Kerry Conran, born in 1964, grew up in Flint, Michigan, surrounded by a family of aspiring artists. His older brother Kevin Conran was an illustrator, and his younger sister Kirsten Conran was an art director at an ad agency. This artistic environment nurtured Kerry's creative spirit, and he spent most of his childhood making short super-8 movies, imagining his fantasy worlds.
Pursuing his dream to become an illustrator and an animator, Kerry attended the prestigious animation school, CalArts, where he started developing the idea for his own sci-fi serial, The World of Tomorrow. With the advent of digital technologies, he planned to create an entire feature-length film from the comfort of his own apartment. Working independently with the help of his brother and a few friends, Kerry created his fantasy world on his personal computer and set up a blue screen in his apartment, using other friends as actors.
After four years of dedicated work, Kerry had completed only six minutes of footage, but this short snippet would ultimately set his career in motion. His brother Kevin introduced him to Marsha Oglesby, a film industry professional, who was impressed by their work and referred them to producer Jon Avnet. Avnet agreed to finance their project, and Kerry was able to complete his film, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, with a team of over 100 animators and a cast of A-list actors, including Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie.
Despite not being a commercial success, Sky Captain received positive reviews from critics, a testament to Kerry's innovative approach and skill as a director. Conran was later approached to direct the screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars, but was replaced by John Favreau, who was then replaced by Andrew Stanton. Kerry and Jude Law expressed interest in turning Sky Captain into a franchise, but due to the film's poor box office performance, there have been no updates on potential sequels or prequels.
