io9: luc besson

Besson Plans Epic Return To Science Fiction

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:20:00 PST

The Fifth Element director Luc Besson is planning to start making a new science fiction movie next year, he told Collider. It's an epic saga, and it might be a trilogy or just a stand-alone film. He's also not sure whether he'll do it with a Hollywood studio, or make it in France. "It's a big story," he says, and what shape it takes will depend on the story and the characters. [Collider]

New Wave Highlander Gets Groovy with "Big Bill" in the Paris Subway

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:52:41 PDT

If you know Christopher Lambert for his fine work as a cross-temporal white ninja in Highlander — and who doesn't? — then you'll be thrilled to see him in his "new wave" incarnation. Luc "Fifth Element" Besson did a movie back in the 1980s called Subway, about futuristic hipsters living in (yes) the Paris subway. Basically it's a bunch of cute people in weird clothes talking in French and not having sword fights. Though this clip is hilariously dubbed into English, the hilarity is already in full effect as "Fred" (new wave Highlander) meets subway denizens "Big Bill" and rollerskating dude. Basically the entire point of this scene is to watch a man break handcuffs with his bare fists. Which is pretty much of the same awesomeness level as Highlander's perfect new wave puff of bleached blond. [Subway via IMDB]

Serial Killings Lead To A Surreal Luc Besson Nightmare

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:40:00 PDT

Director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) is making another science fiction thriller, starring Korean mega-star Dong Kun-Jang (Tae Guk Gi — The Brotherhood Of War). The as-yet-untitled action movie is based on a novel by a South Korean professor about a serial killer in New York, whose actions spark a series of unforeseen consequences. Milla Jovovich and Natalie Portman are "expected" to co-star in the French-Korean co-production, according to reports. [China Daily]

Frozen French Femme Fights Ferocious Fearsomes

Kevin Kelly — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:30:34 PST

Director Luc Besson's company EuropaCorp announced today that they have acquired the rights to Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adele Blanc-Sec, a French graphic novel series that's been published since 1976. Adele Blanc-Sec, a popular novelist turned journalist, investigates mysterious happenings as a sort of one-woman X-Files unit who wasn't afraid to "drink, smoke, and shoot like a man."

Jacques Tardi illustrated Adele's adventures, although he had to find a way to move her from the 1910s and out of World War I where "Her feisty nature made it impossible to provide her with a place in the war. She would not have been allowed to fight, and could no more have settled for being a nurse, than she could have remained home rolling bandages." So, he had her get stabbed through the heart, and then frozen until World War II, when she could have a much larger role.

Adele frequently had run-ins with prehistoric creatures, mad scientists, and conspiracy theories. She also wasn't afraid to dish out both bullets and fisticuffs, and she was sometimes aided in her escapades by a resurrected mummy which was brought back from the Middle East by her great grand-uncle. EuropaCorp is planning a three movie Aventures series to begin hitting theaters in 2009, and we wouldn't mind seeing a gun toting Audrey Tautou go head to head with a pterodactyl and Adele.

Besson buys 'Aventures' rights [Variety]

Must See: The Fifth Element

Annalee Newitz — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:42:48 PDT

Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale.

Title: The Fifth Element
Date: 1997

Vitals: A babe from another dimension teaches a hypercapitalist, urbanized world that love is the answer to all their problems - especially if love is wearing nothing more than bandages on her tits. Also, there are a bunch of flying car chase scenes.

Famous names: Luc Besson, Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman

Crunchy goodness: 2

Design breakthrough: Sometimes a breakthrough is a beta test that turns out to be woefully wrong. The Fifth Element demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that nobody wants the future to look like it was designed by aging French fashionistas who still think it's racy to reference the Virgin Mary.

Copycats: Thankfully there was no Sixth Element, but Fifth Element did launch the career of the world's first-ever female action star - Milla Jovovich. Sure there have been other women who played action roles, but Jovovich is the only one to play solely action heroes (see her wildly popular Resident Evil series). Hopefully her action hero career will not follow the trajectory of Arnold Schwarzenegger's, because that would mean she'd have to star in a series of terrible comedies before becoming a homophobic politician.

Sights you'll never unsee: The costumes.

Fifth Element - Script, Multimedia, Character Descriptions...