'Vietnam is becoming a viable destination for Hollywood blockbusters'

Producer Nicholas Simon has extensive experience in bringing international film crews to Southeast Asia. He pointed out Vietnam's certain advantages after 'Kong: Skull Island'.

Nicholas Simon is currently the head of Indochina Productions, a film production and services company operating in Southeast Asia, as well as in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh. His office is based in Bangkok, Thailand and has been operating successfully since 2010.

Nicholas Simon’s relationship with the film industry actually began in Vietnam. In 1993, the 48-year-old man from Wisconsin (USA) set foot in Hanoi with the hope of becoming a journalist. But he suddenly realized that was not the career he really wanted to pursue.

Producer Nicholas Simon at his office in Bangkok, Thailand.

After trying his hand at various professions, he happened to meet the French producers of the film Cyclo (1995) directed by Tran Anh Hung. Nicholas Simon decided to help them find a suitable setting in Vietnam, and has been pursuing the seventh art ever since.

He soon established Sud-Est Productions with investment from Vietnam, and made the most of the relationships he had gained from the Cyclo project.

Simon's Indochina Productions was also one of the units that contributed to the process of finding locations for the five-week filming of the blockbuster Kong: Skull Island in Vietnam in early 2016.

Nicholas Simon's company was also involved in the pre-production of Kong: Skull Island.

Present at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival to promote his new film A Prayer Before Dawn, which was filmed mainly in Thailand and the Philippines, Nicholas Simon shared many interesting things about Vietnam, as well as the opportunities our country has after Kong: Skull Island.

“The film has changed the Vietnamese film industry, both inside and out. Producers at Legendary and Warner Bros. are so happy with the experience that they are suggesting several film projects come here to shoot. In other words, Vietnam is now a viable destination for blockbusters,” Simon said.

Mr. Simon commented that international, regional and national film companies are constantly emerging. Investment money is no longer just coming from Hollywood and this is an opportunity for the Southeast Asian region to grasp.

Not to mention, the growth of the Chinese market also has a positive impact on the region where Simon is working. “After the success of Lost in Thailand, many Chinese film companies flocked to Southeast Asia.

There are at least three Chinese films shooting in Chiang Mai at the moment. However, budget and language are certain barriers they face,” he revealed.

Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore all have policies in place to help attract international film crews to their countries.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter about the most attractive countries in Southeast Asia to film in at the moment, Nicholas Simon pointed to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, but did not mention Vietnam. What the three countries have in common is that they all have policies to encourage international film crews to come to their country.

For example, in Thailand, for every $1.5 million a film crew spends there, they get a 15% reduction from the government. If the film features Thai actors or local staff, that figure can increase by 3%. And if the final product has images that promote the country, the crew gets another 2%.

For Malaysia, the cost of international film crews can also be reduced by up to 30%, and they have built the Pinewood Iskandar film studio worth up to $150 million. Singapore is the country that offers the highest reduction: 40%. But the Lion Island government requires international film crews to portray their country positively in films.

Hollywood comedy Crazy Rich Asians is set to start filming in Malaysia and Singapore this year, and according to Nicholas Simon, the crew wants to take full advantage of both countries' policies to help reduce costs.

Information about Vietnam's policies was not revealed by Simon in the interview. Besides the S-shaped country, the producer also ranked Sri Lanka as a potential country to welcome Hollywood film crews because the political situation is now stable.

In addition, this is a country with a very small population compared to India and can license the construction of giant film studios.

According to Zing