Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon Star in Nuremberg

December 7, 2023 @ 9:45 AM

Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon will star in “Nuremberg,” a historical thriller set in post-World War II Germany.

James Vanderbilt, who wrote David Fincher’s “Zodiac” and the two “Murder Mystery” movies for Netflix, will write and direct, with production slated to begin in February 2024. It is based on the 2013 book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII” by Jack El-Hai. The project hails from Bluestone Entertainment and Walden Media.

In “Nuremberg,” Malek plays American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley, who, according to the official synopsis “is tasked with determining whether Nazi prisoners are fit to stand trial for their war crimes, and finds himself in a complex battle of wits with Hermann Göring (Crowe), Hitler’s right-hand man.” Shannon has been tapped to play Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, the chief prosecutor of the Nuremberg trials.

In an official statement, Vanderbilt said, “What an absolute honor it is to be working with such a tremendously talented group of actors. Our partners at Bluestone and Walden have been incredibly supportive, and I cannot wait to bring this amazing true story to the screen.”

Richard Saperstein, William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Brad Fischer, Istvan Major and Paul Neinstein are producing, along with production company Filmsquad. Walden’s Frank Smith, Ben Tappan, and Cher Hawrysh will serve as Executive Producers, as well as Annie Saperstein, Brooke Saperstein, Beau Turpin, Nikolett Barabas and Béla Hajnal. The project was previously in development at Vanderbilt, Sherak and Fischer’s Mythology Entertainment.

Vanderbilt most recently wrote “Murder Mystery 2” and co-wrote “Scream VI” (with Guy Busick) and before that produced Michael Bay’s “Ambulance” and co-wrote 2022’s “Scream” (again with Busick). “Nuremberg” will be his second feature as a writer/director after 2015’s “Truth,” another based-on-a-true-story drama, starring Robert Redford as Dan Rather and Cate Blanchett as “60 Minutes” producer Mary Mapes.