Careful thought before promotion
A Hollywood movie shoot is always a good way to attract tourists – but thought must be put into potential activities.
THE film Kong: Skull Island, shot in Vietnam’s Quang Binh, Ninh Binh, and Quang Ninh provinces last year, has been drawing a lot of attention from Vietnamese authorities, media outlets, and the public.
As the very first Hollywood movie shot in Vietnam, people across the country are eager to learn what the stars and production crew thought of their country, and how the iconic landscapes of Vietnam have translated to the big screen.
“As with any Hollywood movie, Kong: Skull Island has big investment capital and a group of top professionals behind the scenes. I cannot wait to see the country in the cinema,” Tran Anh Tuan, 30, a movie fan, said before the movie’s premier in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this month.
Vietnam has actually been used as the location for international movies before, including L’amant (The Lover, 1991), Indochine (1992), The Quiet American (2002), and Les Filles du Botaniste (The Chinese Botanist’s Daughters, 2006). But Kong: Skull Island, with a budget of US$185mil (RM819mil), is the first Hollywood blockbuster shot there.
Since Feb 18, 2016, when the plane carrying the Kong production crew landed in Vietnam, the country’s media has been following filming activities closely.
“We read newspapers, followed breaking news and were even curious about the side activities of the production crew. It’s hot news,” Tuan said.
The film’s director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, was officially appointed Vietnam’s Tourism Ambassador for the 2017-2020 tenure by the country’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry on March 9. This appointment garnered a lot of attention from locals, especially when Vogt-Roberts expressed his wish to bring more Hollywood productions, actors and directors to Vietnam and “to collaborate with local talent”.
In early March, the ministry asked the Hanoi People’s Committee to collaborate on a replica of King Kong to be erected in the Hoan Kiem Lake area in the centre of the capital city. The idea was to take advantage of the excitement surrounding the film, and allow locals to take pictures with the film’s biggest star. Promotional activities for Vietnam and Hanoi’s tourism industries could also take place around the location.
The plan was subject to extensive discussion in the media, and citizens professed their own opinions on social media.
Many said that Hoan Kiem Lake is a sacred area with political, historical, and cultural value, and thus the placement of a giant monkey, even if just a replica, is absolutely inappropriate. It is short-sighted and will not improve the beauty of the lake, potentially even vandalising the area, some said.
“I think if they want to promote tourism, they should consider placing items like this in the shooting locations, in parks, or encourage tourist agents to set up the replicas within their own offices,” said a member of the public Trinh Lan Huong.
Fortunately, 10 days later, after consulting related experts, the city’s department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism decided not to erect the replica beside Hoan Kiem Lake, preserving its historical and cultural significance.
Vietnamese people are passionate about cinema, and the first Hollywood film to be shot in the country has stoked an intense level of excitement. It is a great opportunity to show off the country’s beauty and promote tourism. But authorities should think about the long-term interests, and take steps that ensure Vietnam’s cultural heritage is managed appropriately, so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come. — Viet Nam News/Asia News Network