 Logo used since 2020 | |
| Formerly | Cruel and Unusual Films, Inc. (2004–2019) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Film production company |
| Industry | Cinema of the United States |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Pasadena, California, United States |
Key people |
|
| Website | www |
The Stone Quarry Inc. [1] [2] [3] (formerly Cruel and Unusual Films, Inc.) is an American production company established in 2004 by filmmaker Zack Snyder, his wife Deborah Snyder and their producing partner Wesley Coller.
Cruel and Unusual Films, Inc. was founded in 2004 by Zack Snyder, his wife Deborah Snyder, and producing partner Wesley Coller. The company is based at Warner Bros., [4] and is located in Pasadena, California. [5] The company signed a two-year production deal with Warner Bros. in 2007, prior to the theatrical release of 300 , a film in which Snyder served as director. Snyder and his wife, Deborah, are co-presidents of the company. Coller often serves as a producing partner. [6] Snyder launched the company's official website on January 30, 2009, and invited artists to submit versions of the company logo. Apart from producing feature films, Cruel and Unusual Films has also assisted in the marketing of its films, based on the strong advertising backgrounds of Snyder and his wife, Deborah Snyder. [7] By January 2019, Snyder announced the studio's new title, The Stone Quarry. [8]
To date, Cruel and Unusual/The Stone Quarry has served as an uncredited co-producer for films in which Snyder and his wife served as director and producer respectively. Following its establishment in 2004, the company produced Dawn of the Dead , a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name. In 2007, Cruel and Unusual Films produced 300 , an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel. In 2009, the company produced Watchmen , an adaptation of the DC Comics limited series of the same name. Cruel and Unusual next produced Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole , a computer-animated film based on the series of children's fantasy books Guardians of Ga'Hoole by Kathryn Lasky. Sucker Punch was co-written and directed by Snyder, who also produced the film with his wife Deborah Snyder. The film is the first that credits Cruel and Unusual as a producer. Sucker Punch was released on March 25, 2011.
In 2014 the studio co-produced the sequel to 2007's 300, 300: Rise of an Empire . In 2016 the studio co-produced the sequel to 2013's Man of Steel , Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice .
In 2017 the studio co-produced Wonder Woman and Justice League .
In July 2015 it was revealed that Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder will serve as producers and executive producers in the DC Extended Universe. Since 2018, DC Films chairmen Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada will serve as executive producer on the future DC movies set in the DC Extended Universe, along with the Snyders.
The studio was supposed to produce Army of the Dead, a sequel to Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake, in which Zack Snyder was supposed to assist in developing the story, while his wife to produce the film, and Joby Harold to write the screenplay. The story centers around a father trying to save his daughter in a zombie-infested Las Vegas. [4] Due to the expensive production value, the production of the movie was cancelled by Warner Bros. [9]
Zack Snyder will also direct a remake of the 1969 film The Illustrated Man . [10] The company will also produce Horse Latitudes, which was formerly known as The Last Photograph, a film about a photograph that inspires two men to travel to South America. The film will be directed by Zack Snyder and will be produced by Snyder and his wife Deborah Snyder. [11] [12]
In September 2017, it was confirmed that Zack Snyder is developing The Fountainhead adaptation, based on the 1943 novel from Ayn Rand. [13]
In September 2020, it was announced that Netflix had greenlit a prequel based on Army of the Dead, with Matthias Schweighöfer set to direct the film in addition to reprising his role as Ludwig. Shay Hatten will also pen the screenplay. [14] It was also announced that an anime prequel series was in the works titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas . The series will serve as an origin story for Dave Bautista's character Scott Ward and his rescue team during the initial fall of Vegas as they confront the source of the zombie outbreak. Jay Oliva is set to serve as showrunner for the series, with both Oliva and Zack Snyder set to direct two episodes each. [14] In July 2021, the company signed a first-look deal with Netflix. [15]
| Year | Film | Director | Co-production with | Distributed by | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As Cruel and Unusual Films | ||||||
| 2004 | Dawn of the Dead | Zack Snyder | Strike Entertainment / New Amsterdam Entertainment | Universal Pictures | 76% [16] | 58/100 [17] |
| 2007 | 300 | Legendary Pictures / Virtual Studios / Atmosphere Pictures / Hollywood Gang Productions | Warner Bros. Pictures | 61% [18] | 52/100 [19] | |
| 2008–2009 | Watchmen: Motion Comic | Jake Strider Hughes | Animated short film series based on the DC comic book series Watchmen | Warner Premiere Digital | — | — |
| 2009 | Watchmen | Zack Snyder | Legendary Pictures / Lawrence Gordon Productions / DC Entertainment | Warner Bros. Pictures / Paramount Pictures | 65% [20] | 56/100 [21] |
| 2010 | Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole | Village Roadshow Pictures / Animal Logic | Warner Bros. Pictures | 52% [22] | 53/100 [23] | |
| 2011 | Sucker Punch | Legendary Pictures | 22% [24] | 33/100 [25] | ||
| 2013 | Man of Steel | DC Entertainment / Legendary Pictures / Syncopy / Peters Entertainment | 56% [26] | 55/100 [27] | ||
| 2014 | 300: Rise of an Empire | Noam Murro | Legendary Pictures / Atmosphere Pictures / Hollywood Gang Productions | 45% [28] | 48/100 [29] | |
| 2016 | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | Zack Snyder | RatPac Entertainment / Atlas Entertainment / DC Entertainment | 29% [30] | 44/100 [31] | |
| 2017 | Wonder Woman | Patty Jenkins | RatPac Entertainment / Tencent Pictures / Wanda Pictures / Atlas Entertainment / DC Films | 93% [32] | 76/100 [33] | |
| Justice League | Zack Snyder | RatPac Entertainment / Atlas Entertainment / DC Films | 40% [34] | 45/100 [35] | ||
| 2018 | Aquaman | James Wan | RatPac Entertainment / The Safran Company / Mad Ghost Productions / DC Films | 65% [36] | 55/100 [37] | |
| As The Stone Quarry | ||||||
| 2020 | Wonder Woman 1984 | Patty Jenkins | Atlas Entertainment / DC Films | Warner Bros. Pictures | 59% [38] | 60/100 [39] |
| 2021 | Zack Snyder's Justice League | Zack Snyder | Warner Bros. Pictures / Access Entertainment / Atlas Entertainment / DC Films | HBO Max | 71% [40] | 54/100 [41] |
| Army of the Dead | — | Netflix | 67% [42] | 57/100 [43] | ||
| Army of Thieves | Matthias Schweighöfer | Pantaleon Films | 68% [44] | 49/100 [45] | ||
| 2023 | Rebel Moon | Zack Snyder | Grand Electric | 22% [46] | 31/100 [47] | |
| 2024 | Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver | 18% [48] | 36/100 [49] | |||
| TBA | Planet of the Dead | — | TBA | TBA | ||
| Year | Title | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Co-production with | Network | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Twilight of the Gods | Eric Carrasco / Jay Oliva / Zack Snyder | Netflix Animation / Xilam Animation | Netflix | TBA | TBA |
| TBA | Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas | Jay Oliva | Netflix Animation / Meduzarts Animation |
| Year | Title | Developer(s) | Publisher | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Army of the Dead: Viva Las Vengeance | Pure Imagination Studios | Netflix | Virtual reality |
Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 action horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his feature directorial debut, with a screenplay by James Gunn. A remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name, it stars an ensemble cast that includes Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer, with Scott Reiniger, Tom Savini, and Ken Foree from the original film appearing in cameos. Set in Milwaukee, the film follows a group of survivors who try to survive a zombie apocalypse holed up in a suburban shopping mall.
Steppenwolf is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in New Gods #7. A New God and military general from the planet Apokolips, Steppenwolf is the brother of Heggra and therefore the maternal uncle of Darkseid. He is commonly depicted as Darkseid's subordinate, commanding his army of Parademons in conflicts against Superman and the Justice League.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a 2016 American superhero film based on the DC Comics characters Batman and Superman. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, DC Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment, and Cruel and Unusual Films, and distributed by Warner Bros., it is a follow-up to the 2013 film Man of Steel and the second film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film was directed by Zack Snyder, written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer, and features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman, alongside Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, and Gal Gadot. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the first live-action film to feature Batman and Superman together, as well as the first live-action cinematic portrayal of Wonder Woman. In the film, criminal mastermind Lex Luthor manipulates Batman into a preemptive battle with Superman, who Luthor is obsessed with destroying.
Zachary Edward Snyder is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with Dawn of the Dead, a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since then, he has directed or produced a number of comic book and superhero films, including 300 (2006) and Watchmen (2009), as well as the Superman film that started the DC Extended Universe, Man of Steel (2013), and its follow-ups, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017), as well as the director's cut of Justice League that was later released in 2021. He also directed the computer-animated film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010), the psychological action film Sucker Punch (2011), the zombie heist film Army of the Dead (2021), and the two-parter space opera films Rebel Moon (2023) and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver (2024).
The Batman franchise, based on the fictional superhero Batman who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, has seen the release of various films. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character first starred in two serial films in the 1940s: Batman and Batman and Robin. The character also appeared in the 1966 film Batman, which was a feature film adaptation of the 1960s Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, who also starred in the film. Toward the end of the 1980s, the Warner Bros. studio began producing a series of feature films starring Batman, beginning with the 1989 film Batman, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton. Burton and Keaton returned for the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, and in 1995, Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever with Val Kilmer as Batman. Schumacher also directed the 1997 sequel Batman & Robin, which starred George Clooney. Batman & Robin was poorly received by both critics and fans, leading to the cancellation of Batman Unchained.
DC Comics's Superman franchise, based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in June 1938, has seen the release of various films since its inception. The character debuted in cinemas in a series of animated shorts beginning in 1941, and then was the protagonist of two movie serials in 1948 and 1950. An independent studio, Lippert Pictures, released the first Superman feature film, Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves, in 1951. In 1973, the film rights to the Superman character were purchased by Ilya Salkind, Alexander Salkind, and Pierre Spengler. After numerous scripts and several years in development, Richard Donner was hired as their director, and he shot two films, Superman (1978), and Superman II (1980), at the same time, both starring Christopher Reeve. Donner had already shot eighty percent of Superman II before it was decided to finish shooting the first film. The Salkinds fired Donner after Superman's release and commissioned Richard Lester as the director to finish Superman II. Lester returned to direct Superman III (1983). The Salkinds also produced the related spin-off Supergirl (1984). They then sold the rights to Cannon Films, which produced the poorly reviewed Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Ilya Salkind commissioned a fifth Superman script before Warner Bros. acquired the rights entirely in 1993.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a 2010 animated fantasy adventure film directed by Zack Snyder. Based on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series by Kathryn Lasky, the film was written by John Orloff and Emil Stern and features the voices of Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Ryan Kwanten, Anthony LaPaglia, Miriam Margolyes, Sam Neill, Richard Roxburgh, and David Wenham. An international co-production between the United States and Australia, the film was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic, following their success with the 2006 film Happy Feet. In the film, Soren (Sturgess), a barn owl, is kidnapped and taken to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls led by Metal Beak and Nyra (Mirren), where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He befriends a fellow owl named Gylfie (Barclay), and they later escape the facility to find the Island of Ga'Hoole with new-found friends and together fight against the evil army.
Sucker Punch is a 2011 American psychological fantasy action film directed by Zack Snyder and co-written by Snyder and Steve Shibuya. It is Snyder's first film based on an original concept. The film stars Emily Browning as "Babydoll", a young woman who is committed to a mental institution. As she collects items she needs to escape, she enters a series of fantasy worlds where she and her fellow inmates are strong, experienced warriors. Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, and Oscar Isaac also star.
Deborah Snyder is an American producer of feature films and television commercials. She is married to filmmaker Zack Snyder, and has worked as his frequent producing partner on films such as Watchmen and 300. She is the co-founder of the production company The Stone Quarry.
Jay Oliva is an American film director, producer, and storyboard artist working at Los Angeles–based animation studio Lex+Otis.
Michael Wilkinson is a costume designer known for his work with Zack Snyder and the DCEU. Wilkinson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the 2013 film American Hustle.
Justice League is a 2017 American superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment, and Cruel and Unusual Films, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the fifth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by Zack Snyder and written by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, the film features an ensemble cast including Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, and J. K. Simmons. In the film, following the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Batman and Wonder Woman recruit The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg after the death of Superman to save the world from the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics. The DCEU also includes comic books, short films, novels, and video games. Like the original DC Universe in comic books, the DCEU is established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.
The 37th Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, was a parodic awards ceremony that identified the worst the film industry had to offer in 2016, according to votes from members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation. Razzies co-founder John J. B. Wilson has stated that the intent of the awards is "to be funny." The pre-nomination ballots were revealed on the week of January 2, 2017, with the nominations being revealed on January 23, 2017. The winners were announced on February 25, 2017.
Army of the Dead is a 2021 American post-apocalyptic zombie heist film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten and Joby Harold, based on a story he also created. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi, and Garret Dillahunt. It follows a group of mercenaries who plan a Las Vegas casino heist during a zombie apocalypse.
The 2017 film Justice League had a troubled production history, undergoing major changes before and during production, including a change in directors. This resulted in the theatrical release being markedly different from its conception in pre-production and principal photography.
Zack Snyder's Justice League is the 2021 director's cut of the 2017 American superhero film Justice League, the fifth film set within the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) based on the team of the same name appearing in DC Comics publications. It is intended to match director Zack Snyder's original vision for the film, prior to his departure from the production and subsequent studio interference. The film follows Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman, the Flash, and Superman as they form an alliance to stop the extradimensional New God Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons from conquering Earth for his overlord Darkseid.
Army of Thieves is a 2021 heist comedy film directed by Matthias Schweighöfer from a screenplay by Shay Hatten, based on a story he wrote with Zack Snyder. A prequel to Army of the Dead (2021), it is the second installment in the Army of the Dead franchise; the film stars Schweighöfer, who reprises his role as Ludwig Dieter, alongside a supporting cast that includes Nathalie Emmanuel, Ruby O. Fee, Stuart Martin, Guz Khan, and Jonathan Cohen. Filming began in Germany and the Czech Republic in October 2020, and concluded by December 2020.
The Army of the Dead franchise consists of American zombie-action horror installments, which serve as spiritual sequels to the 2004 re-imagining of Dawn of the Dead (1978). The franchise consists of a streaming release film that was also released in theaters for a limited time, and a spin-off prequel film, with future installments in various degrees of development.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
