Zack Snyder Had A Cameo In 'Batman V Superman'
You can feel Zack Snyder's fingerprints all over Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — for better or for worse, it really feels like a Zack Snyder film, right down to the fact that most of the characters seem to share Snyder's taste for vests. But you probably didn't know that Snyder is actually, physically in the movie. His cameo is so small that it's basically impossible to pick him out, but cinematographer Larry Fong has revealed where exactly you can find him.
Fong revealed the Batman v Superman Zack Snyder cameo to a fan on Twitter.
Also, it's Zack's hands on Bruce's cell phone in the fight club. Now you know.
— Larry Fong (@larryfong) January 1, 2017
To refresh your memory, he's referring to the scene where Bruce Wayne goes into an underground fight club as part of his investigation of Superman. He uses his cell phone to clone a copy of someone else's cell phone, and there's a closeup of his hand on the device. Well, that hand apparently belongs to Snyder, not Ben Affleck who played the rest of Bruce Wayne / Batman. Don't feel bad if you failed to pick out Snyder's cameo. I'd be surprised if anyone but Snyder's own family members knew his hands well enough to recognize them during the film.
As for why Snyder decided to insert a shot of his own hand instead of Affleck's, Fong explained:
1) often actors don't want to do little tiny shots; 2) often directors LOVE to
— Larry Fong (@larryfong) January 1, 2017
Actors will very often use stand-ins and doubles for scenes like this. Their time is valuable, and probably better spent shooting scenes where audiences will actually recognize them, not on tiny, quick close-ups like this one. For Snyder, on the other hand, it was probably just a fun little way to insert himself into his movie.
While that cameo is the most literal example of Snyder being a hands-on director, it's not the only one. Fong also revealed that Snyder himself held the "Batmobile headlights" that shine on Superman during his early confrontation with Batman.
Fun fact: Zack was holding the light that simulated the headlights in this shot.
— Larry Fong (@larryfong) January 1, 2017
So, what does add to Batman v Superman and our understanding of it? Well, nothing, really. But now you've got a mildly interesting factoid you can whip out the next time you run out of things to talk about at a party.