James Vanderbilt

Early life and education A sixth-generation member of the Vanderbilt family of New York, James is the son of Alison Campbell (née Platten) and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III. His paternal great-grandfather Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. died on the in the 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. Journalist Anderson Cooper is his second cousin through Cooper's mother, Gloria Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt was raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, and attended school at New Canaan Country School. He is a graduate of St. Paul's School and the University of Southern California.

Career His production company, Mythology Entertainment, started in 2011. It was reincorporated as Project X Entertainment in 2019.

In May 2016, Mythology acquired intellectual property rights to Slender Man from the character's creator Eric Knudsen. Vanderbilt produced the film Slender Man in 2018.

In 2020, Vanderbilt co-wrote the script for Scream, the fifth installment of the Scream franchise. The film was released on January 14, 2022. Vanderbilt's most recent project, Nuremberg, is about the Nuremberg trials and was released on November 7, 2025.

Personal life Vanderbilt has been married to Amber Freeman since 2005, the couple has two children together; Jack and Charles.

Filmography Year Title Writer Producer Director Notes 2003 Darkness Falls Jonathan Liebesman Basic John McTiernan The Rundown Peter Berg 2007 Zodiac David Fincher 2010 The Losers Sylvain White 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man Marc Webb 2013 White House Down Roland Emmerich 2014 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marc Webb 2015 Truth Himself Directorial debut 2016 Independence Day: Resurgence Roland Emmerich2018 Slender Man Sylvain White The House with a Clock in Its Walls Eli Roth 2019 Murder Mystery Kyle Newacheck Ready or Not Matt Bettinelli-OlpinTyler GillettCameo, Mr. Le Bail 2022 Scream Ambulance Michael Bay Bed Rest Lori Evans Taylor2023 Scream VI Matt Bettinelli-OlpinTyler Gillett Murder Mystery 2 Jeremy Garelick 2024 Abigail Matt Bettinelli-OlpinTyler Gillett 2025 Fountain of Youth Guy Ritchie Nuremberg Himself 2026 Scream 7 Kevin Williamson Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Matt Bettinelli-OlpinTyler Gillett Cameo, Mr. Le Bail TBA White Elephant Eli Craig

Executive producer Altered Carbon (2018) Suspiria (2018) American Dream/American Knightmare (2018) The Night Agent (2023)