Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Kerry Conran
Produced by	Jon Avnet Sadie Frost Jude Law Marsha Oglesby
Written by	Kerry Conran
Starring	Gwyneth Paltrow Jude Law Giovanni Ribisi Michael Gambon Ling Bai Omid Djalili Laurence Olivier Angelina Jolie
Music by	Edward Shearmur
Cinematography	Eric Adkins
Editing by	Sabrina Plisco
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	September 17, 2004
Running time	106 minutes
Country	United States  United Kingdom Italy
Language	English, German, Tibetan
Budget	$40,000,000 (est.)
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a 2004 American pulp adventure, science fiction film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut. The film is set in New York City in an alternative 1939 where Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), a newspaper reporter for The Chronicle, is looking into the mysterious disappearances of six renowned scientists. During her investigation, she is nearly killed when giant robots attack the city but is saved by H. Joseph "Joe" Sullivan (Jude Law), known as "Sky Captain" and commander of a private air force, the Flying Legion. They travel the globe looking for the enigmatic Dr. Totenkopf, the person responsible for kidnapping the scientists and the robot attack. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Kerry Conran is an American filmmaker. ... Jonathan Michael Avnet (born November 17, 1949) is an American director/writer/producer. ... Sadie Frost (born 19 June 1965 in London)[1] is an English fashion designer and former actress. ... David Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is an BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated British actor. ... Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27, 1972)[1] is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe- and two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actress. ... David Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is an BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated British actor. ... Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American actor. ... Sir Michael John Gambon, KBE (born October 19, 1940), is an acclaimed Irish-British actor who has worked in television, film and theatre. ... Bai Ling (traditional Chinese: 白靈 ,simplified Chinese: 白灵,Hanyu Pinyin: Bái Líng) (b. ... Omid Djalili (pronounced Omeed Jaleelee, Persian: ‎ ​, born September 30, 1965 in Chelsea, London) is a British born Iranian stand-up comedian, born to Iranian Baháí parents. ... Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM, (IPA: ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and four-time Emmy winning English actor, director, and producer. ... Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975) is an American film actor, a former fashion model, and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. ... Edward Shearmur (sometimes known as Ed Shearmur) is a relatively young, but already prolific British film composer. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ... USD redirects here. ... The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. ... Pulp magazines, often called simply the pulps, were inexpensive text fiction magazines widely published in the 1920s through the 1950s. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Kerry Conran is an American filmmaker. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Alternate history (fiction) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27, 1972)[1] is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe- and two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actress. ... This article is about journalistic reporters. ... David Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is an BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated British actor. ... For other uses, see Mercenary (disambiguation). ... This article is about the military symbol. ...

Conran spent four years making a black and white teaser trailer with a bluescreen set up in his living room and using a Macintosh IIci personal computer. He was able to get it to producer Jon Avnet to see it and was so impressed that he spent two years working with the aspiring filmmaker on his screenplay. None of the major studios were interested in financing such an unusual film with a first-time director. Avnet convinced Aurelio De Laurentiis to finance Sky Captain without a distribution deal. The bluescreen setup. ... The Apple Macintosh IIci was an improvement on the Macintosh IIcx. ... Aurelio De Laurentiis (born May 24, 1949 in Torre Annunziata) is a prominent Italian film producer. ...

Almost 100 digital artists, modelers, animators and compositors created the multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for the live-action footage while the entire movie was sketched out via hand-drawn storyboards and then re-created as computer-generated 3D animatics. Ten months before Conran made the movie with his actors, he shot it entirely with stand-ins in Los Angeles and then created the whole movie in animatics so that the actors had an idea of what the film would look like and where to move on the soundstage. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Sky Captain grossed USD $37.7 million in North America, below its estimated $40 million budget. However, it managed to gross $20.1 million in the rest of the world, making its final worldwide tally $57.9 million. Critical reviews were largely positive and it is notable as being one of the first major films (along with Sin City, Able Edwards, Casshern and Immortal) to be shot entirely on a "digital backlot", blending live actors with computer generated surroundings. The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Sin City is a 2005 film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. ... Able Edwards is a 2004 film directed by Graham Robertson and produced by Steven Soderbergh. ... Casshern ) is a 2004 Japanese tokusatsu superhero film written and directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. ... Immortal (French: Immortel (Ad Vitam)) is a 2004 English language, but French-produced science fiction film, directed by artist Enki Bilal and based upon his graphic novel La Foire aux immortels (The Carnival of Immortals). ... An example of the digital backlot as used on the film Sin City (2005). ...

Plot

The Hindenburg III docking with the Empire State Building

The film opens with the arrival of the zeppelin Hindenburg III in New York City, mooring at the Empire State Building. Before he vanishes, a frightened scientist named Dr. Jorge Vargas (Julian Curry) makes arrangements for a package to be delivered to a Dr. Walter Jennings (Trevor Baxter). Image File history File links Hindenburgiii. ... Image File history File links Hindenburgiii. ... The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, New York at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. ... LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German zeppelin. ... The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, New York at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. ... Trevor Baxter (born 18 November 1932) is a British actor. ...

Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), a newspaper reporter for The Chronicle, is looking into the mysterious disappearances of Vargas and five other renowned scientists. She receives a cryptic message, telling her to go to the Radio City Music Hall movie theater that night. She ignores the warning of her editor, Mr. Paley (Michael Gambon), not to go, and meets a terrified Dr. Jennings. He tells her that Dr. Totenkopf (German: literally "death's head" or "skull") is coming for him. Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27, 1972)[1] is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe- and two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actress. ... This article is about journalistic reporters. ... Radio City Music Hall at Christmas 2005 Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Sir Michael John Gambon, KBE (born October 19, 1940), is an acclaimed Irish-British actor who has worked in television, film and theatre. ... This article is about the military symbol. ...

Suddenly, air raid sirens go off, heralding the arrival of numerous towering robots that prove all but unstoppable. In desperation, the police call for H. Joseph "Joe" Sullivan (Jude Law), who is known as "Sky Captain" and commands a private air force, the Flying Legion. Sullivan knocks out one of the robots and the rest leave. He helps save Polly, who was photographing the robots. Strategic bombing is a military strategem used in a total war style campaign that attempts to destroy the economic ability of a nation-state to wage war. ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ... David Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is an BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated British actor. ... For other uses, see Mercenary (disambiguation). ...

The wreckage of the robot is taken back to the Legion's airstrip so that an expert, Dex (Giovanni Ribisi), can examine it. Polly follows, hoping to get information for her story. She and Joe are ex-lovers, who broke up three years earlier in China where Polly was reporting the events and Joe serving with the "American volunteers". Since Polly has some useful information, Joe agrees to let her in on the investigation. Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American actor. ...

Her information takes them to the ransacked laboratory of Dr. Jennings, with the scientist himself near death. The killer, a mysterious woman (Bai Ling), escapes, but the mortally wounded Jennings gives Polly two vials, which he says are crucial to Dr. Totenkopf's plans. Polly withholds this information from Joe. They return to the Legion's base which comes under attack from squadrons of ornithopter drones. In the ensuing battle, Dex manages to track the origin of the robot control signal but is captured. However, he leaves behind a part of a map marking the location of Totenkopf's base. This is a Chinese name; the family name is Bai Bai Ling (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born October 10, 1961[1]) is a Chinese actress who has also attained fame in the United States. ... An ornithopter (from Greek ornithos bird and pteron wing) is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. ...

Joe and Polly find it and head to Nepal. Venturing into the Himalayas, they discover a long abandoned mining outpost. They are nearly killed by two of Totenkopf's men, but Polly gives up the two vials in a vain attempt to secure their freedom. Joe and Polly escape but are knocked unconscious by the explosion in the mine. They wake up together in the mythical Shangri-La. The monks who live there tell of Totenkopf's enslavement of their people, forcing them to work in the uranium mines. Most of them were killed by the radiation, but the final survivor provides another clue to where Totenkopf is hiding. Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the novel, Lost Horizon, written by British writer James Hilton in 1933. ... This article is about the chemical element. ...

This leads them to rendezvous with Joe's other ex-flame, Commander Francesca "Franky" Cook (Angelina Jolie), who commands a Royal Navy flying aircraft carrier. Franky helps them get to Totenkopf's hidden island. Getting in requires an extended trip underwater, making use of amphibious aircraft. Franky clears the way while Joe and Polly make it through. Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975) is an American film actor, a former fashion model, and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... An amphibious or amphibian aircraft is an aircraft that can land on either land or water. ...

Joe and Polly find themselves inside the mountainous island, which contains numerous strange creatures, many of which appear to be variations of dinosaurs. They travel to the mountain at the very center of the island and penetrate a secret facility located within. There, they discover that it has been hollowed out into a large silo where robots are seen loading animals, as well as the contents of the mysterious vials onto a large "Noah's Ark" rocket. Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ... This article is about the vessel described in the Hebrew scriptures. ...

Joe and Polly are detected and nearly killed, but Dex, piloting a floating barge, arrives in the nick of time with three of the missing scientists. Escaping together, Dex explains that Totenkopf has given up on humanity and seeks to end the world to begin a new one: the "World of Tomorrow". The group goes to Totenkopf's lair only to discover that he has, in fact, been dead for two decades; his machines have carried on his work.

The only way to sabotage the rocket is from the inside. Polly tries to tag along, but Joe knocks her out with a punch. He then goes to sacrifice himself while the others escape. Polly recovers and follows after Joe, arriving just in time to save him from the mysterious woman who turns out to be a robot. The two then board the rocket just before it launches. Before it reaches an altitude of 100km, Polly pushes a emergency release button that ejects all the animals in escape pods. Joe tries to disable the rocket only to be interrupted by the revived female robot. He jolts her with her own electric weapon and then uses it on the controls, disabling the rocket. They use another pod to save themselves after successfully sabotaging the rocket, causing it to explode. Joe and Polly watch the animal pods float down to earth from their escape pod.

Polly then uses the last shot on her camera to take a picture of Joe. Joe, touched, but sad tells her that the lens cap was still on the camera. Polly's look of joy turns to a little light-hearted sadness and disappointment.

Cast

Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Sky Captain (Jude Law)

• Jude Law stars as H. Joseph "Joe" Sullivan a.k.a Sky Captain of the Flying Legion: He commands a private air force known as the Flying Legion, his own personal aircraft is a Curtiss P-40. In 2002, producer Jon Avnet showed Law the teaser trailer and the actor was very impressed by what he saw. He remembers, "All I got at that early stage was that he'd used pretty advanced and unused technology to create a very retrospective look."^[1] Avnet gave him the script to read and some preliminary artwork to look at. Law: "What was clear was also that at the center was a really great cinematic relationship, which you could put into any genre and it would work. You know, the kind of bickering [relationship]. I always like to call it The African Queen meets Buck Rogers."^[1] Avnet wanted to work with Law because he knew that the actor had "worked both period, who worked both having theatrical experience, who worked on blue screen, who hadn't hit yet as a major action star."^[2] The actor had just finished filming Cold Mountain (2003) and was intrigued at going from filming on real locations to working on a movie done completely on a soundstage (Sky Captain would be one of three Jude Law films released by Paramount Pictures in 2004, along with the 2004 remake of Alfie and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It also was one of six overall Jude Law films released that year.).
• Gwyneth Paltrow as Polly Perkins, reporter for the New York Chronicle. Law believed so much in Conran's movie that he also became one of the producers and used his clout to get Paltrow involved. Once her name came up, Law did not remember "any other name coming up. It just seems that she was perfect. She was as enthusiastic about the script and about the visual references that were sort of put to her, and jumped on board."^[2] Paltrow said in an interview, "I thought that this is the time to do a movie like this where it's kind of breaking into new territory and it's not your basic formulaic action-adventure movie."^[3]
• Angelina Jolie as Commander Francesca "Franky" Cook: She commands a Royal Navy flying aircraft carrier. Jolie had just arrived from the set of Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) and agreed to work on the movie for three days. Despite her small role, she had conducted hours of "interviews" with fighter pilots in order to absorb their jargon and get a feel for the role.^[4]
• Giovanni Ribisi as Dexter “Dex” Dearborn, ace mechanic of the Flying Legion. Ribisi met with Avnet and, initially, was not sure that he wanted to do the movie but after seeing the teaser trailer, he signed on without hesitation.
• Michael Gambon as Morris Paley, editor of the New York Chronicle
• Omid Djalili as Kaji, former comrade-in-arm from the Flying Legion
• Bai Ling as The Mysterious Woman, Totenkopf's henchwomen
• Julian Curry as Dr. Jorge Vargas, a missing scientist
• Trevor Baxter as Dr. Walter Jennings, a missing scientist
• Peter Law as Dr. Aler Kessler, a missing scientist
• Sir Laurence Olivier as Dr. Totenkopf, the mysterious scientific genius and supervillain

Peter Law, who plays Dr. Aler Kessler, is the father of Jude Law.^[5] The full names for Dex and Editor Paley were revealed in the novelization written by Kevin J. Anderson.^[6] Image File history File links Paltrow_law. ... Image File history File links Paltrow_law. ... Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27, 1972)[1] is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe- and two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actress. ... David Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is an BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated British actor. ... David Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is an BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated British actor. ... The Curtiss P-40 was a US single-engine, single-seat, low-wing, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft which first flew in 1938, and was used in great numbers in World War II. It was a direct adaptation of the existing P-36 airframe to enable mass production... The African Queen is a 1951 film made by Horizon Pictures and Romulus Films, and distributed by United Artists. ... Buck Rogers is a fictional pulp character who first appeared in 1928 as Anthony Rogers, the hero of two novellas by Philip Francis Nowlan published in the magazine Amazing Stories. ... This article is about the film. ... Alfie is a 2004 American-British comedy romance film starring Jude Law as the title character. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27, 1972)[1] is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe- and two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actress. ... Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975) is an American film actor, a former fashion model, and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. ... Categories: Movie stubs | Action films | Adventure films | 2003 films | Films based on video games ... Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American actor. ... Sir Michael John Gambon, KBE (born October 19, 1940), is an acclaimed Irish-British actor who has worked in television, film and theatre. ... Omid Djalili (pronounced Omeed Jaleelee, Persian: ‎ ​, born September 30, 1965 in Chelsea, London) is a British born Iranian stand-up comedian, born to Iranian Baháí parents. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Bai Bai Ling (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born October 10, 1961[1]) is a Chinese actress who has also attained fame in the United States. ... Trevor Baxter (born 18 November 1932) is a British actor. ... Laurence Olivier, as photographed in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989) was an English actor and director, esteemed by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century. ... They LAUGHED at my theories at the institute! Fools! Ill destroy them all! Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of mad scientist. ... Doctor Doom, one of the most archetypal supervillains and his arch-enemies The Fantastic Four (in background). ...

Development

Kerry Conran grew up on films and comic books of the 1930s and 1940s. He and his brother, Kevin, were encouraged by their parents to develop their creative side at a young age. Kerry studied at a feeder program for Disney animators at CalArts, and became interested in 2-D computer animation. While there, he realized that it was possible to apply some of the techniques associated with animation to live-action. Conran had been out of film school for two years and was trying to figure out how to make a movie. He figured that Hollywood would never take a chance on an inexperienced, first-time filmmaker. So, he decided to go the independent route and make the movie himself.^[4] Disney may refer to: The Walt Disney Company and its divisions, including Walt Disney Pictures. ... The California Institute of the Arts, commonly known as CalArts, and located in Valencia, California, grants degrees in visual and performing arts. ... See also: Computer-generated imagery Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers. ... ...

Influences

Retro Influences: Giovanni Ribisi as inventor Dexter “Dex” Dearborn using a ray-gun

Conran was influenced by the designs of Norman Bel Geddes, an industrial designer who did work for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and designed exhibits for the 1939 New York World’s Fair.^[7] Geddes also designed an airship that was to fly from Chicago to London. Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American actor. ... The insignia used by Bel Geddes in his published works. ... Worlds Fair is the generic name for various large expositions held since the mid 19th century. ... There have been two Worlds fairs in New York City: 1939 New York Worlds Fair (1939-1940) at Flushing Meadows in Queens gave us Futurama, the Trylon, and Perisphere. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship or dirigible is a buoyant lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ...

Another key influence was Hugh Ferriss, one of the designers for the 1939 World’s Fair and who designed bridges and huge housing complexes.^[7] He was an American delineator (one who creates perspective drawings of buildings) and architect. In 1922, skyscraper architect Harvey Wiley Corbett commissioned Ferriss to draw a series of four step-by-step perspectives demonstrating the architectural consequences of the zoning law. These four drawings would later be used in his 1929 book The Metropolis of Tomorrow (Dover Publications, 2005, ISBN 0-486-43727-2). Hugh Ferriss at work, c. ... A typical zoning map; this one identifies the zones, or development districts, in the city of Ontario, California Zoning is a North American term for a system of land-use regulation. ... Dover Publications is a book publisher founded in 1941. ...

Regarding the 1939 New York World’s Fair itself and its futuristic theme of the World of Tomorrow, Conran noted: ". . . obviously the title refers to the World Expo and the spirit of that was looking at the future with a sense of optimism and a sense of the whimsical, you know, something that we've lost a lot in our fantasies. We're more cynical, more practical . . . I think what this film attempts to do is to take that enthusiasm and innocence and celebrate it-to not get mired in the practicality that we're fixated upon today."^[8] There have been two Worlds fairs in New York City: 1939 New York Worlds Fair (1939-1940) at Flushing Meadows in Queens gave us Futurama, the Trylon, and Perisphere. ...

Conran also acknowledged his debt to German Expressionism, which was particularly evident in the opening scenes in New York City: "Early German cinema was born of just a completely different aesthetic than what we see nowadays. One of the last things I watched before starting this project was the Dr. Mabuse series that Lang had done - terribly inspirational, the use of art and propaganda even."^[8] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Dr. Mabuse is a fictional character, a villain, created by author Norbert Jacques but made most famous by the three films German director Fritz Lang made about him over a period of almost forty years. ... Friedrich Christian Anton Fritz Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German-American film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known émigrés from Germanys school of Expressionism. ...

Conran summed up what influenced him in making Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: "We tried to approach it almost as though we lived in that era and were just another group of artists trying to make a work out of those pieces and inspirations. We wanted the film to feel like a lost film of that era. If we're a footnote in the history of pulp art and Golden Age comics, that'd be enough, that'd be great. If we even just inspire some people to go back and investigate some of that stuff, we'd have done enough."^[8] This article is about inexpensive fiction magazines. ... Superman, catalyst of the Golden Age: Superman #14 (Feb. ...

Teaser trailer

In 1994, Conran set up a bluescreen in his living room and began assembling the tools he would need to create his movie. He was not interested in working his way through the system and instead wanted to follow the route of independent filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh. Initially, Kerry and his brother had nothing more than "just a vague idea of this guy who flew a plane. We would talk about all the obvious things like Indiana Jones and all the stuff we liked."^[9] Conran spent four years making a black and white teaser trailer in the style of an old-fashion movie serial on his Macintosh IIci personal computer. Once he was finished, Conran showed it to producer Marsha Oglesby, who was a friend of his brother's wife and she recommended that he let producer Jon Avnet see it. Conran met Avnet and showed him the trailer. Conran told him that he wanted to make it into a movie. They spent two or three days just talking about the tone of the movie.^[10] The bluescreen setup. ... Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and Oscar-winning director. ... This article is about the fictional character. ... The Apple Macintosh IIci was an improvement on the Macintosh IIcx. ...

Pre-production

Avnet and Conran spent two years working on the screenplay, which included numerous genre-related references and homages, and developing a working relationship. Then, the producer took the script and the trailer and began approaching actors. In order to protect Conran's vision, Avnet decided to shoot the movie independently with a lot of his own money. The producer realized that "the very thing that made this film potentially so exciting for me, and I think for an audience, which was the personal nature of it and the singularity of the vision, would never succeed and never survive the development process within a studio."^[2]

Avnet went to Aurelio De Laurentiis and convinced him to finance the film without a distribution deal. Nine months before filming, Avnet had Conran meet the actors and begin rehearsals in an attempt to get the shy filmmaker out of his shell. Avnet set up a custom digital effects studio with a blue screen soundstage in an abandoned building in Van Nuys, California. A group of almost 100 digital artists, modelers, animators and compositors created multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for the live action footage yet to be filmed. Aurelio De Laurentiis (born May 24, 1949 in Torre Annunziata) is a prominent Italian film producer. ... Van Nuys is a district within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. ...

The entire movie was sketched out via hand-drawn storyboards and then re-created as computer-generated 3D animatics with all of the 2D background photographs digitally painted to resemble the 1939 setting. With the animatics as a guide, grids were created to map camera and actor movements with digital characters standing in for the real actors. The grids were made into actual maps on the blue screen stage floor to help the actors move around invisible scenery.^[11]

Ten months before Conran made the movie with his actors, he shot it entirely with stand-ins in Los Angeles and then created the whole movie in animatics so that the actors had an idea of what the film would look like and where to move on the soundstage. To prepare for the film, Conran had his cast watch old movies, like Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not (1944) for Paltrow's performance and The Thin Man (1934) for the relationship between Nick and Nora that was to be echoed in the one between Joe and Polly.^[4] Avnet constantly pushed for room in this meticulously designed movie for the kind of freedom the actors needed, like being able to move around on the soundstage. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Betty Joan Perske (born on September 16, 1924), better known as Lauren Bacall, is a Golden Globe– and Tony Award–winning, as well as Academy Award–nominated, American film and stage actress. ... To Have and Have Not is a 1944 thriller romance war adventure film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that is nominally based on the novel To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway. ... For other uses, see The Thin Man (disambiguation). ...

Principal photography and post-production

Gwyneth Paltrow on the blue-screen soundstage with director Kerry Conran and actor Jude Law

Director of Photography, Eric Adkins, was ahead of his time with his work on this ambitious movie. Conran and Avnet were able to cut costs considerably by shooting the entire movie in 26 days (not the usual three to four months that this kind of movie normally takes) on high-definition video using a Sony HDW-F900 and working entirely on three different blue screen soundstages in London, England with one notable exception. Conran wrote a scene that was added later on where Polly talks to her editor in his office that was shot on a physical set because there was no time to shoot it on a blue screen soundstage.^[4] The footage from the HD camera was run through a switcher and then through a Macintosh computer running Final Cut Pro that allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. Conran said, "I don't know how we would have made this movie. It's really what allowed us to line up everything, given there was nothing there."^[11] After each day of shooting, footage was edited and sent overnight to editors in L.A. who added CGI and sent it back. Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27, 1972)[1] is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe- and two-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actress. ... Kerry Conran is an American filmmaker. ... David Jude Law (born 29 December 1972) is an BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated British actor. ... This article is about high-definition video technology. ... Lars von Trier shoots Dogville using a Sony HDW-F900 The Sony CineAlta series of cameras are high definition video cameras geared toward motion picture production. ... London — containing the City of London — is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England and a major world city. With over seven million inhabitants (Londoners) in Greater London area, it is amongst the most densely populated areas in Western Europe. ... Final Cut Pro is a professional non-linear editing system developed by Apple Inc. ...

After filming ended, they put together a 24-minute presentation and took it to every studio in June of 2002. There was a lot of interest and Avnet selected the studio that gave Conran the most creative control. They needed studio backing to finish the film's ambitious visuals. At one point, the producer remembers that Conran was "working 18 to 20 hours a day for a long period of time. It's 2,000 some odd CGI shots done in one year, and we literally had to write code to figure out how to do this stuff!"^[12] Most of the post-production work was done on Mac workstations using After Effects for compositing and Final Cut Pro for editing (seven workstations were dedicated to visual effects and production editing). The distinctive look of the film was achieved by running footage through a diffusion filter and then tinting it in black and white before color was blended, balanced and added back in.

Sir Laurence Olivier also posthumously appears as the villain and mad scientist Dr. Totenkopf. His likeness was produced using digitally manipulated archival BBC footage of the actor and thus adding one more film to his repertoire. A similar move was made two years later in the 2006 Superman Returns film with Marlon Brando. Avnet cultivated a calculated release for the movie by first moving its release date from the summer (it was supposed to open a week before Spider-Man 2) to September, then courting the Internet press and finally making an appearance at the San Diego Comic Con with key cast members in an attempt to generate some advance buzz.^[12] Laurence Olivier, as photographed in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989) was an English actor and director, esteemed by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century. ... They LAUGHED at my theories at the institute! Fools! Ill destroy them all! Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of mad scientist. ... This article is about the military symbol. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... For the video game of the same name, see Superman Returns (video game). ... Marlon Brando, Jr. ... This article is about the 2004 film. ... Comic-Con International is an annual comic book convention held in San Diego, California. ...

Soundtrack

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack by Edward Shearmur
Released	September 7, 2004
Genre	Soundtrack
Label	Sony
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link

Composer Edward Shearmur (The Wings of the Dove, Charlie's Angels) wrote the film's lavish orchestral score in the style of Hollywood's golden-age composers, and the film's end-title sequence featured a new recording of the Oscar-winning standard "Over the Rainbow" sung by the acclaimed young American jazz singer Jane Monheit, which were all featured on Sony Classical's original motion picture soundtrack recording.^[13] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... In film formats, the soundtrack is the physical area of the film which records the synchronized sound. ... Edward Shearmur (sometimes known as Ed Shearmur) is a relatively young, but already prolific British film composer. ... is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $66. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 3_stars. ... Edward Shearmur (sometimes known as Ed Shearmur) is a relatively young, but already prolific British film composer. ... The Wings of the Dove was filmed in 1997 and adapted from Henry James novel with the same name. ... Charlies Angels (2000) is an action/comedy feature film based on (and something of a sequel to) the 1970s television series Charlies Angels. ... For other uses, see Over the Rainbow (disambiguation). ... Jane Monheit (born November 3, 1977) is a jazz and adult contemporary vocalist for Concord Records who rose to notoriety with her debut album Never Never Land as well as collaborations with artists such as Michael Bublé and Grammy nominations for two of her recordings. ... Sony Classical was started in 1927 as Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of the American Columbia Records. ...

Track listing

1. The World of Tomorrow (1:07)
2. The Zeppelin Arrives (1:53)
3. The Robot Army (3:01)
4. Calling Sky Captain (3:26)
5. Back at the Base (2:49)
6. The Flying Wings Attack (6:31)
7. An Aquatic Escape (2:29)
8. Flight to Nepal (4:38)
9. Treacherous Journey (2:22)
10. Dynamite (2:26)
11. Three in a Bed (0:57)
12. Finding Frankie (5:02)
13. Manta Squadron (6:33)
14. H-770-D (1:14)
15. Flying Lizard (1:06)
16. Totenkopf's Ark (5:01)
17. Back to Earth (3:14)
18. Over the Rainbow - Jane Monheit (3:54)

For other uses, see Over the Rainbow (disambiguation). ... Jane Monheit (born November 3, 1977) is a jazz and adult contemporary vocalist for Concord Records who rose to notoriety with her debut album Never Never Land as well as collaborations with artists such as Michael Bublé and Grammy nominations for two of her recordings. ...

Reception

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow had high box office expectations, opening in first place on its September 17, 2004 release date and grossing USD $15.5 million on its opening weekend. The film grossed $37.7 million in North America, below its estimated $40 million budget. It managed to gross $20.1 million in the rest of the world, making its final worldwide tally $57.9 million.^[14] The term box office can refer to either: A place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue The amount of business a particular production, such as a movie or theatre show, does. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Critical reviews were largely positive. The film currently has a 73% rating (with a 70% for their "Cream of the Crop" designation) on Rotten Tomatoes. Noted film critic Roger Ebert was among those who strongly supported the film, giving it a 4-star review and praising it for "its heedless energy and joy, it reminded me of how I felt the first time I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's like a film that escaped from the imagination directly onto the screen, without having to pass through reality along the way".^[15] Stephen Holden of The New York Times lauded its visuals and its evocation a bygone era but felt that "the monochromatic variations on sepia keep the actors and their adventures at a refined aesthetic distance...At times the film is hard to see. And as the action accelerates, the wonder of its visual concept starts giving way to sci-fi clichés".^[16] In his review for the Chicago Reader, J.R. Jones wrote, "This debut feature by Kerry Conran is a triumph not only for its technical mastery but for its good taste".^[17] Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A-" rating, saying, "The investment is optimistic and wise; Sky Captain is a gorgeous, funny, and welcome novelty".^[18] USA Today said that the film was "all style over substance, a clever parlor trick but a dull movie".^[19] Stephen Hunter, of the Washington Post, called it, "a $70 million novelty item".^[20] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ... This article is about the film. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... The Chicago Reader is an alternative newsweekly in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 1971[2] by a group of friends who attended Carleton College. ... Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated EW) is a magazine published by Time Inc. ... USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. ... ...

The Canadian network Space awarded it the 2005 Spacey Award for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Film.^[21] The film is also one of few to be awarded five stars by IGN FilmForce.^[22] SPACE is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel owned and operated by CTVglobemedia. ... IGN - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Homages

First-time director Conran incorporated many references to classic genre films into his own movie: "The work of those artists and writers [from the pulps and Golden Age of Comic Books] was really the template for us. To some extent we stole from it, to some extent we expanded on it -- hopefully we added enough of our own sensibility. We tried to approach it almost as though we lived in that era and were just another group of artists trying to make a work comprised of those pieces and inspirations. We wanted the film to feel like a lost film of that era."^[23] Flynns Detective Fiction from 1941. ... Superman, catalyst of the Golden Age: Superman #14 (Feb. ...

Pulp magazines and comic books

Flying humanoid robots

The Flying Legion is a homage to pulp-comic book heroes as G-8, Captain Midnight, and Blackhawk, as well as such real-life private paramilitary organizations as the Flying Tigers and the British Legion of Frontiersmen.^[24] Also, production designer Kevin Conran, the brother of director Kerry Conran, based the design of the flying humanoid robots, in part, on the helmet worn by the DC Comics superhero Adam Strange and controls on Commando Cody's rocket-pack (see image, right).^[25] This article is about inexpensive fiction magazines. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... G-8 was an heroic aviator during World War I in pulp fiction. ... 1941 Big Little Book Captain Midnight was a U.S. radio serial broadcast from 1938 to 1949. ... Blackhawk #12 (Autumn, 1946), Quality Comics. ... Paramilitary designates forces whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force, but which are not regarded as having the same status. ... Flying Tigers was the nickname of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), a group of United States Army (USAAF), Navy (USN), and Marine Corps (USMC) pilots and ground crew, recruited under a secret Presidential sanction by Claire Chennault. ... Legion of Frontiersmen, Edmonton, Alberta, 1915. ... Production designer is a term used in the movie and television industries to refer to the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. ... Kerry Conran is an American filmmaker. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Adam Strange is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. ... Commando Cody in RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON! Commando Cody was the hero in a 12-episode science-fiction serial made in 1952 by Republic Pictures entitled Radar Men from the Moon, and a followup 1953 set of 12 short-subjects (or 12 cliffhangerless serial chapters) collectively called the adventures...

See also

• Postmodernism
• Retro-futurism
• Steampunk
• Timeline of CGI in film and television

Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... The jet pack, an icon of the future, appearing on an August 1928 issue of Amazing Stories science-fiction magazine. ... For the comic book, see Steampunk (comics). ... This is a chronological list of films and television programs that have been recognised as being pioneering in their use of computer-generated imagery. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Screenshot of Aint It Cool News. ... is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: September 2004 in sports Events Deaths in September • 27 Tsai Wan-lin • 24 Françoise Sagan • 20 Brian Clough • 18 Russ Meyer • 15 Johnny Ramone • 12 Fred Ebb • 11 Peter VII of Alexandria • 8... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 89th day of the year (90th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chicago Reader is an alternative newsweekly in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 1971[2] by a group of friends who attended Carleton College. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated EW) is a magazine published by Time Inc. ... is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. ... is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... IGN - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 89th day of the year (90th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Philip José Farmer (born January 26, 1918) is an American author, principally known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ...

Further reading

• "Brave New World" Part 1 & 2 - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Special Collector's Edition DVD (Paramount Pictures, 2005)
• "The Art of World of Tomorrow" - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Special Collector's Edition DVD (Paramount Pictures, 2005)
• "Macs help Sky Captain save the day, win converts" by Brad Cook Mac World (September 30, 2004)

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ...

External links

• Official site
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow at the Internet Movie Database
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow at Allmovie
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Flying Legion fansite
• Soundtrack at the Official site