James Platten Vanderbilt (born November 17, 1975)[2][3] is an American screenwriter and film producer. He is best known for the films Zodiac (2007), White House Down (2013), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and Murder Mystery (2019). A member of the Vanderbilt family of New York, James Vanderbilt is the son of Alison Campbell (née Platten) and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III.[4] His paternal great-grandfather Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. died on the RMS Lusitania, 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.[1][2][5]
Vanderbilt was raised in Norwalk, Connecticut and attended school in New Canaan, Connecticut.[6] He is a graduate of St. Paul's School and the University of Southern California.[1]