She can be Nefertiti and she can be from outer space."Ħ. "Milla has this physical thing, she can be from the past or the future," Besson said in 1997. One of them was Jovovich, who had taken a break from acting after " Dazed and Confused" three years earlier, in order to focus on her singing career. ![]() Besson said he saw 200 or 300 of those actresses read. The filmmakers auditioned 8,000 actresses to play mysterious, scantily clad heroine Leeloo. "I owed him one." He did his duty, but he didn't think much of his performance. Oldman, who'd played the villain in "The Professional," took the bad guy role of Zorg as a favor to Besson, who'd helped finance Oldman's directing debut, " Nil by Mouth." "It was me singing for my supper," Oldman recalled in 2011. "Sometimes I just do it because they're just fun," he said of his movie role choices in 1997, "and this was a real fun movie to make." He'd end up signing on for a reduced salary up front and a percentage of the profits.Ĥ. Ultimately, Besson thought he'd have to settle for a cheaper leading man, but in a chance conversation with Willis, the actor said that if he liked the script, he'd figure out a way to make the money work. He also sought Mel Gibson, who turned the part down.ģ. The filmmaker had approached Willis to star as heroic cabbie Korben Dallas back in the early 1990s, before he had financing in place. But it didn't reach the screen until he was 38 years old by that time, he felt he was old enough to actually have something to say about life.Ģ. Besson (above) said he started writing the screenplay when he was 16, creating the vivid fantasy universes to combat the boredom he experienced living in rural France. Here are the elements that made the film.ġ. Still, as many times as you've marveled (or snickered, or just gawked) at "The Fifth Element" on cable, there's a lot you may not know about the movie - its long gestation (22 years!), the hilarious story of how Tucker landed his role, and the production's scandalous off-screen love triangle. Some loved it, some hated it, but it was a box office hit around the world (for many years, the biggest French cinema export ever), and it remains a cult favorite today. Luc Besson's flamboyant, over-the-top sci-fi epic, starring a blond Bruce Willis, an androgynous Chris Tucker, a tragically-coiffed Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich left viewers stunned. “The Fifth Element” was nominated for eight César Awards, France’s top cinematic honor, and received three awards, including Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design.Twenty years after the release of " The Fifth Element" (on May 9, 1997), we still have one question: What in the world was that? The spectacular odyssey across space and time also stars Ian Holm as the mysterious Vito Cornelius, Chris Tucker as hyperactive radio host Ruby Rhod, and Luke Perry as Billy Masterson. The story was conceived by Besson when he was just 16. “The Fifth Element” became a passion project and took more than 20 years to bring to the screen. ![]() ![]() To save humanity, he must protect her from the evil industrialist Zorg (Gary Oldman), who is embroiled in an intergalactic war between the Mondoshawans and the Mangalores. From its opening scenes in 1914 Egypt to its towering views of 23rd Century New York City, and its mind-expanding journey to the faraway world of Fhloston Paradise, “The Fifth Element” follows cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) as he discovers that the fate of the world is contained within the mysterious Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), who literally drops from the sky and into his life.
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