'Valkyrie' Begins Principal Photography in Berlin

    WWII thriller marks first re-teaming of director Bryan Singer and
    Oscar(R)-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie since their 1995 hit
    "The Usual Suspects"

    Tom Cruise heads a cast of international stars including Kenneth Branagh,
    Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard, Christian Berkel, Thomas
    Kretschmann, and Carice van Houten

    Production releases first photographs of Cruise as Stauffenberg

    LOS ANGELES, July 18 /CNW/ -- United Artists Entertainment LLC announced
the start of principal photography today in Berlin on the international
production of "Valkyrie," a suspense thriller based on the true story of the
daring German officers' plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944.

    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070718/LAW135-a)
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070718/LAW135-b)

    Directed by Bryan Singer ("The Usual Suspects," "Superman Returns,"
"X-Men," "X2: X-Men: United") and written by Academy Award(R)-winning
screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects," "The Way of the
Gun") and Nathan Alexander, "Valkyrie" reunites Singer and McQuarrie for the
first time since their ground-breaking 1995 thriller "The Usual Suspects."
    Superstar Tom Cruise heads an international cast as Col. Claus von
Stauffenberg, the aristocratic German officer who led the heroic attempt to
bring down the Nazi regime and end the war by planting a bomb in Hitler's
bunker. Also starring are Kenneth Branagh ("Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets"), Bill Nighy ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"), Tom
Wilkinson ("In the Bedroom"), Carice van Houten ("Black Book"), Eddie Izzard
("Ocean's Thirteen"), Christian Berkel ("Black Book"), Thomas Kretschmann
("King Kong"), and Terrence Stamp ("Billy Budd," "Superman," "Star Wars:
Episode I - The Phantom Menace").
    The film is being produced by Singer, McQuarrie, and Gilbert Adler
("Superman Returns," "Constantine"), with Chris Lee ("Superman Returns")
executive producing. Joining Singer behind the camera is a talented production
team that includes director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel ("Superman
Returns," "X2"), costume designer Joanna Johnston ("Munich," "War of the
Worlds"), and editor John Ottman (" Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver
Surfer," "Superman Returns").
    The "July 20 Plot" on Hitler's life is one of the most heroic but least
known episodes of World War Two. Severely wounded in combat, Colonel Claus von
Stauffenberg returns from Africa to join the German Resistance and help create
Operation Valkyrie, the complex plan that will allow a shadow government to
replace Hitler's once he is dead. But fate and circumstance conspire to thrust
Stauffenberg from one of many in the plot to a double-edged central role. Not
only must he lead the coup and seize control of his nation's government ... He
must kill Hitler himself.
    "'Valkyrie' tells a story that is not only exciting but also important,"
said Singer. "It's something that Chris McQuarrie and I have wanted to do for
some time. I can't imagine shooting it anywhere else but on location in
Germany, and I'm thrilled that we were able to get Tom Cruise to play Col.
Stauffenberg."
    "'Valkyrie' is a gripping thriller that will keep audiences on the edge
of their seats -- and also go a long way towards reminding the world that even
within the ranks of the German military there was real resistance to the Nazi
regime," said United Artists Chief Executive Officer Paula Wagner. "As soon as
we read the screenplay, we knew this was a movie we had to make."
    "Valkyrie" is the second production to be green-lit by United Artists
since the fabled Hollywood studio was revived last November under the
leadership of Cruise and Wagner, who co-own the studio. It is a co-production
of United Artists and Studio Babelsberg AG, the venerable German film studio
whose stages have hosted productions ranging from Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" to
Paul Greengrass's "The Bourne Ultimatum."
    The film will be shot on location in Germany and elsewhere. It is
scheduled to be ready for release by MGM in the summer of 2008.

    About United Artists Entertainment LLC

    United Artists Entertainment LLC was formed in November 2006 under a
partnership between Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
Inc. (MGM), with Wagner serving as Chief Executive Officer.  The historic
United Artists brand was initially founded some 85 years ago by movie greats
Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and D.W. Griffith and,
throughout its history, has appeared on such iconic film franchises as Rocky,
The Pink Panther, and James Bond.

For further information: German press, Petra Schwuchow of LimeLight PR, 
+49 30 2639698 - 0, petra.schwuchow@limelight-pr.de; or Peter Schulze, +49 
30-88682035, schulze@film-pr.de, or Jutta Heyn, +49 30-88682034, 
heyn@film-pr.de, both of Schulze & Heyn FILM PR; or U.S. press, Dennis Rice 
of United Artists, +1-310-586-8333, drice@unitedartists.com; or Allan Mayer, 
allan.mayer@42west.net, or Kelly Mullens, kelly.mullens@42west.net, both  of
42West, +1-310-477-4442; or international press, Hilary Clark of Twentieth 
Century Fox International, +1-310-369-5156, hilary.Clark@fox.com