You’re the Force, Luc

French filmmaker Luc Besson recently announced that the computer-animated kid flick Arthur and the Invisibles would be his last – as a director, anyway. A big-budget cartoon based on his series of children’s books?! That might make les enfants happy, but for the rest of us, it’s an anticlimactic adieu. Granted, Besson is no Truffaut, […]

French filmmaker Luc Besson recently announced that the computer-animated kid flick Arthur and the Invisibles would be his last – as a director, anyway. A big-budget cartoon based on his series of children’s books?! That might make les enfants happy, but for the rest of us, it’s an anticlimactic adieu. Granted, Besson is no Truffaut, but after 25 years of filmmaking, he’s left a surprisingly big pop culture legacy, particularly considering none of his movies have ever been blockbusters. Wired invited Besson to sound off on some of his influential films – and their ripple effect.

LUC BESSON ON HIS POP CULTURE LEGACY

Natalie Portman, future geek goddess Eleven-year-old Natalie Portman was an unknown when Besson plucked her out of a crowd of 6,000 to play the orphaned Mathilda in The Professional (1994). “She did a test, I watched one minute, and I knew I had a little genius,” he says of the woman destined to be Queen Amidala. “I’m proud of her. She didn’t get eaten by Hollywood.”

Kick-ass female assassins “In the ’80s, the hero was always a guy full of muscles, and the girl was crying behind his back,” Besson says. In response, he made La Femme Nikita (1990), triggering a new subgenre: the gun-toting dame in a little black dress. In addition to spawning Hong Kong and American remakes, Nikita inspired the concept of Alias.

Milla Jovovich, future gaming gold mine “I wanted to invent another world where I’m God,” Besson saysof his futuristic The Fifth Element (1997). Alas, the movie was a disappointment, but it transformed Jovovich from ex-model to sci-fi heroine. Her role as Alice in Resident Evil launched one of the gaming genre’s most lucrative franchises – $600 million worldwide.

The Cleaner, coolest character ever Tarantino based Harvey Keitel’s Wolfe character in Pulp Fiction on Jean Reno’s brutal Victor the Cleaner in Nikita. Besson reworked the Cleaner role for The Professional, arguably his best-known release. “Reno said, ‘You should write something for this guy because the character is great,’” Besson recalls. Code Name: The Cleaner, a spoof starring Cedric the Entertainer, comes out in January.

Alison Willmore
credit Gaumont and Les Films Du Dauphin/Columbia Pictures

credit Lucasfilm





credit Gaumont and Les Films Du Dauphin/Columbia Pictures

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