Despite only having a small number of movies to his name Zack Snyder is widely regarded as one of the most visionary and experimental filmmakers that is currently working in Hollywood at the moment.
The filmmaker, screenwriter and producer, who was born in Wisconsin and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, began his career in television adverts for the likes of Audi after attending the Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena, California.
And it wasn't until 2004 that Snyder make his feature film debut in the form of horror remake Dawn of the Dead.
Following a handful of human survivors living in a shopping mall that's surrounded by zombie the movie was remake of the 1978 classic by George A. Romero and was met by mixed reviews.
However by grossing over $102 million at the global box office, easily making back it's $28 million budget, it began one of very few zombie films that have broken the $100 million barrier.
But it was Snyder's next movie 300 that really showed his filmmaking flair as he adapted Frank Miller's graphic novel, following in the footsteps of Sin City.
300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.
Facing insurmountable odds, their valour and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy.
It took a staggering $70m in its first weekend at the US Box Office and won the hearts of film and graphic novel fans alike.
And shot mostly with a super-imposition chroma key technique, to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book 300 was one of the most visually stunning movies released in 2007.
After the release of 300 Snyder has began working on Watchmen, which was released last year, and again it was one of the most unique looking movies of 2009.
Watchmen is visually spectacular and a very faithful script, Snyder vision and superb special effects bring to life Moore and Gibbon's vision.
Snyder clearly cares about the source material and instead of throwing it out of the window like many do when it comes to adaptations he has produced as faithful a movie as possibly could. It's a brilliant piece of filmmaking that is breathtaking, emotional and densely packed with action.
But the movie divided the critics and took just over $185 million at the box office, however it did make back it's $130 million budget.
But Snyder's new movie sees him take on a different challenge... an animation movie in the form of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, which is loosely based on the books by Kathryn Lasky.
Soren, is a young owl enthralled by his father's epic stories of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owl kind from the evil Pure Ones.
While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father's favour from his younger sibling.
But Kludd's jealousy has terrible consequences--causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones.
Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls.
Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole--Soren's only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.
And the filmmaker has plenty of projects in the pipeline as he has already completed work on Sucker Punch, which will be released in the new year.
Earlier this month he was announced as the director for the Christopher Nolan produced movie Superman: Man of Steel and the director is also planning a Xerxes movie.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is released 22nd of October.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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