By now you’ve probably all seen Kong: Skull Island, and marveled at how the use of real locations created the most believable onscreen rendering of Skull Island yet. But how much of it was actually real, and how much was digital magic?
Conan O’Brien claimed to have the answer this week and presented what was apparently some production footage before effects were added. No, it wasn’t the real thing–but what was striking about the spoof is how much it assumed the TV audience already knows about post-production and motion capture. Humans in real life might not play mountains and pistols (though they could), but they definitely do wear suits covered in ping-pong balls, and have faces drawn on volleyballs for their acting eyeline’s sake. And who knows? That final fight scene may have gone down quite similarly to the way Conan depicted it…albeit with Toby Kebbell rather than a little person.
I for one was hoping Conan himself would play the stick-insect monster. It would seem like the kind of part he was born for. Maybe next time.
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts weighed in on Twitter with his approval:
Now you all know how ILM works behind closed doors… https://t.co/UifDwQfm4W
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) March 19, 2017
If that’s remotely how it really is, sign us up to work there! I can play a helicopter, once somebody tells me what my motivation is for flying.
Would you like to see Conan vs. Kong? Go ape in comments below.
Image: Warner Bros., TBS/Team Coco
Editor’s note: Nerdist Industries is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.
