Zack Snyder: ‘My director’s cuts are better than what ends up in the movies’

Zack Snyder doesn’t seem like the kind of director people argue about. Wearing a vest, corduroy trousers and rolled-up shirt sleeves to reveal muscular, tattooed forearms, the 57-year-old looks like the founder of a trendy new microbrewery. He soothes a nasty cough with a tasty cup of tea and has a strong, fast-talking charm.

As a director, however, Snyder is uniquely polarizing. Since he broke through 300His 2007 Spartan war epic, his opera, his brutal films full of tough, gym-sculpted bodies in bloodthirsty battles have brought in billions of dollars and many enemies.

After he helmed the DC Extended Universe of Warner Bros. man of Steel In 2013, the debate over the gritty approach to Superman and the all-ages appeal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe turned into a strangely politicized culture war.

Releasing his fan-supported “Snyder Cut” in 2021. Justice League (more on that later) was a bit of an vindication, but (with Snyder’s blessing) gave it a bit of an edge. Barbie on the end of Ken’s Dudeocracy: “It was like I was in a dream when I was actually invested in Zack Snyder’s cut. Justice League“

Is all this drama boring? “Yes,” he says with feeling. “Very tired. 100 percent,” he says often. Snyder is 100 percent a good person.

During this time, Snyder had other ideas: a zombie heist film. Army of the Dead and the great space opera Rebel Moon. “I had this fantasy that one day I would make a big sci-fi movie and it would be great. It becomes a refuge from what you’re doing.” After Warner Bros. Army of the Dead “We’re not spending money, it’s an original IP, no one knows what it is,” he paraphrases, and he was very warmly received at Netflix.

Snyder developed the premise for this. Rebel Moon at film school in Pasadena, 1980s. At various times, he thought about turning it into a video game, comic book, series, or television series. war of the stars spin-off, but he ended up making two more subtitled films. Child of fire AND Scar donor: a film about recruitment under the influence Seven Samurai, which will be followed by a war film in 2024. Although Snyder is a pro-choice Democrat who supports Biden, his work has been politically controversial, which is notable. Child of fire In it, the heroine (Sofia Boutellas Cora) assembles a racially and gender-diverse team of revolutionaries to fight a fascist empire.

“It will be interesting to see how people perceive this film from a political standpoint,” Snyder says. “You see, I react to iconography. If you impose an ideology on a film, that’s you. I love the mythological play of using iconography and symbolism to make it feel like something depends on things outside of the film. You brought all this with you.

Rebel Moon is rated PG-13, but Netflix allowed Snyder to create a second R-rated cut to be released over time (equivalent to the UK version 12A and 18 respectively). Since he left his directorial debut in 2003. ClapWith its more modest but more lucrative PG-13 rating, Snyder is in a ratings war. “100 percent,” he agrees.

“I think my reflective aesthetic is darker. If I’m following my instincts, it’s rated R. The director’s cuts I’ve done in the past have always been motivated by contentious relationships with the studio. My experience has been that director’s cuts of my films are usually better received than those I release theatrically under the greater supervision of people who know better than me. This time he says, “I didn’t fight anyone.”

Does he know where the border is?

“Everything can be edited. So the guy takes the chainsaw and the man is lying on the ground – he’s waving an imaginary weapon above his head with alarming confidence – and you say, “Cut!” It’s PG-13.”

Snyder grew up in Connecticut, attended art school in London, and directed hundreds of commercials and music videos before releasing his first film in 2004. Dawn of the Dead, Late thirties. His vision of superheroes was shaped by two historical comics from 1986: The keeper (which he faithfully adapted in 2009) and The dark knight returns. These radical, questioning texts formed the basis of his desire to destroy and restore famous characters. “There are some rules about what characters can and can’t do,” he explains. “These comics say, ‘Okay, we’re slaves to the canon.’ Why?’ It’s a cult deconstruction.”

At the final stage of 2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of JusticeWarner Bros. started to get scared by Snyder’s noir revisionism. “They were hoping for something like Marvel: ‘We have superheroes.’ Why don’t they do what these guys do? Why are they so dark? Why are they fighting each other? What are we doing?’ These are the types of conversations. The first clue came when we tried to get PG-13. [rating]. I asked, “What don’t they like? What should we do?” And they said, “They just don’t like the idea of ​​Batman and Superman fighting.” And I said, “Well, I don’t know what to say!” It’s a movie! »

Tensions reached a fever pitch during 2017. Justice League, he says, “and of course that led to me having to walk away and say, ‘Fuck this.’ Considering what happened to my family, it made sense.

After his 20-year-old daughter Autumn committed suicide, Snyder stepped away and took time to grieve. avenger Director Joss Whedon took the helm, creating an unfortunate marriage of Snyder’s mythical darkness and Marvel-style flair. A fierce fan campaign to see the unproduced Snyder Cut eventually led to Warner Bros. shelled out $70 million to help him complete it. Fans loved Snyder’s cut. Even dubious critics admired the outrageous honesty of his labor of love, for which he demanded no compensation.

This was Snyder’s last word on superheroes. This era of the DCEU is ending Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomreleased on the same day as Rebel Moon, and the franchise is being rebooted by Snyder’s former collaborator James Gunn. Marvel and DC films have struggled to attract slackers to their seats this year. Does Snyder think the hegemony of superheroes is over?

“When my introduction to superheroes begins with The keeper and ends Justice League“To me, this clearly marks this era,” he says diplomatically. “You could use these two films as bookends to what I would call the commercial peak of freak show. I don’t know where we are now. And who knows, maybe another big hit awaits us? It’s quite natural for me that I disappeared from these films.”

Snyder wrote a 450-page “bible” about it. Rebel Moon Lore describing every detail of his universe. The titular Rebel Moon doesn’t even appear in the first two films. If all goes well, he has plans for three or four more, but he says: “I never thought I would come up with this idea. This is much more than I expected. At this point, being rich is a disgrace.”

Another long-running project is an adaptation of Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel. Fonteinkop. Like many of Snyder’s films. Rebel Moon It features a motley crew of flawed, reluctant heroes, but Rand’s protagonist Howard Roark, an icon of the libertarian right, is an uncharming bigot who is always right and never changes. So what’s the appeal?

“I’ll tell you why I’m attracted to this,” Snyder says animatedly. “Ayn Rand wrote this book as a reaction to the existence [given notes] based on a script she wrote. She was noticed and noticed and noticed until she felt the script no longer made sense, which is a common occurrence in Hollywood. She said, “What if you just can’t take notes?” The dream of not having to compromise is an impossible dream. I’m very aware of the fantasy element.”

It turns out that there are always more compromises than he would like?

“From the first day! You couldn’t find the pencil you wanted to write with. But the whole battle is to hold back the dam as much as possible. You’re constantly tinkering and holding on, and it’s a race to get to the end before everything falls apart. It’s an incredible process. The alchemy behind this is completely unknown. Nobody knows what makes him good,” he pauses. “Which is kind of cool, I guess.”

Mr. 100 percent doesn’t look entirely convinced.