'Kong: Skull Island' director asked to make monstrous change to tourism in Vietnam

• Kong director says gorgeous Vietnam provided the ‘perfect’ reboot
• Critics praise filmed-in-Vietnam Kong movie for going back to the jungle

Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Thursday agreed to a proposal to appoint Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of "Kong: Skull Island", as an official tourism ambassador.

“Kong: Skull Island”, which was filmed in some of Vietnam's most stunning locations, is hitting global theaters on Friday.

The proposal, submitted by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, got the nod from all 12 members of the council, the The thao & Van hoa (Sports and Culture) news site reported on Thursday, quoting Ngo Hoai Chung, deputy director of the administration.

The proposal is pending final approval from Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien, Chung said.

Roberts said he was willing to hold the position from 2017-2020 when contacted by the Vietnamese administration, according to Chung.

The American director is expected to arrive in Hanoi on March 12 to accept the offer, the news site cited its own sources as saying.

In a recent interview with Channel News Asia, the film's director praised the "gorgeous" Vietnam for giving the movie a fresh look and making it stand out from previous retakes.

The filming took Roberts and his cast to Quang Binh’s colossal caves, the northern province of Ninh Binh and the world-renowned Ha Long Bay, all of which are some of the most remote and beautiful parts of Vietnam, but have never before appeared in a Hollywood film.

Quang Binh Province also released a video last month promoting itself as an exciting destination, reminding viewers that it was the set for the Kong blockbuster and featuring the testimony of the film’s director himself.

Vogt-Roberts told Channel News Asia he believes the movie would do justice to Vietnam's tourism industry, just like "The Beach" (starring Leonardo DiCaprio) did to Thailand and "The Lords of the Rings" to New Zealand.

 

 

'Kong: Skull Island' director asked to make monstrous change to tourism in Vietnam

Kong, the unlikely tourism ambassador of Vietnam's 'Cave Kingdom'

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