Luc Besson brings his latest sci-fi tale to China’s silver screens
French director Luc Besson was in Beijing in the weekend, wearing a T-shirt with images of the characters from his latest movie, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
The film is adapted from the French sci-fi comics series Valerian and Laureline, which was first published in 1967.
It centers on a titular duo of space- and time-traveling agents, who discover a thrilling secret during a galactic mission.
It’s the most expensive movie in Besson’s decadeslong career, with a budget of up to $210 million.
With over 2,700 special-effects shots — much more than his 1997 hit, The Fifth Element — this movie shows an international space station where 3,236 alien species speak 5,000 languages.
Valerian will open across the Chinese mainland on Friday, against Hollywood rivals, such as Disney’s animated movie Cars 3 and the Oscar-winning drama Manchester by the Sea.
But the new movie has more significance than numbers for the 58-year-old filmmaker.
“My father offered me the first book of Valerian (the comic) when I was 10 years old,” says Besson, recalling his early fascination with the story.
Besson’s biggest anticipation during his teen years was to read the latest story of Valerian, the space- and time-traveling operative.
Besson began to write the script around eight years ago but once quit after visiting fellow filmmaker James Cameron’s filming set of Avatar, the 2009 sci-fi epic that’s considered a revolution in cinematic technology.
He first felt he couldn’t match up to Cameron’s project but later got back to writing the script again. Besson spent seven years on producing the title.
He invited designers from different countries to separately work on designing roles of aliens and sets.
Even his harshest critics — the movie has been screened in most countries since July 21 to mixed reviews — admit Besson’s imagination has worked.
From a dazzling alien stripper (played by Rihanna) to a breathtaking chase for an exotic jellyfish, the movie showcases many aliens and their habitats in the 28th century.
Besson says the sequences with Rihanna used four dancers and were shot over six days, plus another two years of post-production.
Besson prefers to show the more human side of his characters, compared with Hollywood sci-fi tales that show space fighters as tough heroes.
“Valerian is a cop. Most of the time he is pretentious and making bad jokes. Sometimes he is lucky. He is not very intelligent, like most of the men,” he says.
“The one who is ruling the house is the girl, like in life. What I try to show in the film is a reflection of today.”
The film is led by US actor Dane DeHaan as Valerian and English model-actress Cara Delevingne as Laureline.
It also features Rihanna, Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke and jazz musician Herbie Hancock.
Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu is also part of the cast.
Wu has more than 25.3 million followers on Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, but his critics have highlighted his poor performance in the Chinese movies Mr Six and The Mermaid.
Besson disagrees. He says the casting of Wu in Valerian was not to exploit any of the pop star’s commercial potential.
“Sometimes, when you see a Chinese actor in an American film, you will say they put the Chinese actor for the Chinese market. Most of the time, it’s true,” he adds.
He says the international space station needed a Chinese actor because it’s set in the future. Besson says he didn’t know Wu was that popular.
“Rihanna was there. No one screamed for her,” he says of a filming set where female fans wanted Wu’s attention.
As one of France’s best-known directors, Besson says he aspires to rival Hollywood.
“I’m a big fan of international cinema ... I love all kinds of films ... seeing Chinese films, we have learned a lot about China,” he says.
Besson says he believes diversity is key to cinematic art.
“Sometimes, it’s difficult for local Chinese films or very French movies to go around the world. But they are specific and unique.”
Sometimes, it’s difficult for local Chinese films or very French movies to go around the world. But they are specific and unique.”