The newly Emmy nominated Andrew Scott is set to lead Studiocanal and Working Title’s upcoming D-Day film Pressure, Deadline exclusively reported. On the heels of that news, the entertainment publication also exclusively announced that Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser will be joining Scott.
Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott set to land in Normandy under Pressure
Pressure is based on the story of Group Captain James Stagg, played by BAFTA winner Scott, the Allies’ Chief Meteorologist. It was Stagg’s job to tell Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, played by Fraser, of the weather conditions that would decide whether the Normandy invasion would push through. Stagg’s ability to reliably inform Eisenhower’s decisions was critical in turning the tide of World War II and with it, history.
Anthony Maras will direct the thriller which will begin production in the UK this September. Additional casting is in progress.
Maras co-wrote the screenplay with Olivier Award-winner David Haig based on Haig’s much-lauded play of the same name. It ran in London’s West End before it was performed for the late Queen Elizabeth II and other world leaders in 2019 to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
The film’s logline states: “In the seventy two hours leading up to D-Day, all the pieces are in place except for one key element — the British weather. Britain’s chief meteorological officer James Stagg (Andrew Scott) is called upon to deliver the most consequential forecast in history, locking him into a tense standoff with the entire Allied leadership. The wrong conditions could devastate the largest ever seaborne invasion, while any delay risks German intelligence catching on.”
From Hot Priest to Ripley and now to Group Captain
“With only his trusted aide Captain Kay Summersby to confide in, and haunted by a catastrophic D-Day rehearsal, the final decision rests with Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower (Fraser). With only hours to go, the fate of the war and the lives of millions hang in the balance,” the description continued.
Haig’s play delves into Stagg’s personal and military challenges as well as the tensions that gripped the teams who had differing weather forecasts for the proposed D-Day. The movie, on the other hand, will focus more on the pressure cooker environment of decisions made during that time as well as the scale of the Normandy landings.
At the end of the war, Stagg was appointed an Officer of the US Legion of Merit. Later, he was elected president of the Royal Meteorological Society. Eisenhower was celebrated for his leadership during the war and went on to become the 34th US President and served from 1953 to 1961.
On the evening of June 4, 1944, Stagg and his meteorological team from the Royal Navy, Met Office and the USAAF met Eisenhower. They predicted that the weather will improve enough in time for the invasion to push forward on June 6. The available dates with the necessary tidal conditions (but without the full moon that would have made it perfect), would be two weeks later from June 18 to 20.
However, if they postponed the invasion it would mean recalling men and ships that were already in position to cross the English Channel. This would also increase the chance that the Allies’ invasion plans would be found out. After several discussions with senior commanders, Eisenhower made the decision that D-Day would be on June 6. From June 19 to 22, a major storm battered the coast of Normandy. Had the invasion plans been moved then, they would have never landed on the beach.
From mummy warrior to The Whale to Ike
Both Stagg and Eisenhower — as played by actors — have appeared in several films together. In the 1962 film The Longest Day, Stagg was played by Patrick Barr and Eisenhower by Henry Grace. The 2004 TV movie Ike: Countdown to D-Day had Christopher James Baker as Stagg and Tom Selleck as Eisenhower. In Haig’s 2014 play, the playwright played Stagg and Malcolm Sinclair as Eisenhower. In the 2017 film, Steven Cree played Stagg and John Slattery as Eisenhower.
Scott recently starred in the Netflix miniseries Ripley, for which he was nominated two Emmys: for Outstanding Leading Actor in Limited or Anthology Series or a Movie and since he also served as a producer, Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. He’ll next star in the action comedy feature Back in Action with Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.
Fraser, who is coincidentally almost the same age as Eisenhower at the time of the Normandy landings, was recently in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. He’ll next be seen in the action comedy feature Sacrifice with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Evans.
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