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The man behind Watchmen
Hollywood director Zack Snyder’s latest film, Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole, which released on Friday, is another addition to his kitty of movies adapted from comic books, graphic novels and works of fantasy and fiction.
Hollywood director Zack Snyder’s latest film,
Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole
, which released on Friday, is another addition to his kitty of movies adapted from comic books, graphic novels and works of fantasy and fiction.
In 2004, this screenwriter-producer made his directorial debut with a remake of
Dawn Of The Dead
. Then he adapted Frank Miller’s comic series,
300
, followed by
Watchmen
.
Family viewing
The only difference is that
Legend Of The Guardians
is not an ‘R’ rated film, like all his others. Says Snyder, “I wanted to make something that my kids could watch. Also, when I saw the primary animation, I was stunned. The studio said ‘don’t worry, this is a family film and you wouldn’t be interested’. And I said, ‘I am interested’!”
Snyder’s next project,
Sucker Punch
, promos of which have been doing the rounds of YouTube for a while now, will be a first for him — it is an original script. “Working on an original script is easier,” says Snyder. “With
Sucker Punch
, I felt like someone took the handcuffs off me.”
Super plans
The director, who has been known for his slow motion action sequences, has reportedly been approached by Warner Bros to direct the next
Superman
film. Apart from that, he is currently working on a sequel to
300
, called
Xerxes
. “This story takes place parallel to
300
. Frank (Miller) is writing the graphic novel. He sends me the pages when he finishes them and I try and work it into a script.”
His 2009 film
Watchmen
attempted to take on the cult status of the original graphic novel. But, in the film, he changed the ending from the book to fit the film to the designated length. He explains, “For a long time, we talked about just having the monster take the blame for the catastrophe (according to original ending). Then we realised the film would need to be 30–40 minutes longer. David Hayter, who also wrote the adaptation, then came up with the idea of framing Dr Manhattan for the disaster. The idea of framing God for our own problems was kind of elegant and I liked it.”
Snyder, also an ad-film director, has visited India for various shoots, but is not an expert on Bollywood. “I have seen a few Indian movies,” he signs off.
