The guest
Zack Snyder: Film director behind 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Justice League, Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon.
What this episode covers
Zack Snyder joins Joe Rogan for a wide-ranging conversation about his filmmaking career and creative philosophy. He recounts how 300 was a green-screen labor of love shot in 60 days, why he loves deconstructing comic-book myths like Batman and Watchmen, and how his director's cuts were born from studio battles. The pair riff on bodybuilding extremes, Spartan culture, Formula 1, golf trick shots, video-game addiction, and how Netflix's distribution model lets weird, boutique films reach huge audiences. Snyder also speaks candidly about losing his daughter to suicide during Justice League and how the fandom rallied to raise money for suicide prevention.
Recommended on this episode
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Heavy Metal
“I was obsessed with; heavy metal is like my thing; I've always been like the hugest fan of heavy metal”
“I was obsessed with um growing up this comic book called heavy metal yes which and heavy metal is like my thing”— Zack Snyder
BookRecommendedISBN verified
The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand
“I'm pretty exclusively a Fountain Head fanatic; it says so much; maybe that's why I love Fountain Head”
“I pitched them Fountain Head because like I'm a you know I've written this super adaptation of the of that book”— Zack Snyder
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
Richard Bach
“I've always been obsessed with; it's always resonated with me; it kind of spoke to my doubts”
“I've always been obsessed with um uh Richard Bach he has this book called illusions that I've owned for a long time that I've always wanted to do”— Zack Snyder
The guest's own work
MediaBy the guest
300
Zack Snyder
“you made two of my all-time favorite movies The Watchmen are love 300 okay awesome those are I have like a top 20 list”— Joe Rogan
MediaBy the guest
Watchmen
Zack Snyder
“you made two of my all-time favorite movies The Watchmen are love 300 okay awesome those are I have like a top 20 list”— Joe Rogan
MediaBy the guest
Dawn of the Dead
Zack Snyder
“what happened was I did Dawn of the Dead and then from Dawn of the Dead uh I was supposed to do I Am Legend”— Zack Snyder
MediaBy the guest
Rebel Moon
Zack Snyder
“when you see the R-rated version of Rebel moon when it comes out um because basically the deal I made with Netflix”— Zack Snyder
MediaBy the guest
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Zack Snyder
“that was the whole thing with Batman versus Superman I remember the ratings board said we just don't like the idea of Batman fighting Superman”— Zack Snyder
MediaBy the guest
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Zack Snyder
“you know we after Justice League I think one of the things that we we really as a as a group as a family”— Zack Snyder
MediaBy the guest
Man of Steel
Zack Snyder
“the thing about Man of Steel that I felt like is that man of steel is the movie that the people will come up to me and say like that movie changed my life”— Zack Snyder
MediaBy the guest
Army of the Dead
Zack Snyder
“Scott stuber who um was the executive at Netflix who was my executive on Army of the dead he was the one that hired me to do Dawn”— Zack Snyder
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferencedISBN verified
The Dark Knight Returns
Frank Miller
“I always tell everyone like Dark Knight Returns if I could do Dark Knight Returns I'd be done with comic book movies”— Zack Snyder
BookReferencedISBN verified
Watchmen
Alan Moore
“because of Dark Knight Returns because of Watchmen those if you've read those two Comics it's hard to go back”— Zack Snyder
BookReferencedISBN verified
Education of a Bodybuilder
Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Schwarzenegger I read his like book education of a bodybuilder you know it's a weirdo book”— Zack Snyder
BookReferenced
Creepy
Warren Publishing
“there was some amazing like horror genre comic books back in the day like creep and Eerie that have these incredible like fretta covers”— Zack Snyder
BookReferenced
Eerie
Warren Publishing
“there was some amazing like horror genre comic books back in the day like creep and Eerie that have these incredible like fretta covers”— Zack Snyder
BookReferencedISBN verified
Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand
“I get by the way Alice Shrugged fair you know you can play with that that's a game that I I mean”— Zack Snyder
MediaReferenced
I Am Legend
“I was supposed to do I Am Legend right and I am Legend was this movie that was at Warner Brothers”— Zack Snyder
MediaReferenced
Troy
Wolfgang Petersen
“wasn't it the same time that Troy was being made it was exactly the same time as Troy”— Zack Snyder
MediaReferenced
Almost Famous
Cameron Crowe
“he kind of looked like Billy crudup right like Billy crudup from like you know um Almost Famous”— Zack Snyder
MediaReferenced
The Boys
“that as a superhero movie as a concept took a long time to like land with the boys or like these other kind of superheroes”— Zack Snyder
MediaReferenced
Star Trek
“it's like the kobashi Maru of you know the kobashi Maru is that in Star Trek it's that test they put Kirk through”— Zack Snyder
MediaReferenced
Star Wars
“like when Luke Skywalker walks into the Cantina and is confronted by walrus man like is that sexual”— Zack Snyder
MediaReferenced
The Ultimate Fighter
“it's like what happened with the UFC with the Ultimate Fighter the UFC was always like crazy exciting but then the ultimate fighter put it on television”— Joe Rogan
Big reveals from this episode
- 300 was shot in 60 days with no director's cut because every frame they filmed made the final movie.
- There was zero CGI used on the actors' bodies in 300 because they couldn't afford it.
- Snyder left Justice League after losing his daughter to suicide during post-production.
- Fans raised over a million dollars for the suicide-prevention foundation AFSP in support of the Snyders.
- Snyder's mother gifted him a Heavy Metal magazine subscription as a kid without realizing it was an adult publication.
- Netflix let Snyder make hard R-rated three-hour director's cuts of Rebel Moon as a bonus alongside the PG-13 versions.
- Snyder's brother Sam died in a car accident when Zack was 13, which shaped his views on religion and spirituality.
- The MPAA ratings board kept rating Batman v Superman 'R' because they disliked the idea of Batman fighting Superman.
Worth remembering
- Snyder's son Eli played the young Rorschach in Watchmen and was second-unit director on Rebel Moon.
- Snyder's trainer Alessandro trained the cast for Rebel Moon and is a competitive bodybuilder in his 60s.
- Alessandro once stood next to Ronnie Coleman backstage at Night of the Champions in San Francisco.
- Spartan boys went on the agoge around age seven and the elite 'crypteia' were encouraged to kill helots.
- Formula 1 drivers have off-the-charts reaction times and develop very thick necks from G-forces.
- Phil Mickelson can hit a full pitching-wedge swing that arcs a ball over a person and into their hands.
- Snyder spent ten years shooting TV commercials before directing his first feature, Dawn of the Dead.
- Watchmen holds a record for the most male frontal nudity (Dr. Manhattan) of any studio film.
- Philip Glass personally approved licensing his music for the Dr. Manhattan birth sequence.
- Snyder owns the airplanes needed to film an adaptation of Richard Bach's book Illusions.
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