The French filmmaking king talks Lucy, The Fifth Element, The Professional and more.
Bessons distinct visual touches and highly kinetic style are very much evident inLucy.
And I said, What are you doing?
And she said, Im a professor and Im studying nuclear cells that get cancer.
So I was really not expecting at all to be next to a person like this.
And then we started to talk for hours and I got very excited about what I learned.
We became friends and I became a founder of an institute that does research about the brain.
I didnt want to mess up the thing.
The brain is very important.
You cant joke around.
But at the same time I wanted to do an entertaining film.
I didnt want to do a documentary.
So I tried to mix up the two to make a thriller with philosophical content.
Its very difficult, in fact, because youre on the edge all the time.
So you just have to find the right balance.
What do you mean shes gonna die?
Why do you tell me now shes gonna die?
Is she gonna really die?
I tried to put the moviegoer on the edge at the beginning so that anything can happen.
I was not at this level of knowledge.
They gave me information that was very new, but I tried to be around the basic things.
There are a lot of elements that we know for sure that were, for me, very interesting.
For me, there were four big pieces of what Lucy could eventually do.
The first one is the control of yourself.
The second one, the control of others.
The third is the control of matter.
And the fourth is the control of time.
They said thats definitely logical.
How did you come up with the visualization of the transformations that happen to Lucy and her brain?
I worked very early on with ILM and I was very happy with them.
They put together a bunch of artists and we worked a little differently than usual.
I basically gave them the subject and I let them create.
I let them come back to me with crazy ideas.
It was very free, you know.
We said, come back with everything you want.
Come back with crazy stuff, thats okay.
No pattern to follow or no guidance or things like this.
We did that for a month or two just to let their minds be totally free.
And some of the stuff was really crazy and totally out of purpose.
It was a very nice group to work with.
The biggest work we did was with Scarlett about being credible.
And if she was not playing it so well then it would be difficult to believe.
What made her right to play the role?
I met her and a couple of other actresses.
But Scarlett right away was very serious about it and she asked me lots of questions.
She read the script and called back: I like it.
I want to do it.
And then she bombarded me with questions for five hours.
She was very precise and very demanding and I liked that.
Youre constantly writing and producing films that you dont direct.
What makes you decide that you want to direct a particular project?
When I have the feeling that another director will miss it (laughs).
I felt useful on the film.
I need to feel useful.
I need to feel that I can bring something more.
What attracts you to the sci-fi genre?
Youve come back to it a few times.
Ive always worked with sci-fi since my first film.
So its never very far.
But I like going fromFifth ElementtoJoan of Arcand going fromThe FamilytoLucy.
So I like that.
But what attracts me also very much as a director is the cast.
To have Scarlett, who I really like Ive seen her on Broadway in her play.
Ive been there twice.
I love Morgan Freeman.
Choi Min-sik is a genius.
Amr Waked is a great Egyptian actor.
I read that you might direct a science fiction trilogy next.
Is that the case?
I read that too (laughs).
I dont know where it comes from.
Its always a problem.
But no, I dont even know what it refers to.
And the year after that, everything became digital and then you could shoot whatever you want.
And then it’s possible for you to doAvataror whatever.
That would be very exciting.
So yeah, its something I would love to do but there is nothing special in the air.
Would you be interested in returning to the universe ofThe Fifth Elementand telling a different story there?
I love the fantasy and its so enjoyable and so funny and fresh.
you’ve got the option to reinvent everything and yeah, its very enjoyable.
Has anything come to mind for that yet?
What about returning to the world of Mathilda fromLeon/The Professionaland following her as an adult?
The thing is, if I had a good idea I would have made it a long time ago.
But I never found an idea that satisfied me enough.
Well shes moving to Paris so that might be very convenient actually for you two to get together.
Yeah, it would be even more convenient if she was 19 years old.
I also understand thatTaken 3is nearing completion.
It finished three days ago.
The first two films were the same story in two parts.
The third one, we had to come up with something good, otherwise I wouldnt do it.
And we found something that I really like so we did it.
But no one is taken.
The dog is not taken (laughs).
What do you want people to take away fromLucy?
First if they come in, thank you.
Thats the first thing.
I love this feeling.
Lucyis out in theaters this Friday, July 25.
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