Sci-fi epic Valerian relies on its dynamic duos, onscreen and off
Flick based on French comic had influence on Star Wars and took years to develop
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.—“I’m Valerian and she’s Laureline,” Luc Besson says with a smile, gesturing to his producer and wife Virginie BessonSilla. “She’s the clever one.”
Valerian and Laureline are the lead characters of Besson’s sci-fi epic Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which hit theatres Friday.
They’re names that most American audiences don’t know, even though the French comic about two 28thcentury intergalactic cops that it’s based on, Valerian and Laureline, has been in existence for 60 years and influenced Star Wars.
Besson is the larger-than-life public-facing personality who makes big statements and even bigger movies and Besson-Silla is the one who orchestrates things in her own way just slightly out of the spotlight.
She looks at her husband with bemusement, chiming in occasionally — often when he turns to her looking for the right English word.
They were colleagues before they were anything else. Now they have three children, ages 15, 14 and 11, and have found they actually enjoy being partners at the office and home.
“We were not stupid. There is a risk. We took our time and then very consciously we said, ‘Let’s try on one to see if it works,’ ” Besson says. “Actually, it works 10 times better than I expected.”
Valerian is by far the biggest film they’ve ever done, estimated to have a $180-million (U.S.) price tag. Both are coming off the success of Lucy and the decades of goodwill Besson has built up in wild-eyed, crowdpleasing genre fare such as La Femme Nikita, The Professional and The Fifth Element.
He says Valerian is the movie of his life.
Though he was a lifetime fan of the series, it wasn’t until he was working on The Fifth Element with Valerian illustrator Jean-Claude Mézières that he even considered taking it on.
Besson wouldn’t acquire the rights for another 10 years.
It wasn’t until he visited James Cameron on the set of Avatar that he realized a film adaptation of Valerian and Laureline was even possible, technologically speaking.
And they’ve taken their time with it. Besson did a large number of character and world sketches himself. He created a bible with five-page descriptions of all the creatures. Both secured a historic collaboration between the two visual-effects giants WETA and ILM to do the 2,700 VFX shots ( The Fifth Element had around 200).
And he found his perfect leads in two burgeoning stars: Cara Delevingne for Laureline and Dane DeHaan for Valerian.
They shot the film in France on sound stages that Besson helped design.
“We’re very proud to be able to bring such a big production to the country and to bring work to hundreds of people. There’s a real pride in that,” Besson-Silla says. “And we have amazing facilities.”
As far as the money goes, Besson isn’t concerned.
With international sales, he says the film is 90-per-cent covered.
“The risk is more psychological than the money. The risk is if we fail, then you lose your reputation,” Besson says.
“People trust us, you know? We don’t want to let them down,” Besson-Silla says.
He’s also a realist about the fickleness of the market. Valerian will launch against the Second World War actioner Dunkirk and the comedy Girls Trip.
“If there’s a film a few weeks before us that is huge and everyone loves it, you don’t exist. If you come after a desert of two months, then you’re the saviour. There are so many parameters. The good thing that we smell a little bit is there is a lassitude . . . lassitude?” Besson says.
Besson-Silla jumps in: “People are a little bored with sequels.”
“There are so many sequels,” Besson continues.
“People are little tired of so many superheroes. At least we’re fresh.”