The film was shot in 17 days.
The cast members in the pivotal boardroom scene where Jeremy Irons addresses the board members went through a rehearsal that night so that Irons could get into character and everyone else could get into the scene, including Zachary Quinto, who really worked himself up. Kevin Spacey referred to it as the "craziest rehearsal he's ever been a part of" due to Irons' performance.
The boardroom scene where Jeremy Irons addresses the situation with the company, along with Zachary Quinto and Kevin Spacey, took 12 full hours to film and was the shortest night during the July 2010 shoot. The sun, just starting to come up, is briefly seen when Irons is standing by the window looking out of it.
Jeremy Irons's work visa expired just prior to filming his scenes. His agency had to immediately scramble to get him the work visa through the British Embassy, as well as a few U.S. senators who helped expedite the process, which usually takes two to three weeks. All of this happened during the Fourth of July weekend, in which Irons was finally able to get his visa and take the plane to the airport in England to get to New York for the shoot. The closing credits of the film includes "The Jeremy Irons Visa Miracle Team."
The line "What time is it? Fuck me...fuck me..." was ad-libbed by Simon Baker on set, which made director J.C. Chandor very happy.