Studiocanal & Working Title Team For Timely D-Day Movie ‘Pressure’ About The Make-Or-Break Decisions Behind The Historic Normandy Landings
EXCLUSIVE: In the week the world commemorates the 80th anniversary of the historic Normandy Landings — and President Biden touches down in France on a state visit timed to the celebrations — we can reveal that European major Studiocanal is teaming up with Darkest Hour producer Working Title on timely D-Day movie Pressure.
The film will chart the extraordinary true story of the pressure-cooker environment facing the decision-makers behind D-Day, and how their liberation of Europe was entirely at the mercy of the weather.
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The story will hone in on Group Captain James Stagg, Chief Meteorologist at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expedition Force, whose job it was to inform General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, of weather conditions that would make-or-break the Allied invasion.
Despite a prolonged heat wave and the tide and moon conditions aligning, Stagg made a bold case for the invasion being delayed from June 5 to June 6 to avoid an incoming front and ensure better conditions. German meteorologists had assumed the invasion wouldn’t take place when it did due to the forecast of unfavourable conditions but the decision to delay by a day ultimately meant the Allies avoided the unexpected gales that did arrive on June 5 and gave them a window of opportunity to successfully carry out the invasion.
The window of opportunity for the invasion couldn’t have been any smaller. Had the Allies waited any longer the Germans would have spotted the build up of troops on the British coast, and soon after the operation the French coast was lashed by some of the worst storms in decades. The fates of millions of lives and the course of the war were resting on Stagg’s decision and ultimately it paid off, as Eisenhower explained to Walter Cronkite in a potent CBS interview from 1964.
Anthony Maras (Hotel Mumbai) is set to direct the film, which is based on Olivier Award winner David Haig’s acclaimed West End play of the same name. Haig and Maras co-wrote the script and the plan is to shoot the movie later this year. Talks are underway with high-level cast.
Haig’s play explores the personal and military stresses on Stagg and how tensions grew between the teams with different weather forecasts for the date of the proposed D-Day. The film will concentrate on the pressure-cooker of the decision-making but also capture the scale of the landings.
The play debuted in Edinburgh in 2014 before transferring to the West End in 2018 and had its North American premiere at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto in January of last year.
D-Day is one of the most iconic moments in western history and has been memorably portrayed a number of times on screen, including in Saving Private Ryan, Band Of Brothers and The Longest Day.
This week, there are two days of events taking place in the UK and France to mark the 80th anniversary of the landings. President Biden touched down in France this morning as part of a state visit timed to the celebrations, while the UK’s King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are at UK events to commemorate the event.
Biden will spend five days in France and attend D-Day events in Normandy. He will deliver a high-profile speech contrasting his vision of democracy with his 2024 political opponent Donald Trump, and hold a formal state visit with President Emmanuel Macron.
Studiocanal had commercial and critical success with WWII story The Imitation Game while Working Title similarly scored box office and Oscar recognition with WWII film Darkest Hour.
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