Luc Besson

Highest Rated: 89% La Femme Nikita (1990)

Lowest Rated: Not Available

Birthday: Mar 18, 1959

Birthplace: Paris, France

Admired in the U.S. as an ersatz French Steven Spielberg and reviled by his home country's critical elite as the man who ruined Franco cinema, writer-director-producer Luc Besson was inarguably one of the most commercially successful and prolific filmmakers ever to emerge from Europe. After establishing the slick, visual aesthetic known as "Cinéma du look" with early efforts like "Subway" (1985), "The Big Blue" (1988) and "La Femme Nikita" (1990), Besson officially crossed over to Hollywood with the films "The Professional" (1994) and "The Fifth Element" (1997). Following the disappointment of his historical epic "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" (1999), he returned - usually as a writer-producer - to stories featuring hard luck heroes and spectacular chase sequences in genre movies like "Kiss of the Dragon" (2001), "The Transporter" (2002) and "Unleashed" (2005). Amongst the numerous writing and producing projects, Besson occasionally directed more personal films, among them the low-budget fantasy-romance "Angel-A" (2005) and the family adventure "Arthur and the Invisibles" (2006), based on a series of books authored by Besson himself. Even as he neared the 30-year mark in his career, Besson continued to rack up impressive writer-producer credits on such international smash hits as "Taken" (2008). A self professed purveyor of populist entertainment, Besson's strongest response to his detractors was his lengthy career - one that allowed him the freedom to produce precisely the films he wanted to make.

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Filmography

Movies

			Credit
34%	81%	Anna	Director, Screenwriter, Producer	$7.7M	2019
0%	30%	Taxi 5	Producer	-	2018
11%	40%	Renegades	Screenwriter, Producer	-	2017
47%	53%	Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets	Director, Screenwriter, Producer	$40.4M	2017
50%	25%	The Warrior's Gate	Screenwriter, Producer	-	2016
16%	30%	The Transporter Refueled	Screenwriter, Producer	$16.0M	2015
13%	43%	Taken 3	Screenwriter, Producer	$89.3M	2014
80%	52%	The Homesman	Producer	$2.4M	2014
67%	47%	Lucy	Director, Screenwriter	$126.5M	2014
26%	47%	Brick Mansions	Screenwriter	$20.4M	2014
28%	43%	3 Days to Kill	Screenwriter	$30.7M	2014
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	The Boy With the Cuckoo-Clock Heart	Producer	-	2013
77%	66%	The Boy With the Cuckoo-Clock Heart	Producer	-	2013
28%	41%	The Family	Director, Screenwriter	$114.5K	2013
No Score Yet	41%	(Almost) Charming	Screenwriter, Producer	-	2013
No Score Yet	28%	A Blind Man	Producer	-	2012
22%	52%	Taken 2	Screenwriter, Producer	$139.9M	2012
37%	46%	Lockout	Screenwriter	$14.3M	2012
87%	65%	A Monster in Paris	Producer	-	2011
36%	62%	The Lady	Director	-	2011
27%	67%	Colombiana	Screenwriter, Producer	$36.7M	2011
70%	68%	The Source	Producer	-	2011
85%	54%	The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec	Director, Screenwriter, Writer	-	2010
20%	42%	Arthur and the Two Worlds War	Director, Screenwriter, Producer	-	2010
46%	55%	22 Bullets	Producer	-	2010
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Arthur and the Two Worlds War	Director, Screenwriter, Producer	-	2010
0%	33%	Arthur and the Great Adventure	Director, Screenwriter, Producer	-	2009
71%	61%	I Love You Phillip Morris	Executive Producer	$2.0M	2009
75%	55%	District 13: Ultimatum	Screenwriter, Producer, Writer	$36.0K	2009
0%	86%	Home	Producer	-	2009
14%	No Score Yet	Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard	Director, Producer, Screenwriter	-	2009
59%	85%	Taken	Screenwriter, Producer	$145.0M	2008
40%	48%	Transporter 3	Screenwriter, Producer	$31.3M	2008
No Score Yet	42%	Taxi 4	Writer, Producer	-	2007
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	My Very Best Friend	Executive Producer	-	2007
20%	57%	Love and Other Disasters	Executive Producer	-	2006
22%	56%	Arthur and the Invisibles	Director, Writer, Producer	$15.1M	2006
56%	43%	Bandidas	Writer, Producer	-	2006
15%	56%	Revolver	Producer	$75.4K	2005
45%	74%	Angel-A	Director, Writer, Producer	$202.2K	2005
52%	41%	Color Me Kubrick	Executive Producer	$70.7K	2005
85%	81%	The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada	Producer	$5.0M	2005
52%	58%	Transporter 2	Producer, Writer	$43.1M	2005
66%	75%	Unleashed	Writer, Producer	$24.5M	2005
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Bunker Paradise	Producer	-	2005
No Score Yet	45%	The Crimson Rivers II: The Angels of the Apocalypse	Writer	-	2004
80%	78%	District B13	Writer, Producer	$1.2M	2004
9%	43%	Taxi	Writer, Producer	$36.6M	2004
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Ze film	Co-Producer	-	2004
85%	84%	Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior	Executive Producer	$4.6M	2003
No Score Yet	43%	Les Côtelettes	Producer	-	2003
41%	67%	Switchblade Romance	Producer	$3.6M	2003
No Score Yet	51%	Taxi 3	Producer, Writer	-	2003
14%	43%	Fanfan la Tulipe	Producer, Writer	$28.4K	2003
No Score Yet	46%	Michel Vaillant	Writer	-	2003
54%	73%	The Transporter	Writer, Producer	$25.3M	2002
56%	70%	Chaos and Desire	Producer	-	2002
43%	69%	Wasabi	Writer, Producer	$81.5K	2001
No Score Yet	45%	August 15th	Producer	-	2001
52%	68%	Kiss of the Dragon	Producer, Writer	$36.8M	2001
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Yamakasi	Screenwriter, Writer, Producer	$184.4K	2001
No Score Yet	67%	The Dancer	Writer, Producer	-	2000
No Score Yet	70%	Taxi 2	Writer, Producer	$729.8K	2000
31%	58%	The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc	Director, Writer	$14.3M	1999
No Score Yet	81%	Taxi	Writer, Producer	$138.5K	1998
71%	86%	The Fifth Element	Director, Writer	$63.7M	1997
68%	87%	Nil by Mouth	Producer	$268.9K	1997
74%	95%	The Professional	Director, Screenwriter	$19.0M	1994
52%	50%	Point of No Return	Writer	$27.5M	1993
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Sirga	Executive Producer	-	1993
No Score Yet	75%	Atlantis	Director, Co-Producer, Cinematographer, Film Editor	-	1991
89%	84%	La Femme Nikita	Director, Writer, Co-Producer	$5.0M	1990
62%	93%	The Big Blue	Director, Writer, Writer	$2.9M	1988
75%	75%	Subway	Director	-	1985
67%	68%	Le Dernier Combat	Director, Screenwriter, Producer	-	1983

TV

			Credit
32%	66%	Taken	Executive Producer	2017-2018
83%	85%	James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction	Guest	2018
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Tavis Smiley	Guest	2017
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	No Limit	Creator, Writer	2012-2015