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This time Vietnam doesn’t want to leave anything to chance.
Following the massive success of “Kong: Skull Island” and relentless attempts to remind the world that most of the Hollywood production was filmed in Vietnam, the Cinema Department has officially declared the country “the New Destination of Blockbusters.”
The title can be seen gracing new promotional materials prepared for the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival and released by the department on Tuesday.
This year will mark the first time Vietnam will officially attend the French festival, according to a post on the government website.
The world's leading film festival is expected to celebrate its 70th anniversary in a big way starting Wednesday.
The Vietnam Cinema Department said in a statement that it will promote “The Way Station,” the recent winner at the ASEAN International Film Festival, and three more projects.
But it will also spend time advertising the country’s top destinations Ha Long Bay, Son Doong Cave and the heritage site of Trang An.
The statement doesn’t namedrop “Kong” or any other film, but it’s clear the new promotional campaign has been built around “Kong” and its Hollywood director Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
Several international films have been shot in Vietnam before, but Vogt-Roberts is believed to have helped put the country on the global film production map.
"Kong" has become the biggest movie of all time at the Vietnamese box office; its director has been appointed the country’s tourism ambassador; Quang Binh has named its cave kingdom “Home of Kong;” and local officials are eager to attract more film crews from overseas.
At one point there were even rumors that “The Fate of the Furious” would be filmed in Vietnam.
That of course did not happen. But based on the Cinema Department’s show of will at Cannes, maybe Vin Diesel and his gang will take notice.
And even if that plan doesn't come to pass, Vogt-Roberts has said that he intends to make more films in Vietnam.
