Director of La Femme Nikita

Background:

“I was never polluted by the world of cinema. I didn't even have a TV until I was 16. My expression is a reflection of the world I have seen, and in that world everyone was barefoot in bathing suits, following the order of the sea, the natural order of sunrise and sunset. I never went to the cinémathèque. I didn't know much about the masters of world cinema.” Luc Besson

French movie director, scriptwriter and producer Luc Besson was launched to prominence at age 24 with his auspicious debut “Le Dernier Combat/The Final Combat” (1983), which he directed, produced and co-wrote and won many awards, including an Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Award, two Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival Awards, three Fantasporto Awards and a César nomination. It was followed by the huge blockbuster hits “Subway” (1985) and “The Big Blue” (1988, won a National Academy of Cinema Award), but it was his next project that brought Besson real Hollywood fame. “Nikita/La Femme Nikita” (1990, earned an Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Award), starring his then wife, Anne Parillau, became his biggest hit to date and has inspired the 1993 remake “Point of No Return” and a TV series of the same name, which was aired on the USA cable network from 1997 to 2001. Known for using Jean Reno in many of his films, Besson further created a good reputation in Hollywood with “The Professional” (1994, nabbed a Czech Lions Award), “The Fifth Element” (1997, won a César Award and a Lumiere Award) and “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” (1999, won two Lumiere Awards), his last directorial effort before 2005's “Angel-A.” As a producer, the founder of Les Films du Dauphin, a production company he set up in the early 1980s, has lent his producing talents on such noted movies as the “Taxi” series, “The Transporter” series as well as the Jet Li starring vehicles “Kiss of the Dragon” (2001) and “Unleashed” (2005). He picked up a BAFTA Award and a Western Heritage Award for producing the Gary Oldman-directed/written “Nil by Mouth” (1997) and “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” (2005), respectively.

Recently producing and co-writing “Taken” (2008), starring Liam Neeson, Besson, who was the president of the jury at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, is now serving as the director and producer of the upcoming “Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard” (2009) and “Arthur and the Two Worlds War” (2010). Other upcoming work includes producing the films “Staten Island” (2008), “Home” (2008), “Ruby Tuesday” (2008), “Transporter 3” (2009) and “Haunted Heart” (2009), among others.

Now the husband of Virginie Silla, a movie producer whom he married in 2004, Besson has a total of five daughters: Juliette (born in 1987; mother first wife Anne Parillaud), Shana (born in 1993, mother: model-girlfriend Maïwenn Le Besco), as well as Talia (born in 2001), Satine (born in 2003) and Mao (born in 2005), who are from his latest marriage.

Ingenious Luc

Childhood and Family:

Luc Besson was born on March 18, 1959, in Paris, France, to scuba diving instructors. Because of his parents’ occupation, young Luc spent much of his early years traveling with them to such tourist resorts as Greece, the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Italy and was inspired to become a marine biologist. At age 10, Luc moved back to France shortly after his parents divorced.

A tragedy struck seven years later when Luc had a diving accident that made him unable to dive. As a result, he was forced to forget his childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist and find another career opportunity. He moved to Paris after his recovery to finish school, but decided to drop out as soon as he discovered film and television. Luc started experimenting with a Super-8 camera and took odds jobs to gain experience. At age 19, he relocated to Hollywood and spent the next three years studying and working on American film.

A creative youth, Luc wrote the early drafts of “Grand bleu, Le” (1988) and “The Fifth Element” (1997).

Luc has been married three times. His first marriage to Paris-born actress Anne Parillaud ended in separation after producing a daughter, Juliette Besson (born in 1987). Parillaud starred as Nikita in the 1990 thriller film of the same name, which was written and directed by Luc. He then dated model Maïwenn Le Besco and had a daughter named Shana Besson in 1993. After the relationship ended, he married actress Milla Jovovich on December 14, 1997, but they later divorced on June 12, 1999. He remarried on August 28, 2004, to third and present wife Virginie Silla, a movie producer. The couple has three girls, Talia Besson (born on August 1, 2001), Satine Besson (born in May 2003) and Mao Besson (born on September 16, 2005).

Le Dernier Combat

Career:

Following a serious diving accident at age 17, Paris-born Luc Besson left behind his childhood ambition of becoming a marine biologist to try his hand at filmmaking. He quit school and lived in Hollywood for three years to learn about American movies. Upon returning to Paris, Besson worked as an assistant director on the films “Deux lions au soleil/Two Lions in the Sun” (1980), by director Claude Faraldo, and Raphaël Delpard's “Bidasses aux grandes manoeuvres, Les” (1981), in which he also served as a casting director, and made music videos in addition to continuing his experimentation with various kinds of film. It was also in 1981 that the budding filmmaker directed his first short film, “L'Avant-Dernier,” whose score was composed by Éric Serra.

In 1982, Besson set up a production company called “Les Film du Loup,” which was later renamed “Les Films du Dauphin,” and made his motion picture directorial debut the following year with “Le Dernier Combat/The Final Combat,” which he co-penned with Pierre-Alain Jolivet and also produced. A calamity drama hailed for its spectacular black-and-white photography and brave lack of dialog, the film became a festival favorite worldwide and collected a number of honors, including a Special Jury Award at the prestigious Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, two Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival awards for Best Director and Best Film, a Critic's Prize from the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film as well as an Audience Jury Award and two International Fantasy Films for Best Director and Best Film at the Fantasporto/Festival Internacional de Cinema do Por. It also brought a César nomination for Best First Work. 1983 also saw Besson serve as second unit director on “Le Grand Carnaval,” for director Alexandre Arcady.

A year after producing the short “Ne quittez pas,” Besson returned to the director's chair for his second film, “Subway” (1985), which starred Christopher Lambert and Isabelle Adjani. The funny and carefree crime/drama was a cult hit in France and earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and César nominations for Best Director and Best Film. The next year, he teamed up with director Didier Grousset to write the screenplay of “Kamikaze,” a thriller which marked Besson's first film he produced but did not direct.

He next worked on the underwater epic “Grand bleu, Le/The Big Blue,” which was released in 1988. Starring Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr and Jean Reno, the movie received commercial success in Europe. For his effort, Besson won an Academy Award from the National Academy of Cinema (France) and his next César nomination.

Eventually, Besson scored a hit in the United States with his forth film, “Nikita/La Femme Nikita” (1990). Starring then-wife Anne Parillaud, the action/thriller was so successful in America that it prompted the alarming remake “Point of No Return” (1993), by director John Badham and starring Bridget Fonda, and a 1997-2001 television series on the USA cable network starring Peta Wilson in the titular role.

Following his Hollywood breakthrough, Besson worked in “Atlantis” (1991), an unnoticed documentary centering on the beauty of nautical life in which he shared cinematography duties and served as co-producer in addition to sitting in the director's chair. He then executive produced the based-on-novel “The Lion Child” (1993) for director Patrick Grandperret and directed Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman and Danny Aiello in the 1994 action/crime movie “The Professional.”

In 1997, Besson enjoyed a box office success with “The Fifth Element,” a Sci-Fi adventure film he directed and wrote and which starred Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and soon-to-be-wife Milla Jovovich. Hugely popular in France, the film brought the outstanding filmmaker a César and a Lumiere in the category of Best Director (both 1998) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing. Still in 1997, Besson produced “Nil by Mouth,” directed and scripted by Gary Oldman, and jointly nabbed BAFTA's Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film. He next produced and wrote Gérard Pirès' “Taxi” (1998) and ventured into historical drama with the epic “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” (1999), a box office failure which he directed, co-wrote and co-produced and starred wife Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman. The film brought Besson two Lumiere awards for Best Director and Best Film.

Following the failure of “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc,” Besson put his directorial career on hold for several years, during which time he focused more on producing films, many of which he also wrote. His producing credits include “Taxi 2” (2000), Fred Garson's “The Dancer” (2000), “Kiss of the Dragon” (2001, starred Jet Li and Bridget Fonda), Gérard Krawczyk's “Wasabi” (2001, starred Jean Reno), the Jason Statham vehicle “The Transporter” (2002, also a writer), “Taxi 3” (2003) and Tim Story's “Taxi” (2004, starred Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon). In 2005, Besson produced and penned the screenplay for “Unleashed,” which starred Jet Li and Morgan Freeman, and did the same duties for the sequel “Transporter 2.” For his producing effort in “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” (2005), directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones, he shared a Western Heritage Bronze Wrangler for Outstanding Theatrical Motion Picture. Also in 2005, he returned to the director's chair with the comedy/fantasy “Angel-A” (2005), starring Rie Rasmussen in the title role. Next, Besson helmed the animated “Arthur et les Minimoys” (2006) and the documentary “Arthur and the Invisibles: The Making of the Year's Greatest Adventure” (2007). He also wrote the French martial arts melodrama “District B13” (2006) and produced such movies as “Taxi 4” (2007, also a writer), “The Dinner Guest” (2007), “The Secret” (2007) and “Hitman” (2007).

Recently, Besson produced and co-wrote the Liam Neeson action vehicle “Taken” (2008). He is scheduled to produce ten upcoming movies, including “Staten Island” (2008), “Home” (2008), “Ruby Tuesday” (2008), “Transporter 3” (2009), “Haunted Heart” (2009), “Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard” (2009) and “Arthur and the Two Worlds War” (2010). Besson also serves as a director for the latter two projects.

Awards:

• Western Heritage: Bronze Wrangler, Outstanding Theatrical Motion Picture, “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” 2006

• Montréal World Film Festival: Grand Prix Special des Amériques, For his exceptional contribution to the cinematographic art, 2002

• Lumiere (France): Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur), “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc,” 2000

• Lumiere (France): Best Film,” The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc,” 2000

• Lumiere (France): Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur), “The Fifth Element,” 1998

• César: Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur), “The Fifth Element,” 1998

• BAFTA: Alexander Korda Award, Best British Film, “Nil by Mouth,” 1998 (Shared with:

• Douglas Urbanski and Gary Oldman)

• Czech Lions: Best Foreign Language Film (Nejlepsí zahranicní film) “Léon,” 1996

• Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Silver Ribbon, Best Director - Foreign Film (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero), “Nikita,” 1991

• National Academy of Cinema (France): Academy Award, “Grand bleu, Le,” 1989

• Fantasporto: Audience Jury Award, Special Mention, “Dernier combat, Le,” 1984

• Fantasporto: International Fantasy Film, Best Director, “Dernier combat, Le,” 1984

• Fantasporto: Best Film, “Dernier combat, Le,” 1984

• Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival: Special Jury Award, “Dernier combat, Le,” 1983

• Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film: Critic's Prize, “Dernier combat, Le,” 1983

• Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival: Caixa de Catalunya, Best Director, “Dernier combat, Le,” 1983

• Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival: Best Film, “Dernier combat, Le,” 1983