Angel-A
Luc Besson Talks Angel-A
"Sometimes less," he bragged. "Not one take. A few takes but let’s take for example the scene at the end, just the scene where they fight on the bridge. And she’s crying and she pushes him and they finally kiss, the entire scene is made in an hour. We rehearse so much, the funniest thing was in fact the day before when we go just Rie [Rassmussen], Jaumel [Debbouze] and me, the three of us on the bridge, at the real bridge by night, we don’t care, just to rehearse. There is always some Japanese or just tourist, 'What are they doing?' Because they’re fighting and I’m just here watching."
Perhaps it helped that he rehearsed for months so that there would be no mistakes in those stolen shots. "When we come, we know exactly [what to do.] They get out of the trailer, they go to the thing, camera comes, action. We know. It’s just like putting the stamp. And this scene for example, it’s two steadicam at the same time, so watching the making of from far, that was insane. To see them screaming and the two steadicam going all on the bridge going up and down and up and down, it was very funny. And when they arrive to the place where they’re finally going to kiss at the end, I have a third camera waiting so when they arrive to the right setup, with two steadicams, then I take the third one. During the shot, I take a third one on the shoulder to have a close-up of the two."
Being an icon of French cinema made it a little easier for Besson. If he ever got caught on a location, the cops looked the other way. "It’s the good thing about being popular. A few times the cops arrived and I just smiled and said, 'Hey, it’s me.' ''Oh, Mr. Besson, can we take a picture?' They’re sweet in France, the cops honestly. It’s not tough as here. Here where they ask for my paper, I don’t crack jokes. I’m like okay. You really feel strong which is, in a way which is good."
It has been seven years since Besson got a directing credit on a film, but he has not disappeared. He has been writing and producing, and spending most of his time overseeing animation on this year's earlier release Arthur and the Invisibles. Going back to France for his first-live action film in over a decade was simply dictated by the story.
"Nikita looks like a kind of action film in a way but it was French for me in my head. It was French. It’s how the French government looks, very polite and buildings and things and how they can hide things. They are the specialists of that. They are worse than the Americans. But when I go to Leon for example, I love the fact Leon is from Italy and is an immigrant in New York and New York is so big and he’s so small that he’s invisible. I feel the film more in English in New York. I’m really driven by the story in fact. The fact that I’m pretty naked in this film. I’m 45 years old and I talk about this man who lied all his life and decided not to anymore, which is really the story of every man. So because I was so naked, I think the fact to be in French, to be in Paris was closest to me. I would lie a little more if it was in English in another city. It would be another way of hiding myself more."
Angel-A opens to theatres on May 25th.
For the trailer and more movie info, go to the Angel-A
Movie Page.
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