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Zack Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director.

Director Zack Snyder was featured in British Communication Arts magazine as one of the country’s most talented commercial directors. Best known for his cinematic wide screen shooting style, Zack has been compared to a young David Lean. Although humbled by the comparison, he confesses that “the similarities are inevitable.”

There’s no question that Zack’s work is evocative — his landscapes are invested with a painter’s sense of light and color. Whether shooting an epic car spot for Land Rover in Tunisia or an emotionally moving character piece with Robert Deniro in the streets of New York City, Zack’s stylistic approach combines powerful storytelling with a compelling sense of place.

Zack attributes his distinctive style in part to his early artistic training in London, where he studied painting at the Heatherlies School. Zack later refined his artistic sensibilities at the world-renowned Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where he developed the bold cinematic style of filmmaking that he is known for today.

From the Skeleton Coast of Namibia to the desolation of the Arctic tundra, Zack frequently accomplishes his big screen look with a small, dedicated crew, explaining that they work together “like a well-oiled machine.” Working as both director and DP, Zack has traveled to the rain forests of Costa Rica for client Compuware and to Alaska to shoot spots for Audi and Jeep. Zack has traveled to China for client Budweiser, as well as Chile and Iceland in search of the perfect location for his cinematic spots. Other campaigns helmed by Snyder include: Gatorade, Subaru, Nissan, and BMW.

In addition to shooting cars, Zack is well known for his sports work. Zack’s quest for excellence has made him a natural for shooting athletes. He has created dynamic portraits of sports icons such as Michael Jordan, tennis star Martina Navratilova, and quarterback Troy Aikman for clients Nike and Reebok. Zack recently completed a spot for Titleist featuring golfers David Duval, Dan Marino, and David Robinson among others.

Zack’s work has garnered numerous awards including two Clios and a Gold Lion award at Cannes for his Jeep “Frisbee” spot. His wickedly funny and irreverent spot “General’s Party”, filmed on location in Poland, attracted the attention of the London advertising community, which presented him with an award for his impressive body of work.

Shooting with acclaimed actors is becoming habitual for Snyder. He has directed two car spots with Harrison Ford in Paris in addition to working with Robert Deniro in New York City on a spot for an Italian client. Zack has also worked with Catherine Zeta Jones, George Clooney, and Kevin Costner. His freshly completed spot shot in the Cote d’Azur, features the debonair Pierce Brosnan in a story of international intrigue.

Zack has recently made the foray into feature films, his debut a remake of George Romero’s cult classic “The Dawn Of The Dead,” starring Vhing Rames and Sarah Polley. The film was #1 in the Box Office opening week. His second feature, a live action version of Frank Miller’s iconic graphic novel “300,” starring Gerard Butler and Lena Headley, grossed $70 million opening weekend breaking the box office records for any film opening in March.

In spite of all of the attention surrounding his work, Zack remains very down to earth by balancing his busy work schedule with a fulfilling home life in Pasadena.

Snyder made the transition to feature films with the 2004 film Dawn of the Dead, which was a remake of George Romero's famous zombie film Dawn of the Dead. Despite mixed response from both critics and fans of the original film, it was commercially successful and became one of the top-grossing zombie films of all time.

His next film was an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 and was released in March 2007. Reviews of the film were mixed with some critics praising its action and visual style and others deriding it. According to the New York Times, critics were divided on the merits of Mr. Snyder’s adaptation of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s graphic novel about the Spartans’ stand against the Persians at Thermopylae, which A.O. Scott’s review described as “about as violent as Apocalypto and twice as stupid.” (An admiring Richard Roeper, of the Chicago Sun-Times, called it “gorgeous to behold.”) The film has generated controversy with some accusing it of fascism, especially in Europe. Its portrayal of Persians angered Iranians, with official condemnation from the government of Iran. The film grossed more than $70 million in its opening weekend in the US (March 9-11, 2007), and set an all-time record for a film released in the month of March. It also became the third largest opening for a film with an "R" rating behind only The Passion of the Christ ($83.8 million) and The Matrix Reloaded ($91.8 million).

Snyder is following 300 up with the big screen adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen for Warner Bros. Production began in Summer 2007 and is slated for a 2009 release. [1]

In April, 2008, it was announced that Snyder would be directing a computer animated version of the children's book series Guardians of Ga'Hoole[2].

• Dawn of the Dead (2004)
• 300 (2007)
• Watchmen (2009)

• Zack Snyder at IMDb
• Zack Snyder Dot Com
• Zack Snyder at Believe Media
• Culture Café (French)
• Zack Snyder Biography at Tribute.ca

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