Zack Snyder Reveals His Inspiration for Sucker Punch
Posted 01.18.11 by Ryan
Director Zack Snyder has worked on remakes (Dawn of the Dead), graphic novel adaptations (300 and Watchmen), and an animated adaptation of a children's novel series (Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole), but his latest movie, Sucker Punch, is an entirely original script written by Snyder and Steve Shibuya, and isn't the easiest movie to describe.
Snyder initially described the fantasy-action movie as "Alice in Wonderland with machine guns" while lead actress Emily Browning has confusingly stated that the movie is set in "a reality," a "sub-reality," and a "dream world." The movie follows Browning as a young girl who is sent to a mental institution and escapes into her imagination where she fights dragons and samurais in order to figure out an escape for herself and her friends(Jamie Chung, Vanessa Hudgens, Jena Malone, and Abbie Cornish). Snyder told The LA Times that he's proud the movie isn't the easiest to define.
It absolutely is a point of pride, but it's also a challenge when you start working on something that doesn’t have a lot of reference in it. It's difficult for everyone to get a footing. But there's an immersive effect too, and it's super fun and rewarding to see it happen.
Snyder's inspiration? Terry Gilliam's futuristic, 1985 sci-fi/fantasy movie Brazil. "That was a movie that really inspired me on this one," said Snyder.
With Sucker Punch opening in two months, Snyder already has two more projects lined up: Warner Bros.' upcoming Superman reboot, and an adaptation of Frank Miller's 300 follow-up, Xerxes. Until he starts work on Superman, Snyder said he was happy to work in an entirely original world.
I wanted the movie to be like one big crazy fairy tale. It's just a bizarre, other world that we're in. It's not like anything else. And that's a pretty great place to start.
Sucker Punch opens March 25 and co-stars Carla Gugino and Jon Hamm.