Luc Besson

Luc Besson

18 March 1959

A French film director, writer, and producer. He was born in Paris. At the age of 17, Besson had a diving accident that left him unable to dive. He said in a 2000 interview with The Guardian: "The day after I went back to see my mum and told her that I was going to make films and stop school and 'bye. And I did it! Very soon after I made a short film and it was very, very bad. I wanted to prove that I could do something, so I made a short film. That was in fact my main concern, to be able to show that I could do one." In 1980, he founded his own production company, called Les Films du Loup, and later Les Films du Dauphin. This was superseded in 2000 by his co-founding EuropaCorp film company with his longtime collaborator, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam. Besson has been involved with filmmaking for more than 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer. 

Besson has known for directing and producing thrillers and action films that are visually rich. 

As director, writer, producer

• L'Avant Dernier (1981)
• Le Dernier Combat (1983)
• Subway (1985)
• Kamikaze (1986)
• The Big Blue (1988)
• Nikita (1990)
• Atlantis (1991)
• Cold Moon (1991)
• Léon: The Professional (1994)
• Nil by Mouth (1997)
• The Fifth Element (1997)
• Taxi (1998)
• The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
• Taxi 2 (2000)
• The Dancer (2000)
• Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
• Wasabi (2001)
• Yamakasi (2001)
• La Turbulence des fluides (2002)
• The Transporter (2002)
• Cheeky (2003)
• Fanfan la Tulipe (2003)
• Les Côtelettes (2003)
• Michel Vaillant (2003)
• Taxi 3 (2003)
• District 13 (2004)
• Taxi (2004)
• Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse (2004)
• Angel-A (2005)
• Bunker Paradise (2005)
• Colour Me Kubrick (2005)
• Imposture (2005)
• Revolver (2005)
• The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
• Transporter 2 (2005)
• Unleashed (2005)
• Ze film (2005)
• Au suivant! (2005)
• Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
• Bandidas (2006)
• Love and Other Disasters (2006)
• Nuovomondo (2006)
• When I Was a Singer (2006)
• Dikkenek (2006)
• Tell No One (2006)
• Michou d'Auber (2007)
• L'Invité (2007)
• The Secret (2007)
• Taxi 4 (2007)
• Hitman (2007)
• Frontier(s) (2007)
• Taken (2008)
• Transporter 3 (2008)
• District 13: Ultimatum (2009)
• Home (2009)
• Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009)
• I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
• Staten Island (2009)
• From Paris with Love (2010)
• The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)
• Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (2010)
• 22 Bullets (2010)
• The Lady (2011)
• Colombiana (2011)
• The Source (2011)
• A Monster in Paris (2011)
• Lockout (2012)
• Taken 2 (2012)
• Transporter: The Series (2012)
• No Limit (2012)
• Collision (2013)
• The Family (2013)
• Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (2013)
• 3 Days to Kill (2013)
• Brick Mansions (2014)
• Lucy (2014)
• The Homesman (2014)
• Taken 3 (2015)
• The Transporter: Refueled (2015)
• Save Kids Lives (2015)
• Shut In (2016)
• Nine Lives (2016)
• Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
• The Lake (2017)

Quotations

* * *

It's always the small people who change things. It's never the politicians or the big guys. I mean, who pulled down the Berlin wall? It was all the people in the streets. The specialists didn't have a clue the day before.

* * *

I'm always attracted by people who are lost in their time. I think it helps us.

* * *

I would rather stop too soon than too late.

* * *

After six, seven films, I started to get a little tired. Shooting takes a lot out of you.

* * *

I think we have the wrong notion of commercial and intellectual or artistic film. Because all films are commercial.

* * *

You know sometimes you're in a position of risk and you feel that you can turn good or bad.

* * *

I wanted to prove that I could do something, so I made a short film. That was in fact my main concern, to be able to show that I could do one.

* * *

I said if I made 10 films in my life, I would be very lucky. That's how I meant it. My fear after my first one was whether they would let me make another one, so I had this goal in my head.

* * *