Portrait
Jordan Vogt-Roberts: There was nowhere during the search where to film more beautiful than Vietnam
“Despite being under a lot of pressure to shoot the movie in a place where colleagues had worked before, when I looked around this country, it became clear to me instantly that there was nowhere more beautiful than this country”.
This was said by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of “Kong: Skull Island”, to the Vietnamese media about the reason why he decided to shoot the film in Vietnam.
“Then it became a mission for me to figure out how to shoot here, because it had never been done on that scale before. It became a mission for me to put the country on screen to instil a sense of pride into the Vietnamese and to share its beauty with the rest of the world,” Jordan said when he came to Vietnam to receive the title of Vietnam’s Tourism Ambassador for the 2017-2020 tenure.
With the title, Jordan is also the first foreigner to serve as tourism ambassador in Vietnam, which is expected to ignite the Vietnam tourism sector, like Cambodia successfully did with “Tomb Raider” and New Zealand with “ Lord of the Rings”.
“Kong: Skull Island” is his third film, and Jordan received many positive reviews from Hollywood’s leading movie critics about the quality of the films and his creativeness.
In his recent visit to Vietnam, the director with a long beard “shocked” the local media and fans when he said he would sell his house in Los Angeles and buy one in Vietnam as he wanted to spend more time here. Jordan expressed his admiration for the beauty and charm of Vietnamese women despite saying it is not the reason for his plan to move to Vietnam.
“It is a great responsibility and I don’t feel I can do it from afar. First, I want to further my understanding of this country’s traditions and the cultures even more than I already do.”
The 33 year old director said in the future he will work with international and local partners to help further expose the world to Vietnam, helping people discover how beautiful this country is.
“I appreciate all the hospitality from locals who have welcomed me as their guest. I want to put this country on screen not only for the people here to see how beautiful their country looks and have a sense of pride in it, but also for the rest of the world” he added.
“Then it became a mission for me to figure out how to shoot here, because it had never been done on that scale before. It became a mission for me to put the country on screen to instil a sense of pride into the Vietnamese and to share its beauty with the rest of the world,” Jordan said when he came to Vietnam to receive the title of Vietnam’s Tourism Ambassador for the 2017-2020 tenure.
With the title, Jordan is also the first foreigner to serve as tourism ambassador in Vietnam, which is expected to ignite the Vietnam tourism sector, like Cambodia successfully did with “Tomb Raider” and New Zealand with “ Lord of the Rings”.
 Jordan was a surprise choice to direct “Kong: Skull Island”, which stars Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang/VNP  Jordan Vogt-Roberts, has been officially appointed as Vietnam’s Tourism Ambassador for the 2017-2020 tenure. Photo: Quoc Khanh/VNA  Jordan with officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius. Photo: Nam Nguyen  US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius talks with Vietnam’s tourism ambassador Jordan Vort – Roberts on the sidelines of a press conference on promoting and developing Vietnam’s tourism in the future. Photo: Nam Nguyen  Vietnam’s Tourism Ambassador Jordan Vogt-Roberts talks with Vietnamese reporters. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang/VNP  Director Jordan Vort – Roberts near the poster of “Kong: Skull Island” in Hanoi which was the highest grossing film at the last weekend with a total turnover of 142.6 million US dollars after two days since its opening. Photo: Nam Nguyen  Jordan Vogt-Roberts with Vietnamese fans. Photo: Nam Nguyen  Jordan Vogt-Roberts with local figures from Ninh Binh province. Photo: Nam Nguyen  With local reporters. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang/VNP  With local artists on Ha Long Bay. Photo: Nam Nguyen  Jordan Vogt-Roberts on Ha Long Bay. Photo: Nam Nguyen |
“Kong: Skull Island” is his third film, and Jordan received many positive reviews from Hollywood’s leading movie critics about the quality of the films and his creativeness.
In his recent visit to Vietnam, the director with a long beard “shocked” the local media and fans when he said he would sell his house in Los Angeles and buy one in Vietnam as he wanted to spend more time here. Jordan expressed his admiration for the beauty and charm of Vietnamese women despite saying it is not the reason for his plan to move to Vietnam.
| About 70% of scenes of “Kong: Skull Island” was filmed in Vietnamese locations including Hạ Long Bay in Quang Ninh province, Trang An Scenic Complex in Ninh Bình province and Son Dong Cave in Quang Binh province. The rest was shot in Hawaii and Australia. |
“It is a great responsibility and I don’t feel I can do it from afar. First, I want to further my understanding of this country’s traditions and the cultures even more than I already do.”
The 33 year old director said in the future he will work with international and local partners to help further expose the world to Vietnam, helping people discover how beautiful this country is.
“I appreciate all the hospitality from locals who have welcomed me as their guest. I want to put this country on screen not only for the people here to see how beautiful their country looks and have a sense of pride in it, but also for the rest of the world” he added.
   Designated a World Heritage site in 1994, Ha Long Bay's spectacular scatter of islands, dotted with wind- and wave-eroded grottoes, is a vision of ethereal beauty and, unsurprisingly, northern Vietnam's number one tourism hub. Photos: Nguyen Thang & Tran Cong Dat/VNP  Trang An is a scenic area near Ninh Binh, Vietnam renowned for its boat cave tours. On 23 June 2014, at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in Doha, the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex was chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photo: Tran Cong Dat/VNP 
Van Long, the preserved wetland area in Ninh Binh province also appeared in “Kong: Skull Island”.
Photo: Thong Thien/VNP  Tu Lan caves system in Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh province . Photo: Thong Thien/VNP   Phong Nha-Ke Bang is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Bo Trach and Minh Hoa districts of central Quang Binh province in the North Central Coast region, about 500km south of Hanoi. The park borders the HinNamno Nature Reserve in Khammouane Province, Laos to the west and 42km east of the South China Sea from its borderline point. PhongNha–Ke Bang National Park is situated in a limestone zone of 2,000km2 in Vietnamese territory and borders another limestone zone of 2,000km2 of HinNamno in Laotian territory. The core zone of this national park covers 857.54 km2 and a buffer zone of 1,954 km2. Photos: Tat Son & Tran Thanh Giang/VNP |
Story: Truong Phi Hung – Photos: Nam Nguyen, Tran Thanh Giang, Quoc Khanh & VNP’s Files
