Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

September 17, 2004

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a 2004 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut, and produced by Jon Avnet, Sadie Frost, Jude Law and Marsha Oglesby. The film stars Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie. It is an example of "Ottensian" (pre-WWII) dieselpunk.

Conran spent four years making a black and white teaser with a bluescreen set up in his living room and using a Macintosh IIci. He was able to show it to Avnet, who was so impressed that Avnet spent two years working with him on his screenplay. No major studio was interested, but Avnet convinced Aurelio De Laurentiis to finance Sky Captain without a distribution deal (a worldwide distribution deal would later happen with Paramount Pictures).

Almost 100 digital artists, modelers, animators, and compositors created the multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for the live-action footage, while the entire film was sketched out via hand-drawn storyboards and then re-created as CG animatics. Ten months prior to shooting the live action scenes, Conran first shot them with stand-ins in Los Angeles, then converted that footage to animatics so the actors could accurately envision the film.

Despite being a box office bomb, generating only $58 million at the box office on a $70 million budget, Sky Captain received largely positive reviews, particularly for the style of filming that was used; some criticism was directed at the plot and characterization. The film has since gained a following and is regarded as a cult classic. It was one of the first major films, along with Casshern (2004) and Immortal (2004) and Sin City (2005), to be shot entirely on a "digital backlot", blending actors with CG surroundings.

Movie Trailer

• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) (Trailers)

Sound Effects Used

• Hollywoodedge, Chimpanzee Screeche PE026201
• Hollywoodedge, Screams 1 Woman Singl PE133501
• Hollywoodedge, Warning Buzzer Space PE194501
• Wilhelm Scream