What movie fans all over the world would do now, if there weren’t such truly great film industry gurus as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, James Cameron. A talented director Zack Snyder may soon be on a par with them - a cinematographer who holds great expectations and already has a large number of awards and prizes in his arsenal.
A bit from childhood
Today's successful Hollywood leader, and then an unremarkable kid, Zachary Edward Snyder was born on March 1, 1966 in a small American town in Wisconsin called Green Bay. But his parents did not plan to stay long in a stuffy town and moved with the boy to Connecticut, where his mother got a job as a teacher at the school of painting and art photography.
Thanks to this, young Zack was easily placed in the same school, where he instilled a love of creativity. Due should be given to the mother, who from an early age developed in the boy an interest in educational art. Noticing her son’s passionate love for cinema, she gave him a video camera, and although she was not professional, she was completely enough for the insistent Zach to learn the basics of directing. The idol of the youth was George Lucas, who just at that time released his "Star Wars". Then Zack Snyder and decided on his movie preferences. Fiction was what interested the guy.
Notable for his particular successes during his school years, Zack was easily accepted to a prestigious art school in London, and then to the college of design specialization in Pasadena.
The first directorial steps
The beginning of the directorial career of Snyder was at the beginning of the 90s, when he set about producing commercials. And every work to which he put his hand was marked by special success. That is why at such a young age, Zach Snyder already managed to collaborate with such monsters of world industry as Reebok, Nike, SUBARU, Magnum, Budweiser, BMW, Mitsubishi. For special creativity in this area he was even awarded an award at the annual Clio Awards. In addition, his work for Jeep didn’t go unnoticed - the video called “Frisbee” received the Golden Lion Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
In addition to these achievements, the young director had new friends with whom other aspiring talents dream to see at least once. This is Harrison Ford, and Robert De Niro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and even American basketball star
Michael Jordan. The latter, incidentally, starred in the title role in the documentary "The Playground of Michael Jordan." This film was the debut for Snyder and was released in 1990.
Principal Zack Snyder
Having decided that it was time to start advertising, Snyder reprofiled to direct music videos. After filming a decent amount of videos for Sean Collins, Morrissey, Heather Nova and the Soul Asylum team, he eventually achieved his goal - he began work on feature films.
2002 was a turning point for the guy. By signing such a long-awaited contract with Columbia Pictures, he did not agree with the company's management and was forced to terminate the contract. And the reason for the conflict was the rating of the future film: directors insisted on PG-13 (which means that even children are allowed to watch the film), while Zack chose to start his career with a more serious picture of the R rating (i.e., a video with elements of violence, eroticism, etc.).
The first "star" Snyder
Zach Snyder, whose filmography, in fact, begins with the film "Dawn of the Dead", began work on his first film in a big movie in 2004. Having spent more than $ 26 million on filming, the producers of the film never regretted their choice: having taken Zack as director, they almost 4 times paid for the budget of the film.
To tell you the truth, the chosen plot was rather risky, because few movies about zombies get success. But skillfully embarking on the case, Snyder created a real masterpiece of the zombie horror. Spectacular scenes, fountains of blood, unpredictable and even scary moments - all this is present in a fantastic action movie. A successful combination of horror and black humor makes the picture even more vivid. Therefore, critics are almost unambiguous in their decision: “Dawn of the Dead” - a must see for every self-respecting lover of horrors.
The genius of historical epic
It seems that our star is not able to shoot ordinary videos. All the films of Zach Snyder, the list of which is still not large at all (only 8), are doomed to success. His next picture is no exception. 300 Spartans is a historical action movie that has not left indifferent around the world.
If American critics are pretty weak
reacted to the release of this picture (although they called it the "new word" in the cinema), the Greeks considered it to be practically a national treasure. But the Iranian authorities generally banned the screening of the film in the country, regarding it as the beginning of a “psychological war”.
Although, according to most American observers, the lack of semantic load is successfully compensated by the original graphics and good acting. Gerard Butler, who played the main role of Tsar Leonid, gained after this film a real recognition and popularity.
The Keepers of Zack Snyder
Say right away, this picture is not as successful as the previous one. If "300
Spartans "7 times paid for the $ 65 million spent on it, then the" Guardians ",
which cost the creators 130 million, managed to earn at the box office just 185 million dollars. Well, such a difference is the result of devastating criticism.
Snyder was accused of overloading the film with unnecessary details, of the cruelty and “vitality” of Alan Moore's comics, on which the work was based. In other words, a film full of cruel and obscene scenes could easily be cut in half. Although this opinion is ambiguous, and many call the "Guardians" the most unusual and impressive picture of 2009.
Cartoons
In the same seemingly disastrous year for Snyder, the premiere of yet another movie adaptation of comics entitled “Keepers: A History of the Black Schooner” took place. The scriptwriter invited the already "trusted" Gerard Butler to the voice acting of the ship's captain.
A year later, in September 2010, another animated masterpiece appeared on blue screens. The Legends of the Night Watch tells of the wise and brave owls that now inhabit the entire planet. The 80-million-dollar budget of the cartoon was “repulsed” in full, the creators also earned about $ 60 million. This was the first cartoon in which Zak acted not only as a director, but also as a producer.
Failure
The main reason critics scold Zack Snyder’s films is the lack of a specific scenario, that is, nonsense. Probably, never before had the work of a fully-fledged and well-known director been so low.
The project entitled “Forbidden Reception”, which was released in 2011 for consideration by the viewer, combined the characteristics of a fantasy action movie and thriller. The main role was given to Emily Browning, who masterfully played "Doll" - a 20-year-old girl whose mother bequeathed to her all her wealth before her death. But then an evil stepfather appears who wants to take everything from the orphan and therefore puts her in a psychiatric clinic where she must undergo a lobotomy procedure. Well, then the script’s rich imagination is included, which takes the viewer to the farthest corners of the unreal thoughts of the heroine.
This is the first Snyder film in which he simultaneously performed as a screenwriter, producer, and director. As a result, having spent a tidy sum on shooting (82 million dollars), he barely managed to recapture the budget of the picture. But it’s worth paying tribute to Zack’s interesting and unusual look at the filming process. This film is definitely not one of those that you can immediately forget when leaving the cinema.
Another Fantasy Victory
Oh, this Zak Snyder, who does not change his principles ... His filmography is not so great, and he has already managed to thunder to the whole world both with his victories and failures. Already in 2013, the viewer saw the new work of the director “Man of Steel”, which fully paid off its sky-high budget by 300 percent. To shoot a new story about Superman, it took as much as 225 million dollars!
The last masterpiece of Zack Snyder to this day is a kind of historical
epic "300 Spartans: Dawn of the Empire." But this, most likely, is a fantastic saga with mythical heroes, which remotely reminds the viewer of the story of the battle with Artemisia, which was very well played by the amazing Eva Green. The scenes with her participation did not leave indifferent any man!
So, the handsome in every sense of the word Zack Snyder, whose photos speak for themselves, never, apparently, changing his preferences, stubbornly continues to work in the field of Hollywood. His next work, “Batman vs. Superman,” is already preparing for release on the screens - the premiere is scheduled for early 2016.