If you happen to catch “Kong: Skull Island” on HBO or stream it on HBO GO, you may notice something very distracting taking place: The aspect ratio changes to a letterbox format at various times throughout the movie. Sometimes the changes occur within edits in a single scene or set piece, resulting in a very unusual viewing experience. It turns out HBO is airing the airplane edit for “Kong: Skull Island” instead of the theatrical cut.
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts took to Twitter to ask HBO why they were not airing or streaming the original edit of “Kong: Skull Island.” Filmmakers often have to provide an airplane edit of a movie so that their films can properly be shown on such small screens. Vogt-Roberts says he switched to a letterbox format for some shots on the airplane edit so that it could maintain the same scope and size as the original but on a smaller screen.
Peter Atencio, the director of the Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key-starring comedy “Keanu,” responded to Vogt-Roberts and revealed he faced a similar issue with HBO on his movie, one that has never been corrected. “HBO refuses to play anamorphic movies in the correct ratio unless they’re contractually obligated to,” he said. “Completely ridiculous that they don’t do it when even tv commercials are letterboxed these days.”
Both “Kong: Skull Island” and “Keanu” are available to stream on HBO GO and HBO Now.
Dear @HBO. Based on twitter, it seems you’re playing the AIRPLANE edit of Kong: Skull island that shifts aspect ratios. I begrudgingly made this version to preserve my original framing in certain sequences. Why are you playing this compromised instead of the original? Ugh..
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) November 28, 2017
I hate this, went through the same thing on Keanu. We need to all join together and fight this. HBO should care about filmmaking enough to want to make filmmakers happy but not playing the wrong aspect ratio.
— Peter Atencio (@Atencio) November 28, 2017
Did you eventually fix the Keanu problem?
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) November 28, 2017
Nope, HBO refuses to play anamorphic movies in the correct ratio unless they’re contractually obligated to. It’s now the first part of any deal I make for projects. Completely ridiculous that they don’t do it when even tv commercials are letterboxed these days.
— Peter Atencio (@Atencio) November 28, 2017
There are shots in Kong that are edge-to-edge. Kong’s eyes on far left and right. Cannot crop. I sold airlines on certain shots and sequences being “monster vision” keeping the aspect ratio for scope and scale. WB said they’d never seen an airline accept a switching ratio before.
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) November 28, 2017
That’s impressive in and of itself, I love the idea of certain sequences at least remaining scope. I fought hard for Keanu, but even though I did a 1.85 airline cut a lot of them still played the 4:3 cut, which was infuriating. I got the “it’s a comedy, who cares” excuse a lot.
— Peter Atencio (@Atencio) November 28, 2017
I got a long history of this… MASH UP was the first show on @ComedyCentral broadcast 16:9 in SD. Which I give them mad props for and seems like an eternity ago. I’m sorry they hit you with the 4:3. That’s brutal and so painful.
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) November 28, 2017
Ha, CC’s post team probably hated us both then, because Key & Peele was the first show on the network to broadcast 2.40:1 in SD. We had a weeks long fight over it. The first season they forced me to limit it to 9 sketches, but every season after that I got more and more from them
— Peter Atencio (@Atencio) November 28, 2017
Yeah, I had several sketches that popped into 2.40 as well. It was a huge fight. I think we might technically have beat you to the punch though or they just told both of us we were the first. Haha
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) November 28, 2017
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