Jordan Vogt-Roberts talks Technical Filmmaking and Love of Cinema at Q&A

KONG in Warner Bros. Pictures', Legendary Pictures' and Tencent Pictures' action adventure "KONG: SKULL ISLAND," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts flew into Chicago this weekend for a Saturday night Q&A at the Music Box Theatre moderated by AICN‘s Steve Prokopy.

I didn’t record or film this Q&A so I’m working off of memory here.

It was an entertaining Q&A session to say the least.  Vogt-Roberts’ feature film debut, The Kings of Summer, a 2013 Sundance selection, was on my radar when those selections were announced but my interest in seeing the film only grew when T.J. Miller endorsed it.

Talking about the superhero movies, the director said that he would love to see somebody like Tony Scott directing a film for Marvel Studios.  Scott killed himself a few years ago.  Given his filmmaking style, it would certainly be something interesting to watch but we’ll never truly know what could have been for the filmmaker.

Vogt-Roberts stressed the importance of watching older movies–which, in this case, would not just be films that were released in the 1990s.  We’re talking about the classic movies here.  This is why he likes talking to cinema lovers because the classics are appreciated.

After leaving Michigan for Chicago, Vogt-Roberts would eventually become a filmmaker with a background in improv because of the likes of Second City and iO.  This is key for why his films work.  He spoke about camera movement and technical filmmaking.  There aren’t many directors who bother with technical filmmaking.  Because of his background working with so many improv comedians like Kumail Nanjiani, Thomas Middleditch and T.J. Miller, Vogt-Roberts is able to find the moment while filmimg.  His camera style is as far from Michael Bay as it could get.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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