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Interview: The Man Behind Watchmen - Zack Snyder

by Alex Billington
February 23, 2009

This is the interview you've all been waiting to see. Zack Snyder, the man behind the cinematic version of Watchmen, who filmed what was said to be unfilmmable, not only an incredible filmmaker, but a visionary and an all-around great guy. This may only be his third feature film, but he pulled it off, he did what most thought was impossible. I've had a long history with Zack, so heading into this interview, I didn't want to waste my time on the usual questions, I wanted to instead focus on the few important things that have been on my mind since I saw Watchmen last week and since I first visited the set of Watchmen back in 2007.

Note: There are some very, very big spoilers in this interview, so please watch out! If you haven't read the graphic novel or do not want to know what happens in the movie, then save this video to watch later on. You've been warned! If you're ready then, let's get right into it, because there's no point in wasting time!

Watch our interview with Watchmen director Zack Snyder:

Please be patient while loading the video - the file size is huge! Thank you!

The video portion of the interview was shot using my Flip Mino camera. The full transcript will be posted at a future point, I just want to get this out there so that everyone can watch it. As I mentioned earlier, I really wanted to ask some more hard-hitting and off-the-wall questions, to dig deeper into the development and creation of this movie, since it has otherwise been documented and publicized so well over the last year (see these video journals). I really hope this interview was as exciting and/or interesting as I was expecting it would be when I went into it. Thank you to Zack Snyder and Bebe Lerner for this great opportunity!

Watchmen is directed by Zack Snyder (of Dawn of the Dead and 300) and is written by David Hayter (The Scorpion King, X-Men, X-Men 2) and Alex Tse. The film is an adaptation of Alan Moore's highly acclaimed award winning graphic novel of the same name. Watchmen officially arrives in theaters everywhere on March 6th, 2009. Stay tuned for even more Watchmen coverage, photos, and more here on FS.net!

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Al
craig

i must resist.................... it's for the greater good!!! only 2 weeks to go!!
thejoker

hahahaha!!! I want the spandex costumeeessss!!!! (just kidding)
Fuelbot

Zach Snyder pisses off Hitler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIhHema5PNg
Fuelbot

Zack; sorry.
Film Adventurer Paul

The more I hear directly from Snyder the more confident I get that he really has pulled this off right. I loved the graphic novel and it seems to me that a film based off it really has only two extreme ways to go: masterpiece or major disaster. I'm cautiously and reservedly leaning towards the former.
TJ

Wow, some of my same questions from reading the novel compared to what I saw in the trailers were answered in this interview. I'm glad for Zack providing the reasoning behind the changed ending and even joking about the hitler video, it really made me accept the change, and now i'm even MORE excited to see it.
TheGuyInThePJs

Great Interview, Alex. Snyder appears to have done the impossible. And I can't wait to finally see the film on IMAX(got my tickets last week).
Jimbo Slims

Jeez, man. You could've offered the guy a cup of coffee, seeing as how he clearly was just awoken IN his hotel room for your interview! Nonetheless, he delivers pretty coherent answers. He just clearly, clearly has lost a LOT of sleep working on this film and it's promotion, etc. Which in the end is a good thing, I'm sure. Maybe he doesn't DRINK coffee ...
Dan W

QUESTION: Does it spoil things if you've already read the graphic novel? Like parts that were changed?
Djangoo

Maybe Spike Jonze should've made Watchmen, and Snyder should've done Where the Wild Things iz At ... Spike's definitely someone I'd call a Visionary - and yet there's no need to publicize it, his work speaks for itself. Nonetheless, as Zack stated - in spite of my reservations, I'm seeing this movie. The real question is how MANY times am I going to see it in theatres ...
Voice of Reason

Heres the deal. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Watchmen, and thought 300 was a bit over-the-top and was only made bearable through RIFFTRAX, so, c'mon, world.......Zack Snyder: VISIONARY?!?!? He seems like a stand-up gent and a capable director, but goddammit, VISIONARY is a title/description that CANNOT be given to 1 man who is taking what Moore & Gibbons, and a cast and crew of hundred made possible. He didnt write the damn thing. He hardly conceived this project. Hes not even a producer. He's not the cinematographer. He's just the director who pulled off what is proclaimed to be an awesome feat....and kudos to him for that. But calling him VISIONARY is a slap in the face to the original creators and EVERYONE who helped pull this off. Jussayin
Fuelbot

#11 - Taking what Moore & Gibbons did, working with a screenwriter, reigning in a cast and crew of hundreds, working with producers, working with a cinematographer, and somehow managing to keep all those voices and ideas on the same level to create one of the most detailed, singular, and coherent adaptations ever certainly sounds like a visionary to me.
Jordan

@11 I am pretty sure all the trailers and everything are calling him the "visionary director who brought you 300" so he had that title before Watchmen. I loved this interview. It was great and I was able to confirm my prediction about the new ending. This is giving me so much more confidence that this movie will be awesome.
Hostile

It should never be made, and if being a die-hard means I have go to live on an island, then good. Me and Alan Moore will go live on our awesome island. Fuck your Hollywood rape machine.
Fuelbot

#14 Assuming, of course that Alan Moore would consort with mere dorks. If that video didn't convince you that Zack Snyder put the graphic novel front and center and fought for it every step of the way, well, you need your eyes raped.
Metatasian

Warning, SPOILERS!!! Deep down, part of me is still a bit disappointed that there's no squid, I think the main reason Snyder changed the ending was because of pressure from the studios. The appearance of the squid was such a shock when reading the graphic novel, it was unique and you would never have saw it coming. I fear that this may have been lost in the film. Manhattan on the other hand is kind of the obvious guy to blame for the explosion. There are also some other points in the story that I would struggle to understand without the squid. Why was the Comedian killed? he saw the genetic experiments for the squid on Veidt's island and so was a threat to his plan. Bubastis was also a result of Ozzy's genetic engineering experiments, these all lead up to his creation of he squid! Anyway Im still gona watch the film so I'll reserve judgement for now. I hope I am proved wrong and it kicks ass!!!!
Fuelbot

The squid is simply a catalyst for the end result. Why should it matter so long as the intent is still there? It's not overly important or anything.
Trey

Christ - could you kiss ass any more. That guy interiewing him was terrible. Would be nice to see an interview that's not conducted by a fanboy.
Meatcarnage

ZACK SNYDER: HERO! VISIONARY DIRECTOR! Amazing pace in his movies. Dawn of the Dead 2004 is probably one of my favourite movies. NO SQUID: Fuck yes, no squid! It would have been ridiculous in the movie, somethings you can`t stay true to if you want to make money. INTERVIEWER: NERD!
http://www.themoviebanter.com Craig

It's incredible that you were able to pull off this interview, great job with it. Something every fan would have loved to have had. I can't wait for the movie, loved the novel and have been waiting for this for some time.
Nikhil Hariharan

And this is the man im going to torture and kill if the Watchmen turns into a crappy film.
wm

I would love to see Watchmen beat The Dark Night in all the sales bullshit. I could care less about the amount a film makes. It doesn't mean it's any less if it doesn't make tons of money, but I get so sick of The Dark Knight crap.
Conrad

Good summary #16, I agree with you. I still think the movie is going to be totally kick ass myself. Thanks for the interview Alex!!!!! Great work as always
http://www.elte.com/ Hand Knotted Rugs

Spoiler alert noted. Now to figure out, how to remember to watch that video, without forgetting something important, like paying my phone bill or something.
chris

i wonder if any of the performances will rival Heath Ledgers Joker in TDK? As far as bringing the character to life exactly how you imagined they would be, i think Night Owl II or Roscharch could come close!
Riyadh

Now I think this movie is gonna be amazingly awesome and knowing Zack Synder directed it makes me almost sure of it Thanks Alex for the interview
David

5 more days I'm stoked.
Ryderup

Squid? It's the alien creature in the end or what?
Interviewer is Draining

Jesus Christ man, can you restrain from saying "uh huh, uh huh" every fucking second? Let the guy get a sentence or two out you draining idiot. Everyone, just look at Zack's face/body language and tell me he's not dying to get away from this schmuck. Horrible. Someone has to say it. You are AWFUL.
Riyadh

@ 30 : dude... if you think its so bad then dont watch it, most of us think Alex done an awesome job and if you cant help but give purely negative criticism then you shouldnt even bother commenting
joe

i loved this movie a lot and eagerly waiting for the director"s cut when it comes i loved whatever he did with watchmen i loved it may it be the ending .I am Zack Snyder fan so i know when i watch his movie i know what to except from him he did a great job in making the watchmen in 2hours and 35 minutes no other director would have pulled it of in that time limit and i am big fan of the graphic novel so it was a double enjoyment for me
http://www.acheterdofuskama.com DOFUS KAMAS

Of course, what a great site and informative posts, I will add backlink - bookmark this site? Regards, Reader