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Question
This flick just popped up on my TV and it made me wonder what happened to the creator? Yes, the story is kind of weak. But visually, it’s stunning. It’s like a live action Fleischer cartoon. The noir lighting and effects are incredible. So many modern movies and shows owe a lot to Sky Captain.
Yet when I went to IMDB, the guy has done pretty much nothing since. It always makes me want to know what happened when people like Conran just seem to disappear. Without Sky Captain, stuff like the Mandalorian, MCU movies, etc... wouldn’t exist. Well, maybe eventually but Sky Captain was pretty much the first flick where computers generated almost all the backgrounds.
Occasionally, you hear about guys like the Boondock Saints director who was a huge dick to everyone and it explains why he doesn’t get gigs. I’ve not heard any such stories about Conran. Whatever happened to Kerry Conran?
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This is an interview with him. Partway down they asked him that question, and he answers.
https://moviehole.net/interview-kerry-conran-how-sky-captain-and-the-world-of-tomorrow-changed-the-world/
Ty for the link, it explains a lot of my question.
I hate when people say it’s the story or plot that killed him from making more movies. Within the genre it’s in it is extremely serviceable and not entertaining than most. I think the man just got unlucky in Hollywood. Probably made some bad decisions.
Basically bad luck. Sky Captain took a bath. His next gig was working on John Carter, another bath. And he got left behind.
Well, he worked on John Carter for Paramount which ended up going nowhere and the property went to Disney. Kerry didn’t work on the John Carter that came out from Disney, according to the linked article.
Took a bath?
Was a bad investment. Didn’t make money.
Without sky captain the mcu wouldn't exist?
The dude was a pioneer when it comes to creating digital backgrounds around actors. The MCU movies rely on that tech heavily.
he was out of the gate early but others were using the same 3D/CG techniques, especially George Lucas for previsualization on the Star Wars Prequels. It's not like Conran invented a new technique no one knew about. Say what you will about Lucas but at least he knows the importance of story and plot, that's it not just 100% about visuals. And you can tell from interview that he's just not the Hollywood type, prob just wants to make art not play studio politics.
There's an interview where he said some people like George Lucas gave him his number and suggested they should work on something sometime. And Conran just said he did a poor job following up on those contacts. It sounds crazy, but a lot of people have a hard time selling themselves. Also look at Paul Brickman. After Risky Business, he was offered Rain Man, Forrest Gump and more, and he turned it down, and barely ever worked in Hollywood again. He basically said he regrets not doing more with his career. Some of this is performance anxiety. They're afraid to fail, so they turn down big opportunities that they perceive could end up as spectacular failures.
Kerry Conran spent four years making an amazing teaser trailer but when it came to making a feature film he dropped the ball huge as the plot and characterizations were slim to none. A simple case of all style and no substance.
Yeah, I agree. Visually, amazing. This seems to be often the case with young directors raised on video games and certain types of films. The visuals are great. But what they haven't been raised on is the art of storytelling and the only way you get good at that is by reading real books - not comic books - and writing. And writing. And writing some more. The characters in "Sky Captain" are paper-thin. You don't feel there's any history, any heft to them. Only Jolie makes her character "live" because she knows exactly what kind of movie she is in. And "John Carter" was awful.
And John Carter had so much potential.
He didn’t work on Disney’s John Carter. He worked on Paramount’s before it went to Disney. It’s in the posted article above.
Not really. Bland male lead. Bland female lead. And generic plot we’ve now seen in how many movies? How many people even know about John Carter, outside the SF community, about the character? And where’s the audience for a story of a white Confederate soldier leading a foreign people to victory, because what’s implied is that w/o his help - white and male and from a pro slavery government - they’d never be able to help themselves. Sometimes directors should leave their pet projects un-petted.
The Edgar Rice Burroughs books have influenced a generation of filmmakers - just look at Star Wars for example - so it shouldn't have been too hard to make A Princess of Mars into a good movie.
He didn’t work on Disney’s John Carter. He worked on Paramount’s before it went to Disney. It’s in the posted article above.
I disagree, I loved the characters. They were perfectly drawn archetypes that captured that era of pulp storytelling beautifully. It's not a modernization, it's a homage to the old Tarzan/Flash Gordon sensibility.
Quite- I found it fun to watch in theaters as a one-off, but it wasn't something I'd want to see a string of movies concerning.
Just watched the movie, got curious about the director and went into the rabbit hole... Idk I feel kinda sad about this guy's story, after so much sacrifice he was just left out by Hollywood.
But also, I guess for somebody who was just a random guy and for his first movie ever, he end up directing these A-List stars plus developing an interesting visual style, and innovative way to film this story (back then) and end up with a movie that finally became a cult hit... I think that's pretty good.
Not everybody got that chance, no matter how genius and innovative that person is, that's why Van Gogh died penniless and misunderstood.
This guy at least had his chance at the big screen.