'Superman' Director Zack Snyder, Producer Wife Are a Package Deal

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You can't get one without the other: Superman director Zack Snyder and wife/producing partner Deborah Johnson are a bundle deal.

If a studio isn't willing to have his wife act as a producer on a project with him, "It's a deal breaker," the helmer tells the New York Times.

Snyder and Johnson, who have been married for six and a half years, are presidents and producers at Cruel & Unusual FIlms, based in Burbank, Calif. They recently cast British actor Henry Cavill for the coveted role of Clark Kent in Snyder's upcoming film, Superman: Man of Steel.

"Our relationship is husband and wife, director and producer," Snyder explains. "My wife is my best friend. I trust Debbie's taste and way of navigating the world."

Johnson chimed in: "Directors go away to create for eight months, and if your spouse isn't involved, it puts a lot of pressure on the marriage, because the director is having these intimate life experiences that you can't relate to."

Since they've been married, the duo has worked on 300, Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and the upcoming Sucker Punch.

"The movies we make are polarizing," Johnson says. "Some people like it. Some people hate it. But I'm OK with it. As long as some people like it."

She also revealed that when they have an idea for a film or an intriguing script, they approach Warner Bros. first.

When asked what she thought of potential romances brewing on-set, she believed that if there was infidelity, "there's something wrong with the relationship. But if you're apart for several months, that definitely puts strain on the relationship."

Snyder's films aren't exactly of the romantic kind. While editing Dawn of the Dead, he remembered an instance when Johnson would share how bad the edits were. "It made our relationship stronger," he says.

"It's my job to get his point of view out, to help him develop the script, to be the liaison between the director and the studio. My job is to shelter Zack as much as possible," Johnson said.