Zack Snyder's recollection of making "Tomorrow" promo video

Zack Snyder is interviewed in the new issue of Esquire magazine and is asked about Moz since he of course directed the fantastic “Tomorrow” music video:


ESQ: I have to ask you an aside question, since you mentioned hand-held camera work. You directed that old 1994 Morrissey video for "Tomorrow", right?

Snyder: I sure did.

ESQ: It's one of the great one-take videos.

Zack Snyder: I appreciate that. And there is a cut version of that video too. By the way, when I made that video I remember, I think it was Vanity Fair wrote an article about a Brian De Palma movie, where there was a big super long one-take. And they were saying that the Morrissey video I did was cooler than that. And I remember at the time thinking that that was so cool that I was referenced in relationship to this director's movie who I really admired because I was literally two years out of film school when I shot that video.

ESQ: Did you get along with Morrissey? Did you keep in touch with him?

Snyder: I had a great experience. I loved working with him. He had decided that I was going to shoot all of his videos from then on. But then he ghosted me after that. I don't know what happened.

ESQ: Oh no. Morrissey ghosting the director of his best video seems like a very Morrissey thing to do.

Snyder: Sadly. That was it. It was a sad thing. Because I would have loved to have been Morrissey's creative visualist. I remember I wrote a treatment for him for another song on that album. It was going to be all Giant. You know the movie Giant with James Dean? It was a take on it, and he was going to play the James Dean role.

Full interview here:

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The director of the Netflix films weighs in on undead nudity, a possible sequel, and his days working with Morrissey.

www.esquire.com

I wonder which of the Your Arsenal songs was gonna get the Giant treatment?

 

[like lovers do]

What I like in this video is the AntiFa tag on the wall haha

 

[SqueezingMySkull]

100%. Of course he left Justice League after the tragic suicide of his daughter. Only for that wankfraud Jizz Whedon to edit it into sphagetti shit. The Snyder cut turned the overcooked turkey into a phoenix.

We actually don't know who edited the film. It's unlikely Whedon did, as he's not an editor (that I know of.) It is more feasible that the executives at higher levels (higher than Whedon) supervised the editing and made a lot of those decisions. Perhaps Whedon was involved too, but nobody knows, and while I disapprove of Whedon's apparent bullying and meanness on set (of which we know almost no details), I find it odd how much he is getting blamed for when the likely people to point fingers at are the higher up execs at DC and Warner Bros and people like Geoff Johns, etc.

 

[GirlAfraidWillNeverLearn]

Some remarks from Peepholism regarding the Tomorrow video


"His preoccupation with simplicity and expedience in all professional arrangements was rarely concealed, and videos were no exception, both from a practical and an artistic point of view.
Having largely overcome his former aversion to the medium of the promotional pop video, partly through a symbiotic professional rapport with director Tim Broad and his producer James O'Brien, Morrissey still recoiled from the often overblown and overwritten 'conceptual' treatments offered him by other directors, which he regarded for the most part as meretricious and absurd.

In the Summer of 1992 he was persuaded by his new manager to use an American director, Zach Snyder (sic), to make a promotional video for the US-only release of the song 'Tomorrow'. Discarding Snyder's rather baroque synopses, he agreed the location and trusted to fortitude and common sense.
The one day shoot took place in an ancient, idyllic hilltop village north of Nice, in the balmy mountain air of the Côte d'Azur. Towards evening the entourage decamped to the old town of Nice to obtain additional footage in a busy pedestrian quarter of cosmopolitan French café society. A spontaneous wander through a deserted cobbled alleyway with group members in tow provided in the end the most captivating result to Morrissey's discriminating eye."

A handwritten letter (to Snyder presumably?) speaks of the treatment for the next video for Certain People I Know and, in context, may provide an explanation for the absence of the Giant video of our wet dreams:
Morrissey thought it was 'preposterous' and didn't want to do it.
He rather wanted to play on the beach instead. ⛱

 

[ACTON]

Some remarks from Peepholism regarding the Tomorrow video


"His preoccupation with simplicity and expedience in all professional arrangements was rarely concealed, and videos were no exception, both from a practical and an artistic point of view.
Having largely overcome his former aversion to the medium of the promotional pop video, partly through a symbiotic professional rapport with director Tim Broad and his producer James O'Brien, Morrissey still recoiled from the often overblown and overwritten 'conceptual' treatments offered him by other directors, which he regarded for the most part as meretricious and absurd.

In the Summer of 1992 he was persuaded by his new manager to use an American director, Zach Snyder (sic), to make a promotional video for the US-only release of the song 'Tomorrow'. Discarding Snyder's rather baroque synopses, he agreed the location and trusted to fortitude and common sense.
The one day shoot took place in an ancient, idyllic hilltop village north of Nice, in the balmy mountain air of the Côte d'Azur. Towards evening the entourage decamped to the old town of Nice to obtain additional footage in a busy pedestrian quarter of cosmopolitan French café society. A spontaneous wander through a deserted cobbled alleyway with group members in tow provided in the end the most captivating result to Morrissey's discriminating eye."

A handwritten letter (to Snyder presumably?) speaks of the treatment for the next video for Certain People I Know and, in context, may provide an explanation for the absence of the Giant video of our wet dreams:
Morrissey thought it was 'preposterous' and didn't want to do it.
He rather wanted to play on the beach instead. ⛱

View attachment 72850

Dare I say I think the Certain People I Know video was ok but just barely. It looked thrown together and done without care. I reckon Snyder's idea would at least made for a memorable video.

 

[GirlAfraidWillNeverLearn]

Dare I say I think the Certain People I Know video was ok but just barely. It looked thrown together and done without care. I reckon Snyder's idea would at least made for a memorable video.

That's only because he didn't get his wish for "real mannish trunks" / exotic swim wear fulfilled 😉

(I love the video because it's a weird mix of sexy & silly but it also sends me down a dreadful spiral into visions of the special sensory hell reserved for sand under cloth.)

 

[Eldritch]

We actually don't know who edited the film. It's unlikely Whedon did, as he's not an editor (that I know of.) It is more feasible that the executives at higher levels (higher than Whedon) supervised the editing and made a lot of those decisions. Perhaps Whedon was involved too, but nobody knows, and while I disapprove of Whedon's apparent bullying and meanness on set (of which we know almost no details), I find it odd how much he is getting blamed for when the likely people to point fingers at are the higher up execs at DC and Warner Bros and people like Geoff Johns, etc.

Snyder had already been battling the studio with JL for months before the tragedy struck. Nobody was especially amoured with Batman vs Superman, a truly horrible film, and the three hour cut of JL was just more dour protofascist nonsense. Snyder has said that he would have kept on fighting for his version, but the family tragedy drained him of all fight. Then Warner hired Whedon -- a much more talented filmmaker than Snyder, if you ask me -- with the brief: cut it to 120 minutes and make it funnier. That's what Whedon did and it did absolutely not work, because his style is a total opposite of Snyder's.

 

[SqueezingMySkull]

Snyder had already been battling the studio with JL for months before the tragedy struck. Nobody was especially amoured with Batman vs Superman, a truly horrible film, and the three hour cut of JL was just more dour protofascist nonsense. Snyder has said that he would have kept on fighting for his version, but the family tragedy drained him of all fight. Then Warner hired Whedon -- a much more talented filmmaker than Snyder, if you ask me -- with the brief: cut it to 120 minutes and make it funnier. That's what Whedon did and it did absolutely not work, because his style is a total opposite of Snyder's.

I agree completely. Did Whedon hit it out of the park? Of course not, but probably nobody could in that totally awkward, messy scenario. WB's DC movies and organization had been a complete mess, so what could you expect? I also agree that Whedon is a more talented filmmaker. The episodes of his TV shows that he directed, for the most part, they are incredibly complex, funny, tragic, fascinating, creative...I can't stand Snyder's stuff, though I did find the Snyder cut of JL interesting and kind of fun in a weird way.

 

[Eldritch]

I agree completely. Did Whedon hit it out of the park? Of course not, but probably nobody could in that totally awkward, messy scenario. WB's DC movies and organization had been a complete mess, so what could you expect? I also agree that Whedon is a more talented filmmaker. The episodes of his TV shows that he directed, for the most part, they are incredibly complex, funny, tragic, fascinating, creative...I can't stand Snyder's stuff, though I did find the Snyder cut of JL interesting and kind of fun in a weird way.

Indeed. Although truth be told, Whedon is more a writer than a director. And Snyder is a deft visual stylist but definitely not a writer. I loved Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse; haven't watched Nevers yet. But I'm depressed about the kind of person Whedon has revealed to have been. Sadly it's unlikely he'll work again at least in the near future. Nevers should have been the next megaproject of his own, but he had to leave that after directing the first couple of episodes.

 

[SqueezingMySkull]

Indeed. Although truth be told, Whedon is more a writer than a director. And Snyder is a deft visual stylist but definitely not a writer. I loved Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse; haven't watched Nevers yet. But I'm depressed about the kind of person Whedon has revealed to have been. Sadly it's unlikely he'll work again at least in the near future. Nevers should have been the next megaproject of his own, but he had to leave that after directing the first couple of episodes.

Oh I can talk about this all day. Snyder is a deft visual stylist, but it happens to be something I find aesthetically ugly. Like I'd never deny Snyder is an artist. He has a singular, how you say, Snyder-esque vision, from his visuals to his themes and etc. I just totally dislike them! And I think he's very bad at piecing a story together (Batman V Superman and Man of Steel.)

The Whedon stuff bums me out for sure. I've been a huge fan for years. I have a four-tier shelf of Buffy/Angel action figures in my living room. I had a party and bought a cake when me and my friends got to the final episode of Buffy. But yeah, he's apparently a huge asshole. It's very hard to say if his behavior crosses into illegal territory, or harassment or what. There's enough stories from enough people to believe them all, and there's even some anonymous industry people on twitter who have confirmed he is horrible to people.

I couldn't stop thinking about it for a while...It is just bizarre to me somebody will destroy their own career like that. I don't understand, how hard is it to just not treat people like garbage? I've directed too and I've been tense and stressed out on sets. I get that. But apparently being so cruel and cutting (and apparently in a particular funny/mean Whedonesque way, can't you just picture it?)

What baffles me is the Justice League accusations. None of the Cyborg actor's stories were...anything really. And he won't go into any further detail. But nothing he said seemed that bad...he made fun of "booya" by quoting Shakespeare? I can see myself doing something like that. Who cares? And accusations of racism seem bizarre...clearly Whedon has a problem with people, as everybody from men, women, all races, have confirmed he has been hostile and manipulative to them. I'm sure there's some horror stories out there.

Finally, yes, Nevers is a tragedy. I'm not even watching it. I had been waiting for years or Whedon to lead a tv series again, because as we know, he can do amazing things. And I found it laughable how people kept tweeting "Whedon's writers and crew are great! Not Whedon! You don't need Whedon to make something good!" Well...sorry, you do. Every writer has said "all the best lines/ideas are Joss." He did a pass on every script. The episodes he wrote and/or directed are all leagues better than the others usually. Go watch Agents of SHIELD if you want a lot of the same writers/producers/crew. It's fine (sometimes VERY good), but it's mediocre. It's missing that spark. That chaotic painful element that Whedon put in all of his work.

The problem with outing abusers and then saying they are monsters and "they were never good anyway" is that is the perfect recipe to not catch them or believe people about them in the future. Whedon was apparently abusive, he's also funny, talented, and people liked him a lot both personally and artistically. Reckon with that.

I don't have high hopes for Nevers, and knowing all of the stuff about Whedon, the aggressive feminism (something I automatically find suspect anyway) of the concept feels more hollow than ever to me. Not even interested.

 

[Eldritch]

Oh I can talk about this all day. Snyder is a deft visual stylist, but it happens to be something I find aesthetically ugly. Like I'd never deny Snyder is an artist. He has a singular, how you say, Snyder-esque vision, from his visuals to his themes and etc. I just totally dislike them! And I think he's very bad at piecing a story together (Batman V Superman and Man of Steel.)

The Whedon stuff bums me out for sure. I've been a huge fan for years. I have a four-tier shelf of Buffy/Angel action figures in my living room. I had a party and bought a cake when me and my friends got to the final episode of Buffy. But yeah, he's apparently a huge asshole. It's very hard to say if his behavior crosses into illegal territory, or harassment or what. There's enough stories from enough people to believe them all, and there's even some anonymous industry people on twitter who have confirmed he is horrible to people.

I couldn't stop thinking about it for a while...It is just bizarre to me somebody will destroy their own career like that. I don't understand, how hard is it to just not treat people like garbage? I've directed too and I've been tense and stressed out on sets. I get that. But apparently being so cruel and cutting (and apparently in a particular funny/mean Whedonesque way, can't you just picture it?)

What baffles me is the Justice League accusations. None of the Cyborg actor's stories were...anything really. And he won't go into any further detail. But nothing he said seemed that bad...he made fun of "booya" by quoting Shakespeare? I can see myself doing something like that. Who cares? And accusations of racism seem bizarre...clearly Whedon has a problem with people, as everybody from men, women, all races, have confirmed he has been hostile and manipulative to them. I'm sure there's some horror stories out there.

Finally, yes, Nevers is a tragedy. I'm not even watching it. I had been waiting for years or Whedon to lead a tv series again, because as we know, he can do amazing things. And I found it laughable how people kept tweeting "Whedon's writers and crew are great! Not Whedon! You don't need Whedon to make something good!" Well...sorry, you do. Every writer has said "all the best lines/ideas are Joss." He did a pass on every script. The episodes he wrote and/or directed are all leagues better than the others usually. Go watch Agents of SHIELD if you want a lot of the same writers/producers/crew. It's fine (sometimes VERY good), but it's mediocre. It's missing that spark. That chaotic painful element that Whedon put in all of his work.

The problem with outing abusers and then saying they are monsters and "they were never good anyway" is that is the perfect recipe to not catch them or believe people about them in the future. Whedon was apparently abusive, he's also funny, talented, and people liked him a lot both personally and artistically. Reckon with that.

I don't have high hopes for Nevers, and knowing all of the stuff about Whedon, the aggressive feminism (something I automatically find suspect anyway) of the concept feels more hollow than ever to me. Not even interested.

Thank you for a great post. I personally hate Snyder's aesthetic style too, I was just expressing myself politely. All that slo-mo, all that darkness (in JL even Themyscira looked like a rainy day in Scotland), the idea that superheroes are gods in a fallen world.

As for this: "It is just bizarre to me somebody will destroy their own career like that. I don't understand, how hard is it to just not treat people like garbage?" I guess it's the same with all stories of harassment, sexual or otherwise. A person who usually is in some kind of power position behaves badly once -- and gets away with it. That makes him do the same thing again, more likely in an even worse way. And if nobody objects, he just does it again and again and again, for years and years. There has been a culture of silence for decades, that has now been broken, so when the stories begin to come out, there are hundreds of them, killing a person's career for good. Now, if early on somebody had said "Joss, you can't treat people like this, it's not okay -- and you might be digging your own grave here too", he might have changed his ways. But nobody did and now there is a 20-year backlog of him being a mean and a manipulative bastard.

The irony here seems to be that Snyder seems to be a genuinely good guy, despite being not that great a director.

 

[Barking]

Btw Zack, forgot to say:
if Morrissey ghosts you/ ignores you/ pretends you never existed: you're doing something right!