LOS ANGELES — Growing up as a little girl, producer Deborah Snyder loved the superhero character of Wonder Woman.
"She embodies so many things, and she's so multidimensional. She has roots in feminism, but her message is of love and hope. She's not just one thing, and women aren't just one thing," Snyder said.
As the producer of Justice League, the DC extended universe film that her husband, Zack Snyder, directed, she gets to see Wonder Woman on screen again, this time with Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash.
Previously, Snyder had produced Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice before producing Wonder Woman and the sequel, Wonder Woman 1984.
Superheroism is in her blood, you could say.
However, her latest film had new obstacles for her and her team to overcome, with much of it completed during the pandemic. The post-production was unlike anything she had ever seen before in her prolific career.
"Normally, you're sitting with the editor and doing the work in the same room. She has a similar system in her house, and she could remotely control his. We would do a video chat with her and were able to edit the movie almost like we were in the same room," she said.
Notice Snyder said "she" — a female editor. Creating more parity in Hollywood is something Snyder is passionate about and has the power to do by hiring women.
Justice League's release on HBO Max is the culmination of a heartbreaking road for the Snyders. They left the Justice League project in 2017 to be with family after their daughter died by suicide. The film's theatrical release under a different director was a box office bomb, and many fans said it wasn't the same as it would have been with the Snyders at the helm.
That's when the internet stepped in – rallying for what they called the "Snyder Cut." So Warner Bros. and the Snyders worked to release the long-rumored alternative version.
As a high-powered producer, Snyder is a kind of Wonder Woman herself — she produces blockbusters, brings youth on sets to mentor, tries to hire women in the industry, is a good mom, and has had a 30-plus-year marriage.
But she rejects being called a superhero, arguing we need to do the opposite, normalize women who are successful but balance family life with a career and being active in their community.
"I get asked so much, how do you balance between a mom and a producer, yet they don't ask my husband how does he balance being a director and father," she said.
She loves working with her husband – making movies in a pandemic together – and continuously being living, breathing proof that a woman can do it all and be it all.
"We're not just one thing. I want to be able to be this powerhouse in the industry that I work [in], and I also want to be a good mom, and I don't think I have to choose, and I don't want to choose. I hope that more often than not, it will be seen that women don't have to make that choice," she said.