ROTTEN TOMATOES: Director Luc Besson Gives Up Camera for Civic Projects

Director Luc Besson Gives Up Camera for Civic Projects

by Binh Ngo | September 12, 2006

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Director Luc Besson tells the Associated Press that "Arthur et Les Minimoys" (Arthur and the Invisibles), which will open Jan 12, 2007 in the States, is his last movie as a director. The 47 year-old Besson says he will devote himself to civic projects from now on, including starting a foundation to help youths in France's inner cities.

"I want to take a little care of my fellow citizens. I want to take a little care of my planet. I want to act in favor of the inner cities, in favor of the environment. I want to do lots of things," he said to the AP.

Luc Besson is best known as the director of "La Femme Nikita," "The Professional" aka "Leon," and "The Fifth Element."

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(1-7 of 7 posts) | Reply

johnqpopcorn writes:
on Sep 12 2006 02:30 PM

[b]But as a producer?[/b]
He'll be missed as a director. But will he still produce? He's put out some good action product. Definately has a style.

(Reply to this)

lavatory love machine writes:
on Sep 12 2006 02:31 PM

weird, good for him, but I guess he could do both things if he wanted to

trailer for Arthur and the Minimoys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYaWRMZOoDE

(Reply to this)

TheIceGhost writes:
on Sep 12 2006 05:36 PM

:'( Leon is up there in my 'favorite movies' catalogue...he'll be missed...but ya never know, he could go help people for a couple years (certainly a good thing) and then decide he misses directing and come back. We can hope.

(Reply to this)

VML writes:
on Sep 12 2006 08:38 PM

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! He's an auteur! Its too bad he only directed a handful of films. And they were all good movies!

I was hoping to see new movies directed by Besson. Who knows, maybe he will get back to directing.

(Reply to this)

frogleg writes:
on Sep 13 2006 06:10 AM

Noble. But still sucks for us.

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Shaomaike writes:
on Sep 13 2006 08:03 AM

[b]Some good news for once[/b]
Some people will miss Luc, but not me. The "French Steven Spielberg"'s films are formulaic style-over-substance. Doing civic projects is certainly a better contribution to society than his films could ever be, we'll see if he accomplishes some positive change.

However, it doesn't say if he'll continue to produce or not. So we may yet see Besson-esque productions cluttering the cinematic landscape.

(Reply to this)

unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Sep 13 2006 09:24 AM

Well shit, this sucks. I really like Besson, The Fifth Element is way better than anything Spielberg has even come close to doing since Catch Me if You Can, and better than a vast amount of his films.

(Reply to this)