'Valkyrie' First Look

Bryan Singer's "Valkryie" (Aug. 8, 2008), a dramatization of actual events in which German officers hatch a scheme to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the height of World War II, starts, at present, principal photography in Berlin. Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Carice van Houten ("Black Book"), Patrick Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard and Stephen Fry star. Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects") and Nathan Alexander wrote the script. Paula Wagner, Singer, McQuarrie and Cruise will produce for United Artists. Cruise stars as aristocratic German officer Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (above), facilitator of Operation Valkyrie, a heroic plot to plant a bomb in Hitler's bunker and install a shadow government. "'Valkyrie' tells a story that is not only exciting but also important," Singer said. "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."