Army of the Dead is the latest piece of zombie killing media, but this one’s got a Zack Snyder twist. Out on May 21, the film follows Dave Bautista as Scott Ward, a family man who teams up with old friends to pull of a heist in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.
Bautista spoke to Screen Rant about collaborating with Snyder and potentially taking on a directing role of his own one day.
When we see that opening montage of the film, we get introduced to a lot of characters, one of them being Scott Ward. What was he up to before the zombie apocalypse?
Dave Bautista: Scott Ward up to the apocalypse was a family guy. He had a food truck. He had his own food truck, had his own little business. He was just wanting to raise a family and be a simple guy with a simple life, and not really answered anybody. But that’s who he was, man. He was just a big meathead with a food truck.
There’s a lot of zombie properties out there. However, Zack films like nobody else – he sees films through a very unique lens. What did you think about his approach to the genre, and how does it separate itself from the pack?
Dave Bautista: Well, it’s weird, because this is even different than anything else that he’s ever done. There’s just so many layers to this film. So, speaking about him on this film would be different from me speaking about him on Dawn of the Dead.
I wanted to work with Zack for a long time for that reason, because I think he just has a special way of capturing things visually in all his films. Visually, they’re just stunning; they’re exceptional. But I got the luxury and the privilege of watching him work as a director and as a DP or cinematographer. That’s something different, because I’ve never had that in the past. And what’s really cool about that is I’m not communicating with a guy who’s sitting in a tent behind a monitor somewhere, I’m actually talking to the guy who’s right here holding the camera.
I’m being directed by him while he’s right here, but I also get to watch his process and see how he works; see what he’s looking at visually, or see the moments that he’s capturing. He feels like he needs to capture those moments on film, to make his film better. So, it’s a really interesting process to actually see a painter paint his picture. It’s different than watching the finished product and seeing what it is; seeing it on a big screen or seeing it hanging on the wall. It’s different when you’re watching them actually make it, to see it; to process it and watch his process. So, it was very educational, and that was the experience that I was hoping for.
And I actually got more than I was hoping for, because when I signed up, I didn’t really realize that he was going to be so in it with us. Because he was just always right there. It was always like he was one of the cast members, just always in the mix with us. He was always dirty and sweaty and out there baking in the sun, just grimey and grungy. We were all carrying weapons, and he had his he had his camera. The camaraderie was special.
I know a major reason you took the role was to learn a little bit from Zack Snyder. Do you feel more confident now getting into a director’s chair?
Dave Bautista: Yeah, absolutely. I feel that. Right now in my career, I feel confident that I could direct a film. I have goals, and I don’t want to do big epic films. I want to do very contained, dramatic, and inspiring films. That’s always what I’ve wanted to do. But now I feel confident that I’ve learned enough, and that I know enough about the process.
Obviously, I don’t know every technical aspect. But I feel confident that I could sit in a director’s chair right now, and if I had a solid script and a solid cast, I could make one hell of a movie. I just think I’m at that point where I’ve just learned from the best; I’ve absorbed it. I’ve been a student.
And it was the same in wrestling. I learned from the best, and I picked their brain, and I took advantage of those guys in a way that a lot of people are missing out on. I wanted to learn things; I wanted to learn the process of professional wrestling and why it was an art. It’s the same thing with films, and I’ve done the same thing. And I feel like, right now if given the opportunity, I could be world champion.
Key Release Dates
- Army of the Dead (2021)Release date: May 21, 2021
