James Vanderbilt

James Vanderbilt (also credited as James Platten Vanderbilt) is an American screenwriter and producer born on November 17, 1975, in Norwalk, Connecticut. Known for sharp, propulsive studio storytelling, he has built a career moving fluidly between prestige thrillers and major franchise filmmaking.

Vanderbilt gained wide recognition for scripting David Fincher’s meticulous true-crime drama Zodiac (2007). He later helped shape superhero cinema with The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and its 2014 sequel, bringing character-driven stakes to a global blockbuster scale.

His credits also include the sci-fi revival Independence Day: Resurgence (2016), and he expanded his horror footprint by co-writing and producing Scream (2022) and its 2023 follow-up. As a producer, he has supported crowd-pleasing genre hits such as The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018) and Ready or Not (2019).

On-screen, Vanderbilt has appeared in smaller capacities, including an uncredited role as Mr. LeBail in Ready or Not and as himself in the documentary feature Rite of Passage: The Amazing Spider-Man Reborn.