…THEN WE SHALL FIGHT IN THE SHADE: BECOMING SPARTANS
The entire core cast plunged into research on Spartan history and culture to intellectually prepare for their roles. But Snyder wanted them also to look believable and to mesh together as the kind of fighting machine the Spartan guard represents. To physically prepare them for the rigors of the demanding fight sequences, Snyder enlisted the expertise of two people with whom he had trained over the years: Mark Twight, a former world record-holding professional mountain climber, to train the actors and stuntmen in physical fitness conditioning; and veteran stunt coordinator Damon Caro, to prepare them for the fight sequences.
With a background training special operations military personnel, cage fighters, firemen, paramedics, and mountain climbers, Twight's approach included a strict dietary plan combined with a punishing regimen of physical activity. "It's the equivalent of a sprint--it's short duration, super high intensity with a nutritional program to support that effort," outlines Twight.
For eight weeks prior to the start of production, Twight challenged the men to go beyond their normal limits. To support fight preparation the training emphasized athleticism by combining compound movements, lifting, and throwing. Primitive tools - medicine balls, Kettlebells, rings - were used instead of machines. Each session was competitive, with a penalty-reward system tied to performance and results posted daily for all to see. "By sharing hardship together over a period of time, with team interplay where they compete against each other, they come out as a fighting force that is believable on the screen. It changes the way they move and how they behave as a unit," Twight offers.
Some of the men needed to lose weight, and some needed to put weight on, so everyone was put on a specific diet. Fassbender was one of the lucky ones. "I was lucky enough not to have to knuckle down to the cottage cheese and grape diet," he says, "in that it was in the interests of my character that I added a few pounds."
Vincent Regan underwent perhaps the most startling transformation. "Mark sent me a training DVD and I thought, 'I can't do that; I just cannot do that.'" Nevertheless, with the help of a trainer, soon he was running up steep hills and boxing, among other activities. Having everyone train together helped considerably. "Because all the actors were in it together, there was a sense that we were trying to reach one goal," Regan remembers.
With a group of ten actors, as well as stuntmen from Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, Damon Caro and assistant coordinator Chad Stahelski began a parallel regime, coordinated with Twight's physical fitness sessions. "It was a tremendous help as far as injury prevention, stamina, and overall focus," says Caro. "With fight choreography, you only have a certain amount of time for physical training because it sometimes doesn't mesh with the functional application. What Mark brought to the project was functional strength, not just sculpted biceps or ripped abs."
Caro and Stahelski choreographed the impressive sword and formation fight sequences. Jeffrey Silver notes that Snyder wanted the fight sequences to have a very distinctive style. "When Zack talked initially about the concept for the fighting, he said, 'Look, I don't want all that long lens mayhem. I want it to be like ballet.' He wanted every action in the fight to be carefully choreographed employing aspects of martial arts."
In keeping with the director's vision, Caro, who is a martial arts expert, was able to integrate moves from various martial arts disciplines into his fight choreography.
Caro and Stahelski's attention to detail made it easy for the actors to achieve the desired goal. "Damon and Chad are so incredibly talented," says Butler. "Everybody learned and improved together until we became one single impenetrable unit. The action in the film is mind-blowing, and that is largely due to the two of them."
"They basically trained us from scratch," adds David Wenham. "They taught us how to fight and they drilled us every day. So it wasn't a matter of just learning moves; it became instinctual."
There were eight weeks of fight training preceding production, and the training then continued throughout filming up to the days when each sequence would be shot. The constant training and rehearsing paid off. "When we actually got to the action, the guys performed brilliantly," Caro affirms. "There are many fight scenes involving complex choreography, and after all those weeks working and training together, there was just a telepathic vibe among the actors and stuntmen."
In fact, the total commitment from both the trainers and the actors resulted in the action sequences being the most efficiently shot. "You might think the fight scenes would take longer, but every move was so purposely and precisely laid out that those were the days we wrapped early," Silver attests.

THIS IS SPARTA: ROLLING CAMERAS AND TELECINES
To help realize his epic action drama on the screen, Zack Snyder assembled a diverse team of collaborators, including cinematographer Larry Fong, Oscar-nominated production designer James Bissell ("Good Night, and Good Luck"), editor William Hoy, costume designer Michael Wilkinson, visual effects supervisor Chris Watts, and make-up and creature effects supervisors Shaun Smith and Mark Rappaport. For Bissell, "300" required a bold new approach to the design of the production because of the virtual nature of the sets and his faithful adherence to the visual style established by Miller's graphic novel. "It was more operatic than realistic," he acknowledges.
Using Zack Snyder's thumbnail storyboards as a departure point, Bissell and his team created 3-D environments and concept illustrations of Sparta, the Greek terrain and Thermopylae, site of the epic battle. Snyder, Bissell and Watts then reviewed the illustrations Bissell recalls: "We asked: 'Are the actors walking uphill? Downhill? Where do they cast shadows? How little of this do we have to build?'"
Terrain sets were abstracted so that they could be used for different scenes by changing camera angles or adding elements. In this way, Leonidas and his army of 300 marched across Greece using only three constructed sets. Sets for Sparta, the Hot Gates, and Xerxes's tent were also built on stage. "The Persian messengers galloping toward camera is the only scene that we shot outdoors," says Bissell.
"The awesome thing about Jim is that he was never daunted by any of it," marvels Snyder. "In a lot of ways I think he was excited by the prospect of not being limited to what you could build, but just what you could imagine."
Each scene was conceived with a fully designed 3D environment, then rendered in color with key frame illustrations. When that was complete, Bissell was able to better assess what he had to build and adjust accordingly.
Chris Watts worked closely with Bissell and Snyder to ensure that the creative and technical details were supportive of the overall vision. "With 1300 visual effects shots, there is no shortage of technical issues," Watts explains. "But the primary challenge of '300' was creative: All of those visual effects shots need to be constructed to reflect the style and aesthetic of the graphic novel, while accommodating Zack's vision for the parts of the film that don't appear in the book."
Because nearly every set and location was enhanced with visual effects, the art and visual effects departments also had to ensure that the design and technical elements worked well together. Watts gives a simplified description of the process: "Jim designed all the sets with the visual effects in mind. All through prep, VFX artists would digitally augment Jim's set designs to give Zack an accurate picture of what he could expect as a final result. If there was a problem that we couldn't solve with the existing sets, then they designed or tweaked something else to make it work."
As part of the visual development of the film, Watts and his team tested virtually everything that would be seen in the film: the look of fire, the Spartan capes, wounds, weapons, CG blood versus real blood. "Just about everything, even details that one might take for granted, were painstakingly developed over the course of many months," Watts continues. "When we agreed on a something that worked, the details would be published in a 'style guide' that was distributed to the film's vendors. We had ten visual effects vendors on four countries, so continuity of style was always an issue"
The visual effects department also collaborated with cinematographer Larry Fong. "The graphic novel definitely influenced our look but that was only one of my challenges," he says. "My goal was to maximize mood and drama but I still needed to keep the VFX department happy with clean mattes and good exposure detail to allow 'the crush' later on down the line."
In photographing the film, Fong had to decide how to interpret Frank Miller's book in three dimensions. "Translating that through lighting and composition was sometimes tricky but great fun," he describes. "There were times when we went for a very close match to specific frames in the book, which Zack called 'Frank frames'. But obviously not every shot in the film matches a drawing, so we did have room to experiment and develop a visual style of our own. Very often I'd say it was a visceral thing more than a technical exercise."
Costume designer Michael Wilkinson also wanted to remain true to the graphic nature of Miller's drawings. In creating the costumes for the film, he maintained "the strength of line, bold silhouettes and strong drapery of the graphic novel, and used fabrics that had great texture, that the camera would love, and had a sense of life to them," Wilkinson expounds.
Wilkinson and his team scoured the world to find inspiration and the fabric to bring the designs to life. The linen for the Spartan capes they found in Russia, chosen for its beautiful texture and the dynamic way that it flowed in the action sequences. The fabric then underwent extensive testing with various dyes until the exact Spartan red was achieved. The team then put the capes through a process of "distressing" to convey the wear and tear as the soldiers go through the battles. "We looked at the book and discovered that towards the end of the novel, Frank had drawn the capes bleached and shredded," he recalls. "So, we distressed our capes by creeping bleach, dye and paint onto them to make them look like they had gone through heavy warfare."
His choice also helped illustrate the psychological toll that the battles had taken on the Spartans. "Their spirits are broken and worn down by the pummeling they get in each different battle," he offers. "So, the worn look of the costumes is also a metaphor for the life starting to bleed out of the characters."
To differentiate between the Spartan and Persian armies, the Spartan army was dressed in rich, warm earth tones, while the Persian army flashes peacock colors, exotic greens, blues and purples with gold. Wilkinson explains, "The costumes of the Greek warriors accentuate their highly refined physiques - as though their bodies are their armor - while, contrary to that, the Persian army is covered in exotic cloths, and the silhouettes are exaggerated to give the impression, to Greek eyes, of a mysterious, unknown monster approaching."
The costumes for the Persian army drew inspiration from a variety of sources. "We figured that by the time Xerxes marched from his home to Greece, he would have come in contact with lots of different races," says Wilkinson. "So, for each of the different Persian tribes, we had different influences, ranging from Africa to Egypt to Russia to Armenia to Japan to China, and everything in between."
Xerxes's elaborate costume--made almost entirely of metal rather than cloth--is based on Miller's frame from the book. "Frank's drawing of Xerxes is one of my favorite images from the graphic novel," the costume designer says. "I loved its audacity, and was inspired by Frank's preference for visual impact over historical authenticity."
Wilkinson's design for Xerxes is definitely the most complex costume in the film. "The costume consists of 18 different jewelry pieces, each using dozens of African and Middle-Eastern beads and jewelry motifs, plus 12 piercings that we created especially for the character."
Utilizing heavy leathers, bronze materials, feathers, horsehair, fiberglass and plastic resins, Wilkinson and his team of 60 costumers created all of the armor, jewelry and helmets to outfit the Spartans and the Persians. Many of the costume pieces also had to be done in multiples. For example, there were five Spartan capes for each of the main actors and 17 duplicates of the distinctive plumed helmets worn by King Leonidas.
The appearance of the characters--human and otherwise--also involved the make-up effects team, headed by Shaun Smith and Mark Rappaport. They were responsible for creating the look for Ephialtes, the Immortals, the Executioner and varied characters in Xerxes's tent, as well as the wolf young Leonidas faces and even some horses. They were also charged with creating the dramatic "Wall of the Dead," which the Spartans build using the bodies of vanquished Persians. The make-up and effects teams utilized a rig with hydraulics to allow the Spartans to turn the wall into an effective weapon. The make-up team also had the responsibility of creating characters that do not appear in Miller's work.
Nevertheless, Snyder, the producers and everyone involved in the production were passionate about staying true to the vision expressed in Miller's work. Nunnari states, "Working together, everyone became part of this fantastic team and we all enjoyed the process of making this movie on every level."
Canton agrees. "From the inception of the storyboards from Frank's book to the shooting of the film and post-production, '300' has been a tremendously exciting journey for all of us."

PREPARE FOR GLORY: THE MUSIC OF "300"
Co-writer/Director Snyder engaged Tyler Bates, his collaborator on "Dawn of the Dead," to write and produce the score.
Snyder asked Bates to develop a compelling overall sound that would heighten the audience's emotional reaction to the Spartans' heroism and sacrifice. To do that, Bates created a sweeping orchestral and choral soundscape, recorded at the Beatles' famed Abbey Road Studios, that embraced a tonal palette unusual for studio films. Iranian-born singer Azam Ali - whose haunting, exotic vocals have also graced various television and film soundtracks, including, most recently, "The Nativity Story" - supplies the voice of Sparta and the Persian threat.
"My intent was to stay true to the inspiration of the film and that of the Spartans' freedom and will," Bates says. "The greatest challenge was to bead a musical thread throughout the film's ever-changing landscape of visual art, while sustaining its epic and emotional qualities. I had to approach it in a style as inventive as the film itself."
Snyder has nothing but praise for Tyler's score. "It moves the film into mythology," he says, "cauterizing the images as you view them, making them something they could never be alone."
Snyder concludes, "There were a lot of challenges in bringing this work to the screen, but no one involved even once blinked at anything that was asked of them. From the cast to the producers and everyone working behind the scenes--they were always there for me and for the film, physically, emotionally and creatively. The movie wouldn't look like it does without them. They were all amazing."

ZACK SNYDER (Director/Screenwriter) had established himself as one of the most creative and sought-after directors in the commercial and music video arenas before segueing to feature films. He made his feature film directorial debut with the hit horror thriller "Dawn of the Dead." Released in March 2004, the film opened at the top of the weekend box office and brought Snyder widespread critical acclaim for his inspired re-imagining of George Romero's cult classic. Snyder was also nominated for the prestigious Camera d'Or Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for his work on the film.
Together with his producing partner and Co-President Deborah Snyder, he recently formed Cruel and Unusual Films, which announced a two-year overall production deal with Warner Bros. Snyder is currently in development on "Watchmen," based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The producers are Larry Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Deborah Snyder.
Snyder's feature film success follows years of directing award-winning commercials and music videos. British Communication Arts Magazine featured Snyder as one of the most talented commercial directors in the country. Snyder's commercial work has garnered him numerous awards, including two Clios. He also won a Gold Lion award at Cannes for his Jeep "Frisbee" spot. His wickedly funny and irreverent spot, "Russian Generals," attracted the attention of the London advertising community, which presented him with an award for his impressive body of work. His commercial work took him around the world and includes such memorable and filmic spots as a Land Rover commercial filmed in Tunisia; a Subaru spot featuring Lance Armstrong; and a Budweiser commercial filmed in China.
Snyder attributes his distinctive style, in part, to his early artistic training in London, where he studied painting at the Heatherlies School. He later refined his artistic sensibilities at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he developed the bold cinematic style of filmmaking that he has become known for today.

KURT JOHNSTAD (Screenwriter) counts "300" as his first major studio feature film screenplay credit. He recently completed a screenplay adaptation of Tom Clancy's novel "Rainbow Six," also in collaboration with Zack Snyder. Currently, Johnstad is working with producer Gianni Nunnari on "The Last Photograph," a story set in modern-day, war-torn Afghanistan.
In 1995, Johnstad sold his first screenplay, the action drama "True Vengeance." He is an alumnus of the California Institute of Arts (CalArts) BFA film program, and has also worked as a Directors Guild of America first assistant director while refining his craft as a screenwriter.

MICHAEL B. GORDON (Screenwriter) spent three years working for producer Mark Canton at Warner Bros. Pictures. Gordon then went on to pen "300" and ink a multi-script deal with the studio. He most recently completed a revision of producer Sam Raimi's horror movie "The Messengers," and is currently scripting the adventure film "Zooport," for director Steve Sommers.
Gordon began his career in entertainment as an intern at ICM, and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

FRANK MILLER (Novel / Executive Producer)  made his feature film directorial debut in 2005 with the adaptation of his graphic novel "Sin City," which he co-directed with Robert Rodriguez. The critically acclaimed film was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, won the Austin Film Critics Award and garnered a Czech Lion nomination.
Miller became a professional comic book artist while in his teens, working on a variety of assignments for major publishers, including Gold Key, DC and Marvel. He first drew attention to his work on two issues of Marvel's "Spectacular Spider-Man," in a story that teamed the ever-popular arachnid with another popular character Daredevil.
Shortly thereafter, Miller was offered the regular penciling slot on Daredevil's own book. Soon after, Miller took over the writing chores on the title and, during a run of several years, in collaboration with inker Klaus Janson, he created the ninja assassin-for-hire, Elektra.
In the early 1980s, Miller attracted further attention as one of the first comic freelancers who braved the field outside the comfortable world of company-owned characters with the creation of "Ronin," a futuristic high-tech samurai pop adventure. It was the first of many collaborations with Lynn Varley.
Since then, Miller has added a number of notable projects to his repertoire, including "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns," with Janson and Varley; "Batman: Year One," illustrated by David Mazzuchelli and colored by Richmond Lewis; "Elektra: Assassin," illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz; "Elektra Lives Again," again with Varley; the award-winning Martha Washington miniseries "Give Me Liberty," illustrated by Dave Gibbons; and "Hard Boiled," illustrated by Geof Darrow.
The "Sin City" books have garnered numerous awards, including two Harvey awards for Best Graphic Album of Original Work in 1998 and Best Continuing Series in 1996; and six Eisner Awards, including those for Best Writer/Artist, Best Graphic Novel Reprint, Best Cartoonist, Best Cover Artist, Best Limited Series and Best Short Story.
Currently, Miller is set to write, direct and produce parts two and three of his feature "Sin City."

LYNN VARLEY (Novel) has been privileged to work with Neal Adams, Sergio Aragones, Geof Darrow, Jean Giraud and Frank Miller.

She was named favorite colorist in 1986, 1999, and 2000 by Comics Buyer's Guide magazine. In 1999 she received an Eisner Award, Harvey Award and Comics Buyer's Guide award for her work on "300."

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