‘Kong: Skull Island’ Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts Was Brutally Beaten in Vietnam: ‘I Was Almost Killed’
Jordan Vogt-Roberts fell in love with Vietnam while visiting the country during location scouting for “Kong: Skull Island,” which was ultimately filmed in the Southeast Asian country. He ended up moving to Saigon after completing the movie, which was going well until a night out last September. While visiting a nightclub called XOXO, Vogt-Roberts was viciously attacked: “This was not a fight,” he tells QQ. “I was almost killed as were others. This was a fucking assault by insane gangsters.”
Read More:Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts Isn’t Happy HBO is Airing the Airplane Edit of ‘Kong: Skull Island’
The filmmaker sustained contusions, a fractured skull, a cerebral air pocket, and hemorrhaging, resulting in a 10-day hospital stay and the possibility of permanent brain damage. The article’s description of the surveillance footage states that “a tall guy with an expensive-looking haircut walks up and grabs the bearded man’s shoulder,” with the bearded man being Vogt-Roberts.
“He turns around and about a dozen bodies swarm him, landing punches, flipping tables, throwing glasses, bludgeoning him while he curls on the ground. The scene—one continuous, unbearable ten-minute take—ends with as many as nine mauled clubgoers on the floor.”
“As a director, I love violent movies,” Vogt-Roberts says. “And I love fight scenes. But after I watched that shit, I was just in fucking shock.”
Read More:Is Directing or Screenwriting Harder? James Gunn, Scott Derrickson, and Jordan Vogt-Roberts Debate
“I remember I wasn’t being an asshole,” he adds of the night in question. “I remember I wasn’t instigating. I remember getting punched in the fucking side of the face. But you never fucking know. You’re out at a fucking nightclub.”
Vogt-Roberts — who’s been a tourism ambassador for Vietnam since his time making “Kong” — began looking into who might be responsible for the assault, learning that they could indeed be powerful mobsters. Read the full story, including why the filmmaker still loves Vietnam, here.
Related stories
Is Directing or Screenwriting Harder? James Gunn, Scott Derrickson, and Jordan Vogt-Roberts Debate
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts Isn't Happy HBO is Airing the Airplane Edit of 'Kong: Skull Island'