{"id":1590,"date":"2026-05-28T20:05:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T20:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1590"},"modified":"2026-05-28T20:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T20:05:34","slug":"in-pressure-the-story-of-the-meteorologist-who-helped-save-d-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1590","title":{"rendered":"In \u2018Pressure,\u2019 the story of the meteorologist who helped save D-Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

D-Day was supposed to happen on June 5, 1944. The story of why it ultimately took place on June 6 is one that has been a bit lost to history, consumed by the larger events surrounding it.<\/p>\n

One day might not seem like much in the grand scheme, but it was a seismic delay in plans for the unprecedented and daring invasion, which would deploy nearly 160,000 Allied troops in Normandy. Ultimately it came down to a recommendation from a shrewd Scottish meteorologist, Group Capt. James Stagg, who had to tell everyone, including Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Allied leadership, something they didn\u2019t want to hear: The weather was going to be catastrophically bad. And no, he wasn\u2019t certain about it.<\/p>\n

The tense 72 hours before the invasion are brought to life in \u201cPressure,\u201d in theaters May 29, on the eve of the operation\u2019s 82nd anniversary. An adaptation of David Haig\u2019s acclaimed stage play, the film sheds light on this bit of history that would effectively change the course of the second World War.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The very different styles of Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott<\/strong><\/p>\n

Filmmaker Anthony Maras assembled a unique group of actors for the task at hand, calling on Brendan Fraser to play Eisenhower and Andrew Scott to play Stagg.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I was an Ike Eisenhower when Anthony Maras sent me the script,\u201d Fraser said. \u201cI got on a Zoom call and he said, \u2018You gotta do this man.\u2019 Me? Why? \u2018It\u2019s because he\u2019s you, he\u2019s like you. He\u2019s just a regular guy.\u2019 Really? I mean, I thought Eisenhower was this, you know, stern, staunch, something on coin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fraser went deep in his preparation, reading and listening to everything he could get his hands on to help him understand the man who would ultimately have to make the decision. The research even continued on set. Maras laughed that right before they shot Eisenhower\u2019s famous \u201csoldiers, sailors and airmen\u201d speech, something that they\u2019d rehearsed many, many times, he looked up and saw Fraser reading yet another biography. But he appreciated that the Oscar-winner was passionate about knowing everything he possibly could to get it right.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe cared intensely for his troops,\u201d Fraser said. \u201cIt was my responsibility to honor their memory and to comport myself in a way that puts a human face on the seemingly academic decisions that go into an operation as massive as this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott was the opposite in terms of how he approached his role. Yes, he read Stagg\u2019s book and wanted to have a working understanding of the metrological jargon he\u2019d have to be spouting. While history was important, for him, character was king. And he liked that Stagg is not the most immediately likable person, but he has integrity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing with Stagg is that he\u2019s just not interested in charm \u2026 or being liked at all,\u201d Scott said. \u201cI think that\u2019s to be admired actually, because he\u2019s just there to do a job. So I like the fact that at the beginning of the movie, you\u2019re like, whoa, this guy is not pleasant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maras said that for Scott, it was all about the inner, emotional life of the character \u2014 which was essential for a part that would require so much internal conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Andrew, he has a quality to him where he can seemingly be doing very little \u2014 he\u2019s sitting down, rearranging his tie, he can be reading a phone book \u2014 and you can\u2019t look away,\u201d Maras said.<\/p>\n

In the shadow of \u2018Saving Private Ryan\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The actors weren\u2019t the only ones feeling pressure of the assignment: Maras also had a behemoth looming in attempting to stage, however briefly, the D-Day invasion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve kind of got to be crazy maybe to attempt it, given that Spielberg did it so masterfully,\u201d Maras said.<\/p>\n

But unlike \u201cSaving Private Ryan,\u201d which focused on the men storming the beach, \u201cPressure\u201d is about the ones making the decisions. It\u2019s a different perspective. Still, once they make the call to go, there would have to be at least some of the operation shown to juxtapose with the \u201cbloody tense, wire-type atmosphere of the control room,\u201d Maras said.<\/p>\n

Inspired by Peter Jackson\u2019s World War I documentary \u201cThey Shall Not Grow Old,\u201d and the existence of dozens of hours of pristine 35 mm black and white film from the event, Maras decided that perhaps archival footage, colorized, would be the way to go. It was a different way to present D-Day that gave it immediacy, he said, as opposed to looking like history.<\/p>\n

\u2018Pressure\u2019s\u2019 relevance to today<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ultimately, \u201cPressure\u201d isn\u2019t just a history lesson, or even a character drama with big personalities and even bigger stakes: It\u2019s a portrait of leadership and ego clashing with facts and science. And its relevance to the present day is the reason Maras wanted to make the film in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you bring your best self to the table to make the decision? How do you have the humility to acknowledge when you don\u2019t know something? And how do you have the wisdom to determine who to trust? \u2026 Eisenhower in the end showed that he was a maestro at that,\u201d Maras said. \u201cWhat I love about the Stagg character is he\u2019s someone who feels compelled to tell someone something that they don\u2019t want to hear, that they violently don\u2019t want to but they need to hear. The world needs more of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years later, John F. Kennedy, on the way to his own inauguration, asked Eisenhower what gave them the edge on D-Day. His response? \u201cWe had better meteorologists than the Germans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen life or death depends on you understanding the facts, it probably has a way of like cutting up the BS and getting to it,\u201d Maras said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very clear example of a time where the Allied worlds\u2019 future was at stake and they listened to someone who knew what he was talking about and they did all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more coverage of summer films, visit: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/movies<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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D-Day was supposed to happen on June 5, 1944. The story of why it ultimately took place on June 6 is one that has been a bit lost to history, consumed by the larger events surrounding it. 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