BD: So what else can you tell us about your approach?

ZS: I think when you approach a project like Superman, when you have this awesome script and you have this giant character, that it's fun, though, to go to a place and film it and it gets real, real fast. I know this is slightly off track, but I love the idea that, what if, say, for your favorite scene from your favorite movie, everybody got up one day, they went to work and shot the scene and then went on. But maybe they only shot it in the morning and they don't know what went on in the afternoon. I always love that about movies that they exist outside the time they record.

BD: And Superman is not like Watchmen.

ZS: No, for me, one of the big differences is the idea that -- and I've always talked about this -- I've never gone after an actual character in making movies from graphic novels or comic books. I've gone after literary or thematic concepts. Where I feel like with Superman, you're going after a mythology in general. Very different.

BD: And yet Sucker Punch allowed you focus on a single character's journey as she grows from a child into a woman.

ZS: Yeah, the one thing I thought was interesting about this character is that when she comes in, she's the innocent and Sweat Pea is tough and in charge, and through the course of the film they switch roles. That was fun for me to work with Emily because she's so otherworldly when you look at her.

BD: And now you have Henry Cavill.

ZS: Yeah, Henry's awesome. And having Diane [Lane] and Kevin [Costner] also gives you an idea of what kind of movie we're trying to make.

BD: It must be fun to humanize these mythic characters and help us understand more about why they mean so much to us.

 

ZS: Exactly. They're mirrors, really. That's my thing -- our mythology. I was ranting the other day about the fact that somebody said, "Well, why Superman? Why Superman?" I'm like: Superman is the least why of all superheroes. I mean, Thor has a movie, for god's sake. Not to say that's not awesome, but let's get real.

 

BD: And to play in the sandbox with them?

ZS: Yeah, it's actually a dream come true to get that opportunity. You never expect that. Superman's difficult because you want someone who knows it to love it -- and that's the trick.

BD: And have you always been a big Superman fan?

ZS: I've been a fan of the character and I've followed the comic casually -- and when I say, casually, I mean more than normal people. I like the movies. I love the Donner movie, of course. And, again, our point of view is that we're treating it like there's no other movie.

BD: Do you have a production designer?

ZS: Yeah, Alex McDowell.

BD: Reunited from Watchmen: how perfect. Can't wait to see how it all comes together.

ZS: Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it, to be honest.

Bill Desowitz is senior editor of AWN & VFXWorld.