The Untold Truth Of Zack Snyder

Few modern filmmakers draw as much conversation as Zack Snyder. Sometimes, that conversation is positive, such as James Cameron proclaiming that Snyder is one of the "guys who are creating their own cinematic language." Other times, there are critics who've said that Snyder's movies "are completely and utterly unoriginal." Whatever kind of response he's generated, though, Snyder has proven to be someone who can easily drum up discourse in his nearly two decades of directing feature-length films. However, despite all of the talk over his films, there are still plenty of details about Snyder as a filmmaker and a person that aren't widely discussed.

Some of these tidbits relate to behind-the-scenes details of his lesser-known works, such as Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. Others date back to long before he started making movies, tying into Snyder's upbringing. Wherever these elements come from, they just prove that Zack Snyder — love him or hate him — can stir up discussion with ease.

It can be easy to forget when looking at photos of Zack Snyder talking to A-list actors and overseeing expensive sets laden with explosions, but even the biggest filmmakers are human beings. They're just as prone to having the same vulnerabilities as us common souls. For example, per Bloomberg, Snyder struggled with dyslexia as a child. According to the Mayo Clinic, dyslexia is defined as "a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words." Per Snyder himself, his dyslexia made his academic pursuits a struggle, though he apparently found a more successful outlet with sports in his public school days.

Dyslexia hasn't cropped up explicitly in Snyder's feature-length movies. However, an early scene in Man of Steel depicting a grade-school Clark Kent being overwhelmed by his superpowers (such as X-ray vision) could be easily read as being an allegory for children coping with any kind of disability or disorder. Meanwhile, the fact that Snyder saw himself as an academic outcast because of his dyslexia adds an extra personal layer to his characters, such as Soren in Legend of the Guardians, who are deemed societal outsiders. Whether those are incidental or intentional parallels, learning of Snyder's struggles with dyslexia does give one a new lens to view his various works through.

As late as the mid-2000s, it was still uncommon for movies to be entirely shot on green screen unless they were directed by George Lucas. But taking cues from the groundbreaking visual effects wizardry done on Robert Rodriguez's work on Sin City, Zack Snyder took artificial worlds to a whole new level with 300. This would be achieved by having the project shot almost entirely on green screens. In the process, 300 could utilize digital environments that more directly evoked the visuals of the film's comic book origins. Those illustrations had helped put the original 300 graphic novel on the map, and now they would be preserved for both moviegoers and Zack Snyder. "That's just what I'm drawn to aesthetically," the director said to the Los Angeles Times about the comic's visual aesthetic. "I like the relentlessness and over-the-top nature of the graphic novel. So the pace and design, that hysterical weirdness, come from that."

Snyder's ambitions manifested in a movie that truly committed to a world almost entirely realized through digital visual effects. In all of 300, only one scene, consisting of men riding on horseback, was shot in exterior environments. Otherwise, the actors performed on large green screen-covered soundstages with backgrounds that would be filled in at a later date. In the process, Snyder not only lent 300 a distinctive look but also pioneered a filmmaking style that's still regularly employed to this very day.

For his initial three movies, Zack Snyder was all about making R-rated blockbusters. Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen reveled in the qualities that earned them their strict MPAA ratings. Nudity, blood, extreme profanity — all were found in abundance in these earliest Snyder features. When it came time for his fourth live-action feature, Sucker Punch, initial announcements from outlets like Entertainment Weekly made it clear the project would also be rated R. This seemed fitting considering the film would tackle weighty topics like sexual assault and the objectification of women through the male gaze.

However, those initial R-rated ambitions never came to be as Sucker Punch was sent to theaters with a PG-13 rating. What happened? It would eventually be revealed that the studios behind Sucker Punch were mandating that the film get a PG-13 rating, which meant cutting a number of critical scenes and re-submitting the film before the MPAA board multiple times. In the process, scenes meant to reinforce the ghastly nature of the movie's real-world villains were removed, as were a number of sexual elements. Through cutting these scenes, Sucker Punch became the first live-action Zack Snyder movie to garner a PG-13, and many complained that its thematic ambitions were stifled by its rating. That original creative vision was retained for an R-rated version of the production that made its way onto the film's home video release.

For one brief moment in the late 2000s, edgy high schoolers got a massive dose of serotonin once they saw the news that My Chemical Romance and Zack Snyder had joined forces for Watchmen. Not since Cat Stevens delivered tunes for Harold & Maude were a feature film and a band so perfectly made for each other. Though Watchmen largely features period-era songs that match its 1980s setting, this collaboration was still possible thanks to the movie's Watchmen soundtrack, which would feature My Chemical Romance covering the Bob Dylan song Desolation Row. 

To provide extra publicity for both the tune and the Watchmen movie, Snyder directed a music video for the band's cover song. It was familiar territory for Snyder, who'd directed music videos all throughout the 1990s. The music video is largely a standalone creation that can be enjoyed separated from the Watchmen film. However, given that it's a tie-in to the movie, subtle references to Watchmen appear throughout, such as that famous smiley face button. The visual aesthetic of the music video also matches both Watchmen the movie and Snyder's work as a director. And with this music video, one of the biggest directors of the 2000s united with one of the biggest bands of the 2000s, with both entities united in a love for embracing darkness and subverting mainstream norms. It was a match made in Hot Topic heaven.

Zack Snyder has always professed a deep love for movies. This passion was apparent in a Newsweek profile examining the way movies have influenced the filmmaker's life. Needless to say, Snyder has been strongly impacted by his favorite films, including the Stanley Kubrick feature A Clockwork Orange. In describing why he liked Orange so much, Snyder chalked it up to the feature being "shockingly unapologetic."

That very same quality had earned A Clockwork Orange mixed marks from critics in its initial theatrical release, with the likes of Pauline Kael saying that the films' aesthetic resulted in "an abhorrent viewing experience." One person's trash is another person's treasure, though, and the very same bravura that repelled some was what drew Snyder to A Clockwork Orange. After all, he's often spent his career making similarly divisive movies. Across his assorted directorial efforts, Snyder has always made films that are also "shockingly unapologetic," from the grisly carnage in 300 and the frank nudity in Watchmen to the stark reinventions of classic DC superhero's in his DCEU efforts. Snyder is never one to make movies that sit on the sidelines and play it safe. So of course he'd appreciate a movie like Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, which works overtime to shock the audience and challenge who they're sympathizing with.

Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah has found itself utilized in several feature films, but it's been especially prominent across Zack Snyder's works. It first made its way into Zack Snyder's filmography through 2009's Watchmen, which featured the tune playing over a sex scene between Nite Owl and Silk Spectre. The sequence drew a widely divided response, particularly in regards to its needle drop. The song would reappear connected to a Snyder project in the first full trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Why is the song so prominent in Snyder's works? Shortly after that Justice League trailer debuted, the director offered some insight into what kind of personal meaning the song had for him. "It's a really personal song for the family and for all of us," Snyder explained (via Cinema Blend). "It's something that I just felt that was right for this. That's why. I just think that that song, in particular, really, for all of us, it has significance beyond just the movie. I think we all love the song, and it just felt like, as I was trying to wrangle this whole thing into the 'why' of it, I just felt like that song was the right way to do it." 

Snyder's comments here reference the tragedy of his daughter committing suicide during the initial production of Justice League, which has lent a whole new meaning to this tune for Snyder.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).