Vietnam has a powerful and unspoiled beauty: King Kong movie's director

To fully immerse audiences in the mysterious Skull Island in the movie, the director, his cast and the filmmaking team are filming across Hawaii, Australia, and Vietnam, capturing the primordial landscapes there, over approximately six months.

The film will commence filming on location in Vietnam on February 22, 2016.

Skull Island's director Jordan Vogt-Roberts poses with local actress - director Ngo Thanh Van when he and his crew came to Vietnam to look for locations of filming in September, 2015 in this photo posted on Van's Facebook.

Why did you discover and choose Vietnam as a filming location along with Hawaii and Australia? How and what did you know about Vietnam before your scouts?

It was incredibly important for me to try and shoot as much of KONG: SKULL ISLAND practically in real locations.

We live in an age where everything is computer generated and I wanted my actors and audience to feel the tactile nature of their environment. Vietnam was one of many places we visited during the early phase of the movie to decide where we wanted to shoot. 

Almost immediately upon landing in Vietnam, it became apparent that there was such raw, powerful and unspoiled beauty that general audiences hadn't experienced on screen before. The look of Vietnam is gorgeous and otherworldly at the same time and it will provide a perfect aesthetic for our film. 

Before visiting Vietnam, I was aware of the country's history but most photos I saw of the country were from the war and so they were largely in southern Vietnam.  Venturing into the northern parts of Vietnam was an eye-opening experience that made the country an undeniable place to shoot.

We heard you have surveyed several locations in Vietnam for shooting. How is Vietnam different from other locations in your film project regarding the natural beauty of our landscape? 

Our movie does not take place in Vietnam, but instead the aesthetic of it is a huge piece of the puzzle to create the look of our story's fictional Skull Island. 

Vietnam is entirely different from any of the other countries we scouted and together we want to fuse several different looks and locations into a living, breathing place that feels, unlike anything you've seen before but also seems very real.

Do you believe that KONG: SKULL ISLAND will help promote Vietnam to the world, in terms of tourism, culture, or the movie industry?

My hope is that when people see KONG: SKULL ISLAND, one of the main things they'll fall in love with is the visuals of Vietnam.

I sincerely believe that our film will have a positive impact on tourism, filming, and a general understanding of how stunning and beautiful the country is.

My experience with the country has been life-changing for me. I hope to spend much more time in Vietnam in my life and hopefully, our movie will serve as a gateway for audiences, worldwide

What and how do you know about Vietnam's movie industry and/or do any particular Vietnamese films or filmmakers come to your mind?

While I was visiting Vietnam earlier, I tried to understand the way the film industry works there and I visited the set of my friend Veronica Ngo [local actress - director Ngo Thanh Van].

It was a great experience to see a Vietnamese film be made and to study how the local crews work.  The art of film is such a universal language and I'm a lover of cinema so understanding the stories that different cultures want to tell is fascinating to me.

Thank you very much