Celebrity Byte

Just another day in Sparta: Zack Snyder atop a pile of bodies while shooting the 300 movie.

What was your first Comic-Con experience like?

Last year was my first Comic-Con with the 300 panel where Kurt (Johnstad, co-writer of 300) showed the trailer for the movie for the first time. It was a pretty awesome experience because if you're going to go to the mountain and you've brought some sort of good sacrifice to lay at the foot of Comic-Con, then that's a good experience for anyone.

What impact do you think that trailer debut at Comic-Con had on the film's success?

It's funny because when we made 300, I felt like we were making a boutique movie for a very unique audience, and that entire audience was all in the room when I showed the trailer. I thought those 4,000 people in the big room at Comic-Con were the only 4,000 people who were going to go see the movie, but they were going to love it. (laughing) I guess the impact -- it's hard for me to gauge the exact impact it had -- but I know that a lot of those people saw the movie more than once and I know they're a very vocal crowd.

What are you doing this year for Comic-Con?

We're right in the middle of Watchmen pre-production. I'm going to announce the cast of the film and we'll have illustrator Dave Gibbons there. He drew up an exclusive poster for the movie for Comic-Con. We're not doing a huge deal with Watchmen. We have on Friday night a PetCo Baseball Field to screen the movie and celebrate the DVD. We'll also have a panel with actors from the movie at the show.

I thought those 4,000 people in the big room at Comic-Con were the only 4,000 people who were going to go see the [300] movie.

Zack Snyder and friends at the 300 premiere in Los Angeles. Leonidas, right, displaying blasphemy, madness.

What will fans be able to learn about 300 on the new DVD?

There's some additional deleted scenes with the hunchback. We finished some scenes specifically for the DVD. We also have a blue screen version of the movie that can be viewed side-by-side with the finished film. That's pretty trippy.

Were you able to walk around and enjoy Comic-Con last year?

I love the maquettes and the artist tent. It's fun to see some guys drawing stuff for real. I love the side show and stuff like that. I walk around and say, "Oh, I need those Star Wars bookends."

What do you think of the costumes at the show?

They're great. I need to buy a storm trooper outfit.

I guess this year you'll see some people dressed up as 300 characters.

That'd be cool.

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