Remember Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow? It was definitely a film that showed everyone that virtual sets were practical enough to be used for an entire movie. Now Dynamite Entertainment is diving into the film with a new art book from co-creator Kevin Conran.
“Roger Ebert wrote that Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow made him feel the way he did when he first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark,” said Kevin Conran. “Which made sense, because for most of our film’s production Kerry and I felt like we had a giant boulder rolling after us. Made for nerds by nerds, Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow was a long, hard journey and a labor of love. Fortunately, like Indy, we somehow managed to survive.”
Released in 2004, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow as the first film to be shot entirely against blue screen, relying on a team of CG artists to build nearly everything else seen on the screen.
Sky Captain had a long epic journey to the screen – over 20 years, and that is where the story really begins. As young children, brothers Kevin and Kerry Conran fell in love with the film serials and pulpy comic books of the 1930s and ’40s, with their parents encouraging their artistic passion. Determined to make a feature film, they worked for over seven years honing their ideas into a black and white teaser. Then two more years passed writing the screenplay and further developing the aesthetic.
In this new book, the first official one sourced directly from Kevin Conran’s private collection, he dissects all the varied influences. From the German expressionism, to the industrial design of the 1930s World’s Fairs, to even the Fleischer Studios Superman shorts.
The Art of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a 240-page hardcover that will arrive in May 2021 and has a cover price of $34.99.