Kerry Conran was the creator of what has become one of my favorite fun movies, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004). Sky Captain was Conran's pet project, a movie which he conceived and attempted to cobble together single-handedly on his home computer. He labored for a few years to produce a short proof-of-concept trailer, which he then shopped around to the studios in search of money to finish the film. It attracted the attention of director / producer Jon Avnet, who agreed to take the project on. Conran, with Avnet playing mentor, made his directorial debut with it.
The film tells the story of a swashbuckling ace P-47 pilot (Jude Law in the title role) who saves the world from an army of mysterious flying robots. It's a comic book story made real by movie magic, the first movie shot entirely on green screen. In fact, there's almost nothing real on the screen except the flesh-and-blood actors for the entire movie, and it's the triumph of Conran and company that they still manage an engaging--and visually most compelling--story in the process. Set in 1939, the movie has both the look and the feel of an old black and white adventure flick, using an antique color palette and displaying a Style Moderne world that Deco designers only dreamed of. Through Jon Avnet's influence (and that really compelling proof-of-concept video), Conran was able to assemble a dream cast: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Giovanni Ribisi, Angelina Jolie, Michael Gambon, Bai Ling. Not bad for one's first jump out of the gate. Even Sir Laurence Olivier was (technologically) resurrected from the dead for a role as the mysterious Dr. Totenkopf.
Though a movie of this type could not expect to turn the film world on its ear, it garnered generally favorable reviews and was solidly successful at the box office. There was talk of a sequel or prequel almost from the moment the movie was released. One salivated for more.
And then... nothing.
Conran appears to have been lined up to direct an adaptation of some Edgar Rice Burroughs story, but he was dropped in favor of Jon Favreau (and the project itself seems not to have happened). And after that he seems to have just fallen off the face of the earth. My snooping around IMDB and Wikipedia and my Google and Yahoo searches find nothing not related to Sky Captain from the time of its release. Even a search of a Sky Captain sequel only lands on four year old material.
Lately I find myself in a Sky Captain mood, and it causes me to wonder about all this.
Anybody have any ideas?
65 comments:
I liked this movie a lot too (in fact, I own it). It and Sin City really ushered in this style and look that you are starting to see more in movies like 300.
I have no idea what happened to Kerry Conran. I could find almost no information on him on the internet for the period after Sky Captain. Weird.
Wow! I was wondering this as well, so I googled "What happened to Kerry Conran"... and you posted this like 4 days ago. Bizzare.
What? Did we all see Iron man, and some synapse in our brain subliminally goes "Gweneth Paltrow's in Iron Man, what was the last geeky movie she was in... oh, Sky Captain was good, what ever happened to.."
Either that or the internet is sooooooooo vast, anything you thought about was blogged about in the past week.
I think it's a groundswell of world curiosity, a call to action for Conran to make his next movie!
(Well, I can have my fantasies too.)
I to was googling for both Kerry and Kevin but found NOTHING new or anything that set light on the matter.
Kevin's website has been under construction forever.
Have they given up? Being tossed of the "Mars" project too much?
This is hysterical. I was just thinking the same thing you all were, and when I googled "What Happened Kerry Conran" This blog came up! Sounds like a lot of us had the same idea. "Sky Captain" is a really under appreciated film, and I'm glad you blogged about it so that we could all share our thoughts.
Where are you Kerry? We're ready for the next adventure!
Kerry's ears must be burning! I've been wondering what happened to him too. Apparently he did a Coke commercial sometime around 2005-2006, you can find it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_YcMv_Yl7c
I would like to see more work from him too otherwise I guess he goes down in history as a one shot wonder.
Apparently, Kerry turned down directing jobs after John Carter to do another original project.
No doubt we'll see more work from him, but when---?
Awright, I feel better now; I'm not the only one wondering. I found a street address for a Kerry Conran in Sherman Oaks, CA. I think I'll send an old-fashioned letter. Stay tuned...
Conran was removed as director of "John Carter of Mars" after the dismal box office Sky Captain did. Contrary to what Wunelle posted, Sky Captain only grossed about 58 million worldwide, but had a budget of 70 million. Since it takes twice the production budget to break even (to cover advertising, film prints, etc), Sky Captain was a big money loser for Paramount.
By the way, "John Carter of Mars" has apparently become a project for Pixar. Half animated, half live action and slated for a 2012 release.
With the failure of Sky Captain, the Conran's left the industry with substantial debt due the preliminary backers. After a vacation jaunt to Asia to recouperate from the movie, they were never heard from again.
If the Conran's "left" the industry, Kerry is now "back". He's writing a top secret original in LA.
You can't keep a man like Conran down. I would bet if the Hollywood types who finance movies said no, he would make it anyway! If the doors of opportunity are not open, build your own door! For me, the special magic about the movie was not the movie itself, but the spirit and magic that made it. I am not sure if that can be duplicated again -hopefully.
Conran is the only guy that has ever been able to get "pulp sci-fi" right. I love Sky Captain and have always been so sad that another movie is not likely.
I'd line up for anything that Conran puts together. He has a sensibility that deserves an audience.
We miss your work, Kerry. Keep hammering at whatever you are doing. There are a lot of people out here that are looking forward to it and support you.
I would love to see another movie from him, especially with Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers movies supposedly in the works. I don't have much hope for those movies, I think Kerry would do a great job with either one of them but it seems that Hollywood has given up on him. :'(
Hollywood does not appreciate a guy like Conran. I hope he is being given another shot, but if not, his contribution of Sky Captain was more than guys like Michael Bay have ever offered. A friend of mine in the biz confirmed what I always suspected about H'wood: they truly believe that no one will ever watch anything in black and white. That wipes out about 60% of the best in cinematic history. With no more regard for cinematic art than what these major producers have, no wonder they turn out the crap they do and push aside an innovator who can entertain. They're suffering genius envy. Give Conran his truly great screenplay and he'll be back. Sky Cap was just a glimpse.
is he alive?
I adore Skycaptain and, watching it now for the umteenth time I am wondering....what happened to Kerry Conran??!! And here is the discussion I was looking for.
I too am surprised it did poorly- I thought it had done well- reviews were good- and it was an absolute mindfuck on the big screen- but that pulp sci-fi thing is maybe an acquired taste- I hope- pray! That Kerry does more work....and Angelina has never looked hotter....
Conran had a good concept but fell short in his execution. For example, the initial interaction between Law and Paltrow was awkward. The flight halfway around the world in a fighter plane stretched believability. The Jolie squadron defying the laws of physics was silly. I feel with some additional creative editing the movie could be much better.
Hmmm. I think the initial reaction between Law & Paltrow was supposed to be awkward...
And if your enjoyment of this genre of a movie is hampered by creative license being taken with the laws of physics (or aircraft design--which I do not dispute) then you're watching the wrong movie!
Still, I appreciate the comment :-)
Differences aside, the film needed to be shorter, with crisper editing to liven up the pace and move the story along. Most reviews complain about the non-existent plot and lack of excitement. Re-arranging some elements and shortening others would do wonders for this film (which I wanted to like more than I did).
I have just finished watching Sky Captain for the 5th time (a film I liked more than I wanted to) - and I have to say it is a much under appreciated movie. I loved its gentle, sensitive 'ground' and emotive style. Big mistake with the lead of Jude though (always a disappointment, he never delivers)...
It's a better comic movie than most, ('300' - arrrgghh!). Kerry come back. I'm a fan.
I have no details to offer about his next project or whether the studios will finance it, but Kerry is making the Hollywood rounds.
Rather than dwell on what was wrong with World of Tomorrow, which I think was a fair amount, I'm awed by Kerry's amazing vision and all the wonderful stuff that was in the picture. Go Conran!!
As film fans, let's root for Kerry to get a greenlight and, like Ed Wood, to make "next one... even better."
i just finished this movie again... any word on the kerry watch?
You've gotta love someone who encourages comments and then selectively deletes ones they don't like. The Internet is a wonderful place...
Yeah, you gotta love it indeed. Guys leave anonymous comments, then "take credit" for them by posting the same comments AGAIN with a pseudonym (with no email or blog link). And then comment on THAT anonymously!
You're free to dislike the movie and, certainly, my take on it (your correction of my error about the movie's box office is noted), but dude, why would you leave comments here about what YOU think Conran should have done? And leave them again when nobody agreed with you? And then slam me for not wanting the duplication?
Here's an idea: start a blog!
This is what's wrong with forums and comment sections. I thought I was engaging you in conversation/debate. Yes, initially I left comments anonymously because I didn't really think anything would come of it. After the fact I thought I should put a name to my comments, not to repeat them, not to ram them down anyones throat, but simply for continuities sake. As for the name being a pseudonym, it's the one I use everywhere on the Internet (not leaving a URL was an oversite). And why wouldn't I post what I think. That's what you do. That's what a blog is all about, it's what the comments section is all about. And I was posting fact (the box office numbers) and observation (what many critics have said) along with personal opinion.
I'm not trying to win an argument. I was enjoying the conversation. But arbitrary rules, overbearing etiquette, and censorship, which make up much of the Internet, seemed to have gotten in the way.
As for Sky Captain, I think my last comment (the deleted one), which was a quote not my opinion, still had a point to make as it speaks to Conran himself. A reviewer on Netflix said that the movie "started off as some guy playing around with his own rendering system and seeing what he could accomplish. But when you start throwing money and celebrities at a project like this, it just emphasizes it's shortcomings... they tried to turn a very small project into a blockbuster, and that just doesn't work."
Of course, in the end none of this matters because it's just a movie. Life goes on, for us and Kerry.
By the way, I have more than one URL (if you're interested) including boyandtiger.com, ncc1701shipyard.com, and widmorerace.com
Somehow I think the marketing for these 1930s period films needs something different... "The Rocketeer", "The Hudsucker Proxy", and "Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow" were all movies I greatly enjoyed, and yet... something about the trailers I saw pre-release just didn't hook me to go out and see them.
The Conrans have tapped into something big, though. Everyone who sees "Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow" and carries even the slightest romantic notions of a time when "the future" was this incredible, amazing place, sees that potential come alive in SCATWOT.
I say just watch. What the Conrans did may not make more than rumbles right now in 2009, but as more people tire of a pessimistic outlook on the future, we will see a return to retro-futurism and amazing science fiction.
"Whatever Happened to The World of Tomorrow" by Brian Fies is a very good graphic novel, hitting this issue on the head. I'm curious to know if Brian Fies saw SCATWOT and how much it influenced him. http://brianfies.blogspot.com/
At any rate, SCATWOT has greatly inspired me to take some ideas I have had for years regarding Streamline Moderne industrial design and make them real.
To me that is one of the marks of a great movie - one that inspires you to imagine how amazing the world could easily be, one that teases your imagination to go further, to turn off the TV and do something original.
Back to the Conrans - I think they should put out a call for assistance on their new project. I believe they would find loads of committed, free artistic help to push whatever current project they have forward.
Considering how long he spent developing SCATWOT, it's no wonder that his next project didn't happen right away. And now that he's got a feature film under his belt, who knows what a guy with that kind of imagination will want to do next? Whatever it turns out to be, I won't miss it.
Apparently all I have to do to have long-lasting traffic on a blog post is put the words "Kerry Conran" in it somewhere. Amazingly long shelf-life for this post Wunelle. :-) Weird.
Ha! I'd like to believe that I was so brilliantly topical that a Google search will always bring one here to the friendly shores of Le Journal!
But no, I'm trading on the celebrity of, apparently, a ghost.
Conran made a good movie, it was #1 at the US box office, it was critically acclaimed, it did a good job for many of its stars. Studios can take a few losers especially if they are critically aclaimed. Conran was probably let down by the marketing of the film, I only heard of it after it had come and gone at the cinemas. There are probably producers out there who would give him another shot, though probably with a more conservative budget.
I came across this post ages ago, and appreciated it greatly just for letting me know there were others out there clamoring for more Conran!
As I recollect, he left Jon Carter to pursue "another pulp project", which some speculated might be Doc Savage, but which never came to fruition and was never revealed.
Years later, I still hunger for another film with as perfect a sense of time, place and genre as "Sky Captain" had, and Conran has still not re-surfaced.
At this point, if someone wanted to start collecting PayPal donations for a private investigator, I would be tempted to kick in...
I'm a huge fan of sky captain myself. My 3 year old son absolutely adors the movie. I watch it with him on a daily basis. I remember after it was released in the theaters in 04, there was initially talk of at least 1 sequal. In the back of my mind I have been looking forward to it for 5 years or so. Lately after watching it so many times I've been looking for info on a release date. This was the only thing I stumbled onto that dates this year (09). I'm very disapointed and hope that DVD/Blu-Ray/HD-DVD sales helped the studio rebound from low box office numbers. Hopefully it will gain a cult following like the people on this forum and there will be another one. Jolee is still young enough. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
I write in december 2009...and do not know when these comments were posted...I really love Captain Sky...it is a master film...I should even say that it moved in me the same emotion I had when, as a child, I saw Citizen Kane for the first time, and later Lost Horizons...both movies which certainly inspired Kerry Conran.
Captain Sky is better, more intelligent, delicate and arty than any Spielberg film (and Spielberg is certainly a utmost filmaker and producer)
Conran is probably too inspired to bring another big machine like avatar....
I hope that somebody will transmit him all the admiration of many poeple in this world.
Let me keep this going. Googled "Whatever happened to..." like everyone else.
I'd go deep... OK, deeper... into debt to license the rights to do a Sky Captain comic book, just to get to see his adventures continue.
Ahhh... love that film.
WOW, weird that I was just wondering the same thing.
"Whatever happened to Kerry Conran"
Seems like the guy has completely fallen off the face of the earth. Don't know if he's finished in Hollywood but I hope he gets a second chance. One box office dud should not be the end.
Come back Conran =(
A commenter on Kerry Conran's Coke ad on YouTube says Kerry's got three films in the works. Talent like that can't hide for long.
I just saw this movie with my pre-teen for the 1st time, yesterday. As a true blue, died-in-the-wool sci-fi geek, my one true regret is missing this movie while it was showing in theaters. I blame marketing; I well remember when the movie was being promoted, but I never saw the sci-fi angle to it. They mostly pushed the "pulp" angle of the movie, which in itself was not enough to grab by interest. I still would have never bothered to watch this had I not googled a number of "Best Sci-Fi Movies of all Times" lists. "Sky Captain" showed up on almost every list. Who knew???!!!! Loved this movie; heading over to iTunes right now to purchase it.
Kerry: If you're reading this, please know that your work did not go unnoticed. I haven't a clue about all of the technical features involved to bring it to fruition, but just know that you made a cynical 11 year old exclaim "This movie is awesome!" just when I expected him to complain about the movie being in b&w (somewhat). Now THAT's when you know you've got a good movie!
I think he's done in Hollywood, Sky Captain barely made half of its budget back.
Alas, you may be right, though the ability to make money one's first time out of the box is not necessarily the litmus test. I suspect the talent he displayed would warrant another chance if something else had not intervened. Just a guess.
Conran is not the first to fail in Hollyweird. In fact, HW is all about 2nd chances. The number of careers resurrected from the ashes are inumerable. The man is talented and with the right connections he should be able to make more films. He just may have to go with a low budget first. He needs to be tracked down (through his agent?) to see if there's another problem. Just think what he could do with Capt. America compared with Joe Johnston!!
Yeah, I've been wondering about Mr. Conran's whereabouts too. Sky Captain was one of favorite movies of that year and was even more excited upon seeing him promote it at Comic-Con the summer before.
Mr. Conran, if you're reading this, I want to work with and for you! I'll even do it for free. I think you're a genius and your fans can't wait for your next picture. I saw you years ago at Jerry's Deli on Ventura and wanted to approach you then. I even posted a [music] video on YouTube recently in homage to you.
Mark
i just watched Sky Captain on Netflix. this was the second time ive seen it, the first being when it was in the theaters. i am a true blue sci fi/fantasy geek from waaay back. though i remember being uber-excited to see Sky Captain, i was disappointed afterwards. i remember thinking the plot didnt quite work for me in the final act of the film.
having just watched it a second time online, i actually liked it MUCH better. i have always suspected that Sky Captain's mise en scene (though pitch perfect) was just too much of an immersion into 'geek perfection' for the average American viewer.
the performances are solid and the direction is good. the story editing to me is the main flaw as well as possibly Jude Law not bringing enough to the table.
being a filmmaker myself, i also agree with wunelle in that there probably is something else to do with Conran's disappearance. even though Sky Captain bombed at the box office, he could have had several more features done by now: he has shown that he can produce a high-quality special effects movie with big name actors
id love to see more from him. and would love to work with him!
david barclay moore
I know Kerry from, way back when I hired him to work on a tv listings book for the OCR ... He is indeed a talented guy and by posting this I hope he gets in touch...would love to know what he is up to....
this movie is how i see old time radio in my head. Kerry, please make more.
Funny, I was just wondering this too. I would definitely like to see more from Conran.
I just discovered this thread while wondering the same thing. I hardly like ANY movies that come out anymore. SCATWOT was exactly the kind of movie I like. Aside from Indiana Jones and the Rocketeer, there just aren't any good pulp adventures on the market. I'd love more of this light-hearted, larger-than-life goodness.
I would like to see what Kerry would do with "The Shadow"...
What a great movie. Yeah, I always wanted a sequel, or at least something new from the creator of it. I'd love to see what he could do with the Conan license (as opposed to whoever is slated to ruin it currently).
I want to keep this going. Bring back Conran!
Unfortunatly it is 2011 now, and I just found this thread! Personally, I love everything about Sky Captain, and really wish Conran would return. If he ever reads this, I just want him to know that this movie is my absolute favorite of ALL TIME, and I would love to see another like it. He has an amazing vision, and I hope to be like him some day. I also would suggest to him that he should write and direct a superman film, to look like SCATWOT! I definetly noticed in the 6 minute short the title "Mechanized Monsters" which was one of the old 40's superman serials. :) I love your work, Conran, and hope you make another one!!
This is the fourth Google return for "Kerry Conran", so obviously there's a demand for him (the blogger should rustle up an associates deal and sell copies of the DVD!).
Conran reminds me a bit of Steven Lisberger. They both spent a lot of time and other people's money money creating a technically ambitious pet project that was eventually a box-office disappointment. And then they both vanished, although Lisberger had a bit more experience and went on to direct a few more films.
Based on the interviews I've read and so on, Conran isn't a director at all, he's a special effects guru. He should have used his prototype of Sky Captain to get a job working at Industrial Light and Magic, where he would be happy. You have to be brutal and hard to be a film director, it's not a job for creative nerd types.
Yes! We are indeed halfway through 2011. And for those who believe, the apocalypse--at least accoring to Michael Bay---is just around the corner. That said, I am sure Mr. Conran has since developed some interesting new ideas since the inception and eventualy release of SCATWOT. Like I said in my previous post back in July of 2010, I still want to work for you on your next project---anything to be around your genius mind! Box office success or otherwise (who really cares, except for those dumbf**k investors who sh*t their pants if a film doesn't cross the $100m threshold in seven days), SCATWOT was a brilliant, innovative piece of pulp cinematic entertainment. This is the kind of great stuff kids enjoyed and admired back in the 40's and 50's. We need to revive the magic of moviemaking again, versus just focusing too much on dollars, egos and profits.
Just as a suggestion, "Dick Tracy" is rumoured to be in talks of a remake, with Warren Beatty directing yet again. Curious, since that [very expensive] film flopped both commercially and artistically through the helm of Mr. Beatty, I think it would make great sense if Mr. Conran petition to take this project over and turn it to the magical film that it should have been back in 1990.
On that note, all your fans would surely support and rally for you on this!
Mark
San Diego, CA
Funny, the guy still nowhere to be found.. I am from Brazil and I was wondering what happened to him.. Nothing on IMDB.. Seems to me that he is no longer in the movie business..
Shame... I really like Captain Sky...
The interesting thing is that SCATWOT isn't really a Hollywood film, at least in terms of funding. It's funding model was more like small independent films in that the budget didn't come from any of the major studios but instead was raised by the producers through other sources. It's a big budget Hollywood film (in terms of budget, plot and technique) funded like a small independent film.
Expensive films like SCATWOT need a lot of promotion. The major studios are the best at that. They have the experience and the means. But because the studios that distributed it didn't have a large stake in it, they dropped the ball on marketing it. People had no idea there was a such a film coming or what was so special about it.
Another interesting point: Despite the box office failure of SCATWOT, Conran was still hired by Paramount to direct A Princess of Mars. According to Harry Knowles, Conran left A Princess of Mars to do his own films, he wasn't pushed out.
Interesting; hadn't heard that.
It's still such a mystery how he could accomplish as much as he did with SCATWOT and then basically disappear.
Suggestion to Conran (if he's reading this):
There's a lot of talented people in the industry who are out of work. See if you can get them to volunteer in exchange for a percentage of any profit. The production costs of your next movie should be close to zero. Turn this into a community driven effort. Donated equipment in exchange for a share in the movie.
I absolutely agree with the comment by William R. (9/8/11).
There are indeed tons of out of work industry folks that would probably work next to nothing instead of wasting away their talents. It's time the industry (or at least a grass-roots version of it) really start to reassess the fragmented state of its business and start getting innovative and simply do away with over budgets and huge profits in favor of artistry. That is probably the reason Mr. Conran has all but faded and dropped out as he is amongst a handful of true visionaries lurking in the shadows.
I'm not in the industry myself, but fully support independent filmmakers and artists who truly value their craft over percentages.
Fascinating enough, I was looking for Kerry Conran information today (after surfing a TB on ain't it cool about John Carter of Mars) and came across this site, Looking Glass Films, which has him listed as a Director.
Doesn't have any new projects listed, but it DOES have his Production/Sizzle Reel for his version of John Carter. And as someone who loved Sky Captain and desperately wants a new Conran film, it just stokes the fire to see something new!
I love Andrew Stanton, but Kerry's version looked like it would have been dynamite!
http://www.lgfilms.com/conran/
"Sky Captain" is a great movie, but it is "acquired" taste, in that it is a movie exclusively for retro science fiction fans, of which there are not many of. It lacked a certain something. One movie that has come along recently has shown this approach can work if you come at it from the right angle. This movie is called "Captain America". As Stan Lee would say "Nuff said".
...now that Marc Scott Zicree is working on an extremely retro fifties SF film series called Space Command, I think it's about time the Conrans came back and got involved. Sky Captain is one of my favorite cheer-me-up films, right up there with Mike Jittlov's Wizard of Speed and Time. Imagine the awesome visions that could happen if Jittlov, Conran, and Zicree came together!!!
And it is now 2012 and I still hear nothing. By golly, I work in Hollywood. I'm going to go find him!
"Sky Captain" is in my top ten favourite movies of all time. I'd love to see more from Kerry Conran. But even if he is a one-hit-wonder, gosh, what a "one-hit"! He has made his mark on cinema history as far as I'm concerned.
February 2017
I think the film was an excellent first effort, beautifully stylised and the Conrad brothers should be proud of their work, their concept art for the movie was amazing (see article below)
I got curious about Kerry and Kevin Conrad and found this blog. Thought I would add what else I found.
Kerry Conrad was listed as one of the artists on the Digital Revolution exhibition that was held at the Barbican, London in 2014.
The Telegraph did a feature on the brothers in 2015, while Kerry didn't participate, Kevin informed them Kerry was working on several projects.
Meanwhile Kevin worked in the art dept for films like Bee Movie & Monsters v Aliens and was production designer for Dreamworks' Dragons.
Their work was groundbreaking, I wish they would raise some money on crowdfunding and show us what else they can do.
see link to article below
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/sky-captain-and-the-world-of-tomorrow/kerry-kevin-conran-what-happened/
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