Exclusive: Producer Virginie Besson-Silla On ‘Valerian and the City of the Thousand Planets‘Posted by Wilson Morales
July 20, 2017
Out in theaters this week is the visually spectacular sci-fi film Valerian and the City of the Thousand Planets, directed by Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy)
Based on the French science fiction comics series Valérian and Laureline, The cast includes Dane DeHaan as Valerian and Cara Delevingne as Laureline, with Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu and Rutger Hauer in supporting roles.
In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha-an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other. There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
Co-producing the film is his business partner and wife Virginie Besson-Silla, who has been producing films for over a decade with films such The Lady and the blockbuster film Lucy. That film starred Scarlett Johansson and grossed nearly $500M worldwide. With a production budget of over $209 million, ‘Valerian’ is considered the most expensive independent film ever made, especially for a black producer.
In speaking exclusively with Blackfilm.com, Besson-Silla talks about putting Valerian together, from the financing to the cast, as well as discussing Luc’s passion for films.
Is this your biggest project to date?
Virginie Besson-Silla: Biggest in terms of budget and scale? Yes
Having bought the rights to the film years ago, what made this the right time to make it?
Virginie Besson-Silla: It took some time because we’re coming in as an independent. We’re not a big studio movie. It takes time to put the finance together and it starts off with the script. You have to make sure that you have the write script and it involves that type of investment. You don’t want to be messing around, basically.
With a film this big in terms of set design, production costs and other factors, what were the challenges you overcame to make it through?
Virginie Besson-Silla: There wasn’t one main issue. I think it was most important in making the right decision at the right time and making sure that we didn’t leave out anything to the side. Everything had to be prepared to the detail. We had to work with all the department heads and make sure that communication was working. A lot of times, people aren’t getting the information and then problems arise. Just like being in a family, sometimes you don’t talk but on a movie scale, we couldn’t afford to lose any type of information. I think that was the biggest challenge, the organization of all of that and putting everything together.
Can you talk about putting together the cast, from Dane and Cara to Rihanna and then Herbie Hancock?
Virginie Besson-Silla: For the two leads, the movie is based on a comic book with two characters, and Luc wanted some fresh faces. I hate seeing the 20th movie with so and so. I love to go in a movie all fresh and not knowing anything; and same for the actors who were going to be Valerian and Laureline. Luc wanted some young people and he met Dane and after five minutes, he knew he was the character. Luc’s been reading this comic book since he was ten years old. He knew exactly who his Valerian was. To choose Laureline, he met with Cara several times. The character is ass-kicking and is this duo with Valerian, so we needed someone strong. Luc met with her several times and got her to do several exercises to make sure she was serious about doing this.
As for Herbie Hancock, Luc has been a huge fan since he was a teenager and he thought it would be fun to have him in this part. When they met, it was a nice chemistry. The same goes for Rutger Hauer, who was in Blade Runner. Luc thought it was important in a big sic-fi movie to make an homage to Blade Runner, which is a big classic and cult film. With Rihanna, the character she plays is very special. She’s Bubble. She was the first person Luc thought of for the role and we were like, “Why not? Let’s give it a try. We’ll never know until we ask.” She was very excited about it as well. I think when the audience sees her in that part, it’s not like we took her for the name. We wanted her as an actress and I think she’s just perfect for the part. With all the other parts, when we did the casting, we just try to find the best fit for the role and it’s never the other way around. It’s not about wanting to work with an actor first. These are my characters. This is my story and this is the emotion I want, so let me find the best people to fit in this.
Having worked for over a decade as a producer, how much did the success of Lucy change your outlook on films? Did you get more scripts? Are you looking for bigger projects?
Virginie Besson-Silla: No. Honestly, each movie is unique. When I decide to produce a film, it’s never about the size or the budget. It’s falling in love with the story. When I did the film ‘The Lady,’ it was a small movie. No one was making any money on it. It was amazing story about a woman who had been under house arrest for 27 years and gave her life to her country. She did it in peace and now she’s the president of the country. Moving on to Valerian, we had the rights for many years. We felt the technology was ready. At the same time, the great numbers we got from Lucy made it easier to go and reach out to financiers. Things fall in place at the right time.
How do you feel as a female of color about this wave of attention that women behind the camera are starting to get and finally?
Virginie Besson-Silla: I’m very proud. I hope there’s much more. What I hope deeply is that we don’t look at a producer because it’s a woman or because she’s Black or Asian or whatever. The best is when you don’t look at any criteria anymore. You just look at a movie. I hope that soon enough that’s the way people will be looking at films.
What other projects are you looking to do?
Virginie Besson-Silla: I have to say that I’m extremely exhausted after Valerian because it’s been a long journey. So, I’m just taking breathe and looking around and I just want to work on something where my heart will say that, “that’s the one.” On the longer term, I’ve been wanting to make a movie set in Africa, but I don’t want to miss that one.
In regards to Luc, are you able to separate the relationship between family and business?
Virginie Besson-Silla: It’s pretty easy. Before we worked together, we were actually working together. I was working for his company and we always had a relationship of respect and we have that when we’re making a film or bringing up our kids. It’s always about the respect. It’s about helping the other to grow. That’s more or less how we try to do it.
Can you talk about the passion that he has for the films that he’s done?
Virginie Besson-Silla: There’s definitely his way of doing films. Again, there certain of his films that you would have no idea that he made them. The one thing that’s common in all his films is the honestly that he puts in them. He really does them in a way where’s he free to put in whatever he wants and he would put all his energy into it. He doesn’t do a movie because it’s a work for hire. Never would he do that. All the passion he puts in the films comes straight from the heart. He’s also attached to the technique and the frame and the quality of the actors. There’s not one moment of embarrassment.
Should anyone be reading the comic books to get an understanding of the characters or is the film different?
Virginie Besson-Silla: I think the film holds on its own but people should definitely read the comic books because all of them are so rich. They were rich in the 70s and visionary and fun.
