Luc Besson

Luc Besson
Date of Birth
18 March 1959, Paris, France
Called “the French Steven Spielberg” by some, Luc Besson made an impressive debut at age 24 with “Le Dernier Combat” (1983), an apocalyptic drama noted for its striking black-and-white photography and bold lack of dialogue (a clever low-budget strategy). His subsequent films were box-office hits at home, more popular for their exhilarating visuals than for their thin storylines. After going underground to helm “Subway” (1985), starring Christopher Lambert and Isabelle Adjani, this son of scuba divers mined his first love (the sea) to make the underwater epic “The Big Blue” (1988), a huge commercial success in France and his international breakthrough, excluding the US market. Besson’s next project, the aggressively violent and wildly improbable “La Femme Nikita” (1990), provided a great part for his then wife Anne Parillaud and finally registered with American audiences. An entertaining story of a hedonistic young woman who becomes an undercover assassin for the French government, the film did so well in the USA that it spurred the dreadful remake “Point of No Return”(1993).

Besson returned underwater to film the stunning “Atlantis” (1991), a documentary tone-poem focusing on the beauty of marine life (with no intrusions from humanity this time around), for which Eric Serra’s music passed as the text. His first Hollywood film, “The Professional” (1994), followed the blossoming relationship between a hitman (frequent collaborator Jean Reno) and an orphan (Natalie Portman in her screen debut), and the filmmaker again garnered praise for skillful direction and stylish action sequences that overshadowed the less than satisfactory story development. Besson followed with the blockbuster sci-fi extravaganza “The Fifth Element” (1997), a visually stunning triumph of sophisticated production (Dan Weil) and costume (Jean-Paul Gaultier) design starring Bruce Willis, future wife Milla Jovovich and Gary Oldman. Based on Besson’s visions of the future that had been distilling for two decades, “The Fifth Element” was a delight to watch (if only eyeball-deep), a comic book with Willis’ jocular finesse at its center. He also produced Oldman’s impressive writing-helming debut “Nil By Mouth” that year and the following year produced and scripted Gerard Pires’ “Taxi”.

Besson established on “Le Dernier Combat” the hands-on approach of operating the camera himself, a practice he has continued on all his successive films. “Why lose time explaining everything to someone else? He’s going to be slightly off, and then I’m going to freak out and say, ‘No this is not what we discussed. I want the camera here!’ So it’s better for everyone involved if I just do it myself.” (AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, May 1997) His first foray into historical drama, “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” (1999), was no exception as he plunged with his camera into the midst of battle scenes, presenting the furious, close-quarters fighting which was the best reason to see the film. With names like John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman, the picture boasted his most Hollywood star-studded cast to date (apologies to Willis and Oldman). Unfortunately, his use of Jovovich as his leading lady did nothing to elevate his otherwise eye-catching version of the frequently filmed story. (The couple separated soon after filming was completed.) He then produced Fred Garson’s “The Dancer” (2000), as well as providing the idea for the film.

Born:
March 18, 1959 in Paris, FR
Job Titles:
Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Cinematographer, Songwriter

Family

Daughter: Juliette Besson. Mother, Anne Parillaud; fell ill while he was editing The Big Blue (1988); Besson dedicated the film to her
Daughter: Satine Besson.
Daughter: Shana Besson. Mother, Maiwenn Le Besco
Daughter: Talia Besson.
Son: Mao Besson.

Significant Others

Companion: Maiwenn Le Besco. No longer together; mother of Besson s daughter, Shana Besson
Wife: Anne Parillaud.
Wife: Milla Jovovich. Ukranian; Met when Besson directed her in The Fifth Element (1997); married 1997; divorced 1999
Wife: Virginie Silla. Married Aug. 28, 2004

Milestones

1976 Turned down by France s national film school at age 17
1982 Founded production company, Les Film du Loup
1983 At age 24, directed his first film, Le Dernier Combat, co-starring Jean Reno; also co-wrote and co-produced with Pierre Jolivet
1983 Worked as second unit director on Le Grand Carnaval
1985 Directed Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert in Subway
1986 Produced first film that he did not also direct, Kamikaze ; also wrote screenplay
1988 Returned to his first love with The Big Blue, about famed diver Jacques Mayol; third film with Jean Reno and first English-language film
1990 Directed and wrote the stylish and compelling, La Femme Nikita ; also starred Jean Reno as The Cleaner
1991 Made the little-seen documentary, Atlantis ; also shared cinematography duties as well as directing
1993 Executive produced Patrick Grandperret s L Enfant Lion
1994 Produced, directed and wrote first American film, The Professional ; initial collaboration with Gary Oldman; fifth film with actor Jean Reno
1997 Produced Oldman s writing and directing debut, Nil By Mouth
1997 Scored big hit with the sci-fi comic book adaptation, The Fifth Element ; film starred future wife Milla Jovovich
1998 Scripted and produced Gerard Pires Taxi
1999 Helmed The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, starring Jovovich in the title role
2000 Director s cut of The Big Blue released in USA
2000 Produced and provided the idea for Fred Garson s (second assistant director on The Fifth Element ) feature directing debut, The Dancer
2001 Produced and co-wrote Kiss of the Dragon, starring Jet Li and Bridget Fonda
2001 Scripted the film, Wasabi, about a French detective on a case in Tokyo
2002 Wrote and produced The Transporter, starring Jason Statham
2004 Scripted an early screenplay of the US version of Taxi ; also produced
2005 Co-wrote with Robert Kamen, the screenplay for The Transporter 2 ; re-teamed with Jason Statham
2005 Wrote the screenplay for Unleashed, starring Jet Li and Morgan Freeman
2006 Directed the feature film adaptation of the 2002 children s book, Arthur et les Minimoys
2006 Penned the French martial arts melodrama, District B13
2008 Co-wrote and produced the action thriller, Taken, starring Liam Neeson
2010 Co-wrote the action film, From Paris with Love
2011 Co-wrote and produced the action thriller, Colombiana, starring Zoe Saldana
Worked as an assistant to directors including Claude Faraldo and Patrick Grandperret