Young comic book fans might not realize the significance of the bloody battles and high drama shown in Frank Miller’s graphic novel, but watching Zack Snyder’s timeless epic 300 will never disappoint. But tracing back to Snyder’s 2006 landmark drama that broke new ground at the time of its release, the director revealed how he was initially rejected.
Reminiscing the work that went into 300, Zack Snyder recalled convincing Warner Bros. to greenlight the project after long-drawn hesitation. Using clever tricks to persuade WB, Snyder’s methods eventually made their way into Gerard Butler’s movie and turned it into a classic.
Warner Bros. Was Initially Hesitant to Greenlight 300
It’s been more than a decade since Zack Snyder released Gerard Butler’s 300 in 2006. Yet, the movie somehow feels iconic and timeless, which later shaped the cinematic landscape following its release. However, looking back at the movie, during an interview with GQ, Snyder mentioned how Warner Bros. was initially hesitant to greenlight the project.
Since the production company had just released Troy starring Brad Pitt in 2004, they didn’t want another epic war story. Explaining the discussion in detail, Snyder began reminiscing his pitch.
“The quick backstory on 300 is that when I was pitching it around Hollywood and finally got it to Warner Bros, their only sort of hesitation was that they had just made a sword and sandals movie called Troy. They were like, ‘look we have Brad Pitt, which was pretty cool. So what do you have?’ and I was like, ‘well, I’ve a comic book and it’s cool’.”
Realizing that he cannot topple Brad Pitt’s star power and acting skills that sell tickets, Zack Snyder noted using clever tricks to convince Warner Bros. Trying to impress the studio with his idea of indoor shoots, Snyder admitted failing at his attempts.
“It’s weird, we’re not gonna shoot any of it outside. And they were like ‘what? It’s a sword and sandals movie, it takes place in Greece’ and I was like, ‘yeah I know we’re gonna make it look like it’s outside, sort of, in a weird way. It’s gonna look like this comic book’ and I held it up. And they were like, ‘I don’t know if that’s cool.’”
Facing constant hesitation from Warner Bros. Zack Snyder eventually came up with his grand idea, which thankfully worked for him. Instead of losing hope and giving up, Snyder went on pushing Warner Bros. until he was actually able to get their green light for the project.
Zack Snyder’s Clever Tricks That Turned 300 Into an Epic
Speaking with GQ, Zack Snyder finally dropped the ultimatum that he used on Warner Bros. to convince them. According to the filmmaker, he mentioned shooting a small clip to help the Studio understand the magnificence of his vision. But eventually, Snyder’s idea not only convinced WB but also stunned fans as it made its way into Gerard Butler’s movie.
“I said, ‘what if we do a little like, let me shoot a small sequence, so I can show you what I’m talking about’ and they, semi-reluctantly but with small enthusiasm for the artwork that we had created said ‘ok let’s see it’. I thought in my mind that if we had cuts in it or that if it was an edited sequence, they would assume that that would be the editing style of the film. And I didn’t wanna sort of paint myself into that corner yet.”
Therefore, what Zack Snyder did was shoot a single shot sequence of an epic war from the comic book, and showed it to Warner Bros. Winning over the studio with his small sequence, Snyder noted how WB wanted to see similar scenes in the movie.
“I designed it as a one-take, one continuous camera move. The cool thing about it was, that when the studio saw it of course Alan Horn and Jeff Robinov were like, ‘Ok this is actually nothing like we imagined. So they were like, ‘if we could do that, if we could make that shot two hours, that would be something, no one has ever seen.’ and I said, ‘Well, ok yeah, we’re on the same page’. So that was actually the thing that made the movie get green-lit and happen.”
Eventually, 300 employed speed ramping and one-minute-long shots in such a way that it felt revolutionary. Featuring Gerard Butler’s King Leonidas laying waste to gangs of Persian soldiers, the long shot technique emphasized violence in such a way that it felt epic, intimate, and sensual. Therefore, multiple cameras with different focal lengths with speed ramping allowed the post-production team to emphasize impactful scenes, which made the movie so iconic.
Not just that, but also the exclusive use of a blue screen/chroma key for almost every shot, offered Zack Snyder the freedom and flexibility to create the environments with visual effects, which eventually allowed shots to look straight out of the comic book. The startlingly beautiful sequences with blazing sun and surrealistic silhouettes became a one-of-a-kind experience in theatres.
300 is available on Max.
