Nuremberg Interview: Michael Shannon, Richard E. Grant, John Slattery, and Director James Vanderbilt
5Featuring a cast full of award-winning actors and a period setting discussing weighty and pressing issues, Nuremberg is akin to an old Hollywood epic that doesn't get made as often as it used to. Written and directed by James Vanderbilt, best known for writing Zodiac and directing the journalism docudrama, Truth, Nuremberg is a gripping historical drama that stars Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Richard E. Grant, Michael Shannon, and John Slattery. The film recalls the similarly-named Judgment at Nuremberg, Stanley Kramer’s 1961 epic historical drama about the trials against Nazi war criminals, but Vanderbilt’s adaptation of the book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai is its own unique interpretation of history. Although the battles may be over, the ramifications of the war and its psychological effects will last forever.
Nuremberg is set in 1945 during the final days of World War II, following Adolf Hitler’s death. Several figures within the Nazi high command, notably the charismatic Hermann Göring (Crowe), have been apprehended by the Allies. Army psychiatrist Lt. Colonel Douglas Kelley (Malek) is called in to evaluate the Nazi captives, and he uses this responsibility to examine evil from a psychological point of view, ensuring that the atrocities committed by the German forces never occur again. At the same time, his studies also provide him with enticing material worthy of publication. During these evaluations, US Supreme Court justice Robert H. Jackson (Shannon) is tasked with forming an international tribunal and creating a fair trial, a moral dilemma for those trying what is believed to be pure evil in human form.
Vanderbilt, Grant, Shannon, and Slattery premiered the film at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where they stopped by Collider's Media Studio at the Cinema Center and spoke with Steve Weintraub about their new film. While the film is wholly engrossing as a fictionalized narrative, Vanderbilt reinforces that nonfictional aspect of the film. “All of the amazing cross-examinations and opening statements, that's all real stuff,” the director tells us. Check out the full conversation in the video above, and transcript below, where the stars discuss playing such complex historical figures, blending history with emotional storytelling, researching the subjects via YouTube, and Shannon’s upcoming performance as Bill Parcells in Mr. Irrelevant.
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