🍕🎥 Pizza Film School Cliffs Notes: 6 things we learned from Zack Snyder

‍

‍

Over here at AGBO, we find ourselves observing—pretty often—that some of the most amazing filmmakers in the world don’t actually know one another, at least not that well. For example, who would ever have thought that Zack Snyder, legendary director of DC’s Justice League, had never met Anthony and Joe Russo, AGBO’s co-founders and the directors of Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame?

We decided to change that, taking matters into our own hands by inviting Zack to AGBO HQ for a session of the Russo Brothers’ “Pizza Film School” video podcast, and an MCU X DCU crossover like never before.

“Directors don’t really hang out with directors,” laughed our guest, who after his 2004 hit, Dawn of the Dead, has created one spectacular film after another, including the Justice League trilogy, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Watchmen, and Man of Steel, among others.

After settling down for some Detroit-style pizza (from DTown Pizzeria), Zack, Anthony, and Joe, had an epic chat that covered everything from film school logistics to special effect coordinating, to directing some of the most talented actors in film.

Here are six ah-ha moments that Zack shared with us about how he works, for the delight of all superhero movie fans and future film superstars alike.

But don’t stop with this: Be sure to watch the complete Zack Snyder “Pizza Film School” episode, part one and two, for even more exclusive gems from one of our favorite directors.

Watch all episodes of Pizza Film School.

‍Every great film begins with artwork.

I really meticulously drew everything before we shot [Justice League], and that’s what's helped me think about the visual effects. I'll do a sketch and send it to a really good friend of mine, this guy Jared Purrington, and he'll knock up a giant painting of it. We'll go back and forth on it. I really try to generate as much art as I can on a sequence or even the set design and everything.

‍Create a mood board or inspiration book.

I'll make a lookbook for myself. Sometimes I'll formalize it and get it bound and turn it into a real thing. But often I'll just have photocopies of images and paintings or photographs or something weird… For example, I’ll say look at these guys wearing these South American masks and imagine, if that hat was over here [in this scene]. It may have nothing to do with that specifically, but it’s inspiration.

Whenever possible, get out of the studio and go on location.

There’s not a lot of guys that can make a movie with no sets, because as it is now, there's a thousand visual effects between that green screen and it being in your movie. The desert is there, they can go and film it… But the thing that I've always found a little off-putting about a big green screen environment is that it's not really engaging, you know, for anybody. Not even for the filmmakers. But the actors especially are like, “I don't know where the hell I am.’’

Resist the urge to break something that’s not broken.

You have to resist not breaking something that's not broken. That's another skill. It’s easy to want to go back and mess with it because you're just used to it. But I think it’s an important discipline to go like, you know what? That works. Let's not fuck that up, guys. Let's talk about something that's not working. It’s easier to break a thing that's working than fix a thing that doesn't work.

Step away from the work and return to it with fresh eyes.

I take two weeks at the very end of the movie to take some time away from it. Then I come back and watch it as fresh as I can. And then from there we start at the beginning and start trying to sand it down. It's always epically long. That's always my problem. I don't think I've seen a rough cut that's under four hours for any movie I've ever done.

‍The best actors keep you guessing.

Jared [Leto] never does the same thing twice. My experience with Jared doing the Joker was amazing. He had the script, but he really built the thing. I'd say, oh, that was cool, but I'm not sure that that one idea there, could you bring that earlier? And he would do it, but it would be a little different. And you know, it would always kind of, right. He'd always get there to the end, but there'd be some little cul-de-sac that he would get in and come back.

Watch Zack Snyder on Pizza Film School now, only on AGBO’s YouTube Channel.