James Vanderbilt is offering insight into how he shot the courtroom showdown in his latest film, Nuremberg.
The filmmaker, best known for writing David Fincher’s Zodiac, has come to San Sebastian Film Festival to present his two-and-a-half-hour World War II flick, following the cat-and-mouse game between Russell Crowe‘s Nazi chief Hermann Goring and Rami Malek‘s American psychologist Douglas Kelley as the U.S., U.K., France and Soviet Union prepared to put dozens of Hitler’s men on trial in 1945 and 1946.
At the movie’s press conference on Thursday, Vanderbilt (also writer on The Amazing Spider-Man and Independence Day: Resurgence) discussed filming the courtroom showdown in the feature’s final act between U.S. prosecutor Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon) and Crowe as the charming, cunning Goring, whom the allies were concerned could evade justice.
Vanderbilt explained that a producer had laid out the three-day shoot, spanning 20 pages of dialogue, for the verbal dual between the two actors. “I said, Michael Shannon and Russell Crowe won’t want to do that,” Vanderbilt began. “They’re going to want to do it in one day. And she said, ‘It’s 20 pages of dialogue. That’s a terrible idea.’ So I went to both of them and I said, ‘You know, we’re supposed to shoot this over three days. They’re both like, ‘No. We’re going to do this in one. What are you talking about?’”
The director had four cameras positioned across the room, though his job was made more difficult by staying faithful to historical accuracy. “Usually, you have the lawyers that will walk around, but the way that courtroom is set up, the prosecutor never moves. It’s just shot, shot, shot, shot, shot. We set up, and we were doing 25-minute takes with no cuts,” he continued, “and they were word-perfect every time because we took all the real transcripts.”
“After the first take, the entire courtroom of extras applauded Michael and Russell,” said Vanderbilt. “Just watching those two gentlemen put on a masterclass… I’ve never shot a 25-minute take in a movie in my life. I don’t think I ever will again.” He added: “That, I think, was one of the most amazing [experiences].”
Vanderbilt was also probed on the film’s eerie reflection of current-day politics, especially in his native U.S., where the threat of authoritarianism has never loomed so large. “I started working on [this] 13 years ago, and I thought it was just an incredible story… this idea of a psychiatric [doctor] in World War II who gets the opportunity to [examine] what the nature of evil is, I felt that it was such a fascinating thing to try and capture… It is relevant now, and I think unfortunately, it’ll be relevant in the future, but it’s just such an incredible story that takes place at such an incredible time.”
Naturally, Vanderbilt was asked about Crowe’s preparation for stepping into the role of Hitler’s right-hand man, and lauded the actor’s skill. “Russell Crowe — he is one of the biggest reasons this movie exists today,” said Vanderbilt, explaining how Crowe stayed with the film through the rocky seas of acquiring and losing funding over the years. “We talked a lot about it. He said to me, ‘Look, it’s not a great mental space to live in for me.’”
But Crowe “fully committed and invested in” Nuremberg, said the director, “and did an incredible amount of research. He traveled around Germany to the different places in [Goring’s] childhood. He really put himself in depth to it. And I’m just eternally grateful for the commitment he put into this film and the work he did because he’s Russell forever. He doesn’t necessarily need to do that anymore, but he was as hungry as an actor as I’ve ever seen anyone, and that was a true gift.”
Among other films, Vanderbilt also described enjoying seeing Malek’s “inquisitiveness and magnetism” that he “doesn’t always get to use in films.” He said: “He’s never the hero.” Shannon, he continued, “is an actor’s actor.”
Nuremberg‘s supporting cast includes Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O’Brien, Colin Hanks, Richard E. Grant and Wrenn Schmidt. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and hits theaters Nov. 7.
The San Sebastian International Film Festival 2025 runs Sept. 19-27.
