | ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man 2]]'' | {{Partial|Story}} | {{no}} | Marc Webb | |- | 2015 | ''[[Truth (2015 film)|Truth]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Himself | Directorial debut |- | 2016 | ''[[Independence Day: Resurgence]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | Roland Emmerich | |- | rowspan="2"|2018 | ''[[Slender Man (film)|Slender Man]]'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | Sylvain White | |- | ''[[The House with a Clock in Its Walls (film)|The House with a Clock in Its Walls]]'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | [[Eli Roth]] | |- | rowspan="2" | 2019 | ''[[Murder Mystery (film)|Murder Mystery]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | [[Kyle Newacheck]] | |- | ''[[Ready or Not (2019 film)|Ready or Not]]'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} |rowspan="2"|[[Matt Bettinelli-Olpin]]<br />[[Tyler Gillett]] |Cameo, Mr. Le Bail |- | rowspan="3" | 2022 | ''[[Scream (2022 film)|Scream]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |- | ''[[Ambulance (2022 film)|Ambulance]]'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | [[Michael Bay]] | |- | ''[[Bed Rest (film)|Bed Rest]]'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | Lori Evans Taylor | |- | rowspan="2" |2023 | ''[[Scream VI]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Matt Bettinelli-Olpin<br />Tyler Gillett | |- | ''[[Murder Mystery 2]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | [[Jeremy Garelick]] | |- | 2024 | ''[[Abigail (2024 film)|Abigail]]'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | Matt Bettinelli-Olpin<br />Tyler Gillett | |- | rowspan="2" | 2025 | ''[[Fountain of Youth (film)|Fountain of Youth]]'' | {{Yes}} | {{Yes}} | [[Guy Ritchie]] | |- | ''[[Nuremberg (2025 film)|Nuremberg]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Himself | |- | rowspan="2" | 2026 | ''[[Scream 7]]'' | {{partial|Story}} | {{yes}} | [[Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)|Kevin Williamson]] | |- | ''[[Ready or Not 2: Here I Come]]'' | {{No}} | {{Yes}} | Matt Bettinelli-Olpin<br />Tyler Gillett | Cameo, Mr. Le Bail |- | TBA | ''[[White Elephant (upcoming film)|White Elephant]]'' | {{No}} | {{Yes}} | [[Eli Craig]] | |- |}
'''Executive producer''' * ''[[Altered Carbon (TV series)|Altered Carbon]]'' (2018) * ''[[Suspiria (2018 film)|Suspiria]]'' (2018) * ''[[American Dream/American Knightmare]]'' (2018) * ''[[The Night Agent]]'' (2023)
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|0888743}} * [https://creativescreenwritingmagazine.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html James Vanderbilt interview in Creative Screenwriting Magazine]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderbilt, James}} [[Category:1975 births]] [[Category:American people of Dutch descent]] [[Category:American male screenwriters]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:University of Southern California alumni]] [[Category:Vanderbilt family|James]] [[Category:Film directors from Connecticut]] [[Category:Film producers from Connecticut]] [[Category:Writers from Norwalk, Connecticut]] [[Category:St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni]] [[Category:Screenwriters from Connecticut]]