Zack Snyder

Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder in March 2011
Born	Zachary Edward Snyder March 1, 1966 (1966-03-01) Green Bay, Wisconsin, US
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter, producer and actor
Years active	1990–present
Notable work(s)	Sucker Punch, Watchmen, 300, Dawn of the Dead
Spouse	Deborah Snyder (September 25, 2004–present)

Zachary Edward "Zack" Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for action/science fiction films. After making his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead, he gained wide recognition with the 2007 box office hit 300, adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics miniseries of the same name, and later went on to direct the 2009 superhero film Watchmen, an adaptation of the comic book of the same name. He is the co-founder of Cruel and Unusual Films, a production company he established in 2004, alongside his wife Deborah Snyder and producing partner Wesley Coller. His first family film was the 2010 animated family adventure film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, based on the first three books of the series by Kathryn Lasky. His most recent film is Sucker Punch, which he directed and co-wrote. He has also been hired by Warner Bros. to direct a reboot of the Superman film series currently titled Man of Steel.

Personal life

Snyder was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. His father was an executive recruiter and his mother was a painter and a photography teacher at Daycroft School, which Snyder later attended. Zack attended Camp Owatonna in Harrison, Maine during the summer months as a child. Snyder's mother inspired him to study nude paintings^{[citation needed]} a year after high school at Heatherley School of Fine Art in England, although he had already begun filmmaking. Afterward, Snyder attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California (where his classmates included Michael Bay). Snyder still lives in Pasadena with his second wife, producer Deborah Snyder.

Career

Snyder went on to shoot, as a director and as a cinematographer, television commercials for such clients as the automobile companies Audi, BMW, Subaru and Nissan, among others. Other commercial work has been for clients including Nike, Reebok, and Gatorade.

Snyder made his feature film debut with the remake Dawn of the Dead (2004), and scored a box office hit with 300 (2007), adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics miniseries of the same name. His Warner Bros. film Watchmen was released on March 6, 2009 and grossed $185 million worldwide. His follow-up project/animation debut titled Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole was released on September 24, 2010. Snyder produced, co-wrote, and directed Sucker Punch, which was released on March 25, 2011. The film, based on a script written by Snyder and Steve Shibuya, was about a young woman in a mental hospital who fantasizes of escape with her fellow inmates.

He has announced that he will be directing the upcoming Superman: The Man of Steel film for Warner Bros., which will be a reboot of the franchise. He will also be writing and producing (but not directing) a sequel to his Dawn of the Dead remake titled Army of the Dead, and will direct a yet-to-be-produced remake of the 1969 film The Illustrated Man. He also wants to direct a segment for an upcoming Heavy Metal 3, and plans to write and direct a sequel to Legend of the Guardians.

300 controversy

Before the release of 300, Warner Bros. expressed concerns about the political aspects of the film's theme. Snyder relates that there was "a huge sensitivity about East versus West with the studio." Media speculation about a possible parallel between the Greco-Persian conflict and current events began in an interview with Snyder that was conducted before the Berlin Film Festival. The interviewer remarked that "everyone is sure to be translating this [film] into contemporary politics." Snyder replied that, while he was aware that people would read the film through the lens of contemporary events, no parallels between the film and the contemporary world were intended.

Style

Snyder often uses slow motion in fight scenes in his films, which Amy Nicholson of Boxoffice magazine remarked separates the director from other filmmakers who make multiple cuts and close-ups during a fight. A minute-long shot from 300 shows King Leonidas walking down as he slaughters his enemies, and the camera only dollys in and out to emphasize each kill.

Awards

Snyder's body of work has earned him a number of awards, including two Clio Awards and a Gold Lion Award for his Jeep "Frisbee" commercial. He also won an award for his humorous commercial "General's Party".

Filmography

Snyder at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International

Year	Film	Director	Producer	Writer	Distributor(s)
2004	Dawn of the Dead	Yes	No	No	Universal Pictures
2007	300	Yes	No	Yes	Warner Bros. Pictures
2009	Watchmen	Yes	No	No	Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures
2010	Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole	Yes	Yes	No	Warner Bros. Pictures
2011	Sucker Punch	Yes	Yes	Yes	Warner Bros. Pictures
2013	Man of Steel	Yes	No	No	Warner Bros. Pictures
	Army of the Dead	No	Yes	Yes	Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures
TBA	The Illustrated Man	Yes	No	No	Warner Bros. Pictures

Music videos

• "Tomorrow" performed by Morrissey (1992)
• "World Class Fad" performed by Paul Westerberg (1993)
• "I Know" performed by Dionne Farris (1994)
• "Walk This World" performed by Heather Nova (1995)
• "Desolation Row" performed by My Chemical Romance (2009)

External links

• Cruel and Unusual Films – Snyder's production company
• Snyder at MySpace
• Zack Snyder at the Internet Movie Database
• Zack Snyder at Believe Media
• Zack Snyder Biography at Tribute.ca
• Zack Snyder Directing 'Superman' at Deadline
• Zack Snyder directing Superman reboot at The Hollywood Reporter
• Zack Snyder on Twitter