Hollywood director Zack Snyder's movies surprise him

Hollywood director Zack Snyder of 300 fame talks about looking back at his own movies and why it’s good to have his wife working for him.

Can you talk about using the song 'Sweet Dreams' to start your latest film, and your use of music in general?
It’s the simple idea of a song being a vehicle to begin and end a dream sequence or a fantasy sequence; that you can use music to trigger that.  If you close your eyes and listen to a song, maybe it could take you on a journey somewhere, as music does, for me, anyway.  And so that was the germ of the idea.

Do you find that you watch your movies after they’re done and out?
A 100%. Watchmen actually has been on TV a lot and I watched it just the other night from beginning to end. And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool. I like that.’ At the end of it, especially the director’s cut, which they play every now and then, which is a little bit over three hours, you really go like, ‘Wow, we made that? That’s insane.’  It’s good fun though. I’d say it takes about three years till you can really look at it again. It’s just interesting.  I’d be interested to know how long it takes other filmmakers to look back at their movies.

What’s your working dynamic like as a producing/directing husband and wife team?
It’s hard to say. I mean, Debbie and I were talking about this.  When we’re working, that’s the thing because it’s 24X7 with us.  We get home or on the road home, and I’m like, ‘What about blah blah blah.’ It just is constantly happening. I can only speak for myself and the great thing about our relationship and the way we work is that it makes so much sense for the movie business to have a husband and wife producer and director team because of the intimacy you need with that.

Do you take the kids with you?
They don’t get to go because all the kids are Debbie’s stepkids and we have them half the week and then the other half of the week they’re with their mother.  They live just down the street from us in Pasadena. I’m really good friends with my ex-wife and her new husband. And so we’re with them all the time, go to all the basketball games and everything together. And so when we’re gone, they stay there because they’d have to leave school otherwise.