‘Kong: Skull Island’ Director Started Out By Posting Short Films On Vimeo

After receiving generally positive reviews, the King Kong reboot Kong: Skull Island has made $559 million at the box office, making it the fourth-highest grossing movies of 2017 so far. The film’s director, however, wasn’t always a blockbuster guy. Instead, Jordan Vogt-Roberts got his start by making no-budget content he posted on Vimeo, as he recounted in a recent interview with the video site.

Vogt-Roberts, like many other young filmmakers, turned to Vimeo because the platform had fostered a reputation as the artist’s platform. “Vimeo was the one place that actually cared about the artistry and the craft and the quality,” Vogt-Roberts said. “It was like a beacon when the rest of the world was horrible, depressed, pixelated, artifacted videos.” He was not the only creator with that idea; other well known directors who got their start on Vimeo include Daniels, the duo behind the 2016 flick Swiss Army Man, who maintain a link with the video.

In Vogt-Roberts’ mind, the work he posted on Vimeo directly inspired the big-budget spectacle he would go on to make. “You can see the direct connection between the shorts I was making on Vimeo and the style and tone of them and what is in this film (Kong: Skull Island),” he said.

That connection can especially be seen in “Bad Boys II Men in Black,” a short film from 2012 that would ultimately become one of Vogt-Roberts’ two Vimeo staff picks. Some of the critics who enjoyed Skull Island praised its blend of genres, and “Bad Boys II Men in Black” is a hybrid musical-action-comedy.

Bad Boys II Men in Black from Jordan Vogt-Roberts on Vimeo.

More of Vogt-Roberts story, as well as his tips for up-and-coming filmmakers, are available in Vimeo’s profile of him.