The Stone Quarry

The Stone Quarry Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Film production
Predecessor	Cruel and Unusual Films, Inc.
Founded	2004 (2004)
Founder	Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Wesley Coller
Fate	Rebranded from Cruel and Unusual Films in January 2019
Headquarters	Pasadena, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Zack Snyder (co-president), Deborah Snyder (co-president), Wesley Coller (producing partner)
Products	Film production

The Stone Quarry Inc.—originally known as Cruel and Unusual Films, Inc.—is a U.S.-based film production company established in 2004 by director Zack Snyder, his spouse Deborah Snyder, and producing collaborator Wesley Coller. The company is headquartered at Warner Bros. studios in Pasadena, California.

Foundation

Launched in 2004 under the name Cruel and Unusual Films, the company secured a two-year production agreement with Warner Bros. in 2007, just prior to the debut of 300, directed by Zack Snyder. Zack and Deborah Snyder act as co-presidents, while Coller functions as a producing partner. Utilizing their extensive background in advertising, the firm also contributes to promotional activities for their projects. In January 2019, the organization underwent rebranding to become The Stone Quarry.

Company History

Since its inception in 2004, Cruel and Unusual Films—now The Stone Quarry—has mainly operated as an uncredited co-producer on films helmed by Zack Snyder and produced by Deborah Snyder. Their portfolio includes the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, followed by the 2007 adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300. In 2009, they produced Watchmen, an interpretation of the DC Comics limited series. Additionally, the studio was behind the computer-animated feature Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, inspired by Kathryn Lasky’s children's fantasy novels.

The first project to officially credit Cruel and Unusual as a producer was Sucker Punch (2011), which Zack Snyder co-wrote and directed alongside Deborah Snyder’s production role. The studio also co-produced several prominent DC Extended Universe films including 300: Rise of an Empire (2014), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), as well as both Wonder Woman and Justice League released in 2017.

In July 2015, announcements confirmed that Zack and Deborah Snyder would take on producer and executive producer roles within the DC Extended Universe franchise. Beginning in 2018, DC Films executives Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada joined them as executive producers on upcoming DC-related projects.

The studio had plans to develop Army of the Dead, a follow-up to Zack Snyder’s remake of Dawn of the Dead. Zack Snyder was involved in story development while Deborah Snyder was set to produce, with Joby Harold penning the script. The narrative revolves around a father’s mission to save his daughter amid a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas. Nevertheless, Warner Bros. halted production due to budgetary concerns.

Upcoming Endeavors

Zack Snyder is slated to direct a new version of the 1969 movie The Illustrated Man. The company is also attached to produce Horse Latitudes (initially titled The Last Photograph), directed by Zack Snyder with both Snyders producing; this film follows two men motivated by a photograph who journey to South America.

In September 2017, Snyder began work on adapting Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel The Fountainhead.

By September 2020, Netflix approved a prequel to Army of the Dead, named Army of Thieves, directed by Matthias Schweighöfer who also reprises his role as Ludwig; Shay Hatten wrote the screenplay. Alongside this, an anime prequel series titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas was announced to explore how Dave Bautista’s character Scott Ward and his rescue team first encountered Vegas’s initial zombie outbreak. Jay Oliva acts as showrunner, with Oliva and Snyder each directing two episodes.

In July 2021, Cruel and Unusual/The Stone Quarry entered into a first-look agreement with Netflix.

Films

Year	Title	Director	Collaborating Production Companies	Distributor	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
Under Cruel and Unusual Films
2004	Dawn of the Dead	Zack Snyder	New Amsterdam Entertainment / Strike Entertainment	Universal Pictures	76%	58/100
2007	300		Legendary Pictures / Atmosphere Pictures / Virtual Studios / Hollywood Gang Productions	Warner Bros. Pictures	61%	52/100
2008–2009	Watchmen: Motion Comic	Jake Strider Hughes	Animated short series adapted from DC's Watchmen	Warner Premiere Digital	—	—
2009	Watchmen	Zack Snyder	Legendary Pictures / Lawrence Gordon Productions / DC Entertainment	Warner Bros. Pictures / Paramount Pictures	65%	56/100
2010	Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole		Village Roadshow Pictures / Animal Logic	Warner Bros. Pictures	52%	53/100
2011	Sucker Punch		Legendary Pictures		22%	33/100
2013	Man of Steel		DC Entertainment / Legendary Pictures / Syncopy / Peters Entertainment		56%	55/100
2014	300: Rise of an Empire	Noam Murro	Legendary Pictures / Atmosphere Pictures / Hollywood Gang Productions		45%	48/100
2016	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice	Zack Snyder	Atlas Entertainment		29%	44/100
2017	Wonder Woman	Patty Jenkins	Atlas Entertainment / Tencent Pictures / Wanda Pictures		93%	76/100
	Justice League	Zack Snyder	Atlas Entertainment		40%	45/100

Under The Stone Quarry banner

The Last Photograph |Hollywood Gang Productions / Telecinco Cinema |

} Television Year Title Creator(s) / Developer(s) Co-production with Network Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic 2024 Twilight of the Gods Zack Snyder / Jay Oliva / Eric Carrasco Netflix 73% 63% TBA Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas Jay Oliva Netflix Animation / Meduzarts Animation TBA TBA Video games Year Title Developer(s) Publisher Platform(s) 2021 Army of the Dead: Viva Las Vengeance Pure Imagination Studios Netflix Virtual reality External links