Image Credit: Armando Gallo/Retna LtdWith the movies Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen and the upcoming Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (a.k.a., “The 3-D Animated Movie That Looks Like Lord of the Rings With Cool Owls”), Zack Snyder has become one of Hollywood’s most important and successful directors here in the current Geek Renaissance era of entertainment. Snyder has embraced the role of pulp cinema poet laureate (specialty: lyrical, slow-motion studies of punched faces or kicked bodies flying through the air), and, as such, has made it a priority to do the Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith thing of finding ways to directly and personally engage his fanbase. The director has become a Comic-Con fixture (he was there in July to give attendees the first look at his upcoming flick Sucker Punch), recently joined Twitter (@ZackSnyder), and has now relaunched his Web site, cruelfilms.com, a riff on the name of his production company, Cruel & Unusual Films. Fans can gather at the Ning-powered site to chat, see exclusive new images from Sucker Punch and Legend of the Guardians, and post their own versions of Snyder’s “cruel girl” logo (“Our own little Nike swoosh,” quips Snyder), a wicked looking schoolgirl brandishing a bloody hatchet. (Snyder’s fans will get to meet a flesh-and-blood version of the character named Baby Doll in Sucker Punch.)
“Being a genre filmmaker, there tends to be a more personal relationship between them and their fans—more so, at least, than if I were making romantic comedies,” Snyder tells EW.com. “You have to reach out in a really effective way and let your fans know what’s really going on. If you’re making movies that are very much of the popular culture, you have to engage pop culture.”
The cruelfilms Web site also includes a section talking about movies Snyder has in development. One is called The Last Photograph, a drama that Snyder has been working on for years and plans to produce. Another is called Cobalt 60, adapted from a cult classic comic by the late and revered underground cartoonist Vaughn Bode. Snyder also owns the rights to Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, the 1977 philosophical novel by Richard Bach that boasts a pretty intense fan base itself. “It’s always been one of my favorite books of all time,” says Snyder. “I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how to do it. If you’ve the read the book, it’s the book. It’s one of those things I don’t want to f— up.”
And then there is a movie that sounds like the most Zack Snyder movie Zack Snyder has ever dreamed up: Army of the Dead. “It’s a zombie movie I’ve put together about my love of zombies,” says Snyder. “It’s set after a zombie apocalypse, about a group of guys that go after some money that has been left in Vegas, which is now a walled city full of zombies. There’s a twist, because one of guys, his daughter is—.” Let’s just say that Snyder then describes a horrifying scenario that perhaps should go unspoiled for now. Or in other words, “The zombies are super-scary.” Cruel and unusual indeed.
I sooo can’t wait for Sucker Punch. Some have described it as Alice in Wonderland with guns, but I think it’s more like Return to Oz with guns. Looks fantastic!
yay for a Return to Oz reference.
Sucker Punch is going to be crazy!
Potentially silly/stupid question:
If there’s a zombie apocalypse, what the heck do those guys want with money and what are they going to spend it on?
i have asked the same thing about the money interest if money has no value in a post apocalypse world – but it seems to be a recurrent theme in zombie movies
ive read the script. the world hasn’t ended. Think of Las Vegas as a prison for zombies. The world was not destroyed per se. Things just got messy. so to get money that is still inside the city, the guys have to break in like retards to do so. One of them has ulterior motives. Its a surprisingly good script for a zombie movie. Like a heist movie with zombies.
Lucky you! Yeah, it says above in the text that Las Vegas is a walled city.
Ok, thanks for clearing that up.
When I see the word “apocalypse” (and that the movie is set after said apocalypse), I think of the world being over…so I figure that there’s not much use for money.
Bugged me in Romero’s “Land of the Dead,” which was a true world collapse- why in the world did Dennis Hopper stash money?! I sound like a Zombie Apocalypse nerd but even if the world didn’t totally collapse, money would lose its value very quickly! Anyway, love Zack Snyder and hopefully he’ll do the 300 sequel, I think its title will be “Xerxes.”
I checked out the website and it’s cool. I liked the logo submissions. I watched the Sucker Punch trailer here on EW during CC coverage and saw some of the images on cruelfilms.com and am majorly digging the imagery and action. Does anyone know what the rating will be?
Never mind about the rating. I don’t really care. Lol!
My interest is in the remarks about Cobalt 60, or any of the works of Vaughn Bodé. That could be some excellent, bizarre entertainment.
ZACK SNYDER IS GREAT, JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION ABOUT ARMY OF THE DEAD. IF IT TAKES PLACE AFTER THE WHOLE END OF THE WORLD SITUATION, WHY WOULD THEY GO TO VEGAS TO GET MONEY. AM I RIGHT IN SAYING THAT MONEY WOULD HAVE NO VALUE IN AN APOCALYPSE?
Maybe just vegas turned to zombies…
300 just was plain awful. Now..back to Jeff Jensen…where the he11 is PART 3 of your LOST analysis? GET BUSY YOU LOSER!!!!
I ‘m foresee Sucker Punch be one of the coolest movies of 2011 and this is a movie that happens to be all from the mind of ZACK himself it will be a great one for sure.
Ne Oublie, Zack said he was shooting for PG13 no lose of action though.
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I think Zack Snyder should direct God of War.
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