MattBrady
01-09-2007, 07:06 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/ArthurInvisibles/ArthurandtheInvisiblesposter1.jpg" border="0" align="right"><i>by Daniel Robert Epstein</i>
As the director and producer of films like <i>Léon: The Professional, Le Femme Nikita, The Transporter</i> and <i>The Fifth Element</i> and many more, Luc Besson has long been seen as a master in the modern action genre. Understandably, many fans balked when Besson announced he was embarking to create a partially 3D animated children’s movie called <i>Arthur and the Invisibles</i>.
But Besson was able to subvert some of the pains that Pixar and DreamWorks go through when creating their 3D animated films - his production team came up with a system where they would shoot live action without wireframes and dots that are usually needed for CGI or motion capture. As a result, the process allowed the animation to have a very unique look, strongly influenced by acclaimed artist/designer Patrice Garcia.
As for the film’s story, its central character is a young boy named Arthur, who in the 1960’s, lives alone with his grandmother while his parents find work. At his grandmother’s, Arthur is told many fanciful tales about the small, invisible people that live in the backyard of his grandmother’s house and guard a fortune in rubies, buried there by Arthur’s grandfather.
When a wealthy landowner threatens to foreclose on the grandmother’s home, Arthur does what any child would do – he seeks out the elvish Minimoys and enters their world in order to find the hidden treasure and save his grandmother’s house. I got a chance to talk with Besson at the recent junket for <i>Arthur and the Invisibles in Manhattan</I>.
<b>Newsarama</b>: I read that you said Arthur was a retreat to childhood. I know that the last film you directed, <i>The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc</I>, was a very difficult film to shoot and then you started Arthur a year later. Was it the difficulties surrounding that film which make you want to retreat to childhood?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/ArthurInvisibles/ArthurandtheInvisiblespic1.jpg" border="0" align="left"><b>Luc Besson</b>: No, not so much. When I saw the character of Arthur for the first time, I realized at that precise moment that I had so many things I wanted to say to the kids of the world that I’ve never said. I never talked about my childhood. When I saw this character I realized I never once did talk about it.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What made you not talk about your childhood?
<B>LB</B>: It was not on purpose. It was that the subjects passing in front of me were <i>The Professional, Nikita</i> or <i>Joan of Arc</i> or <i>Fifth Element</i>, so I was never about to do a story about children. Those ideas stayed there for years without being used. When the character of Arthur was shown to me I thought “Hold on, hold on, we have a lot of story for him.”
<B>NRAMA</B>: Speaking of your other work, Princess Selenia reminded me of Leeloo [played by Milla Jovovich in <i>The Fifth Element</i>].
<B>LB</B>: It’s not me. It’s [<i>Arthur and the Invisibles</i> art director] Patrice Garcia. He comes with drawings of each character and ideas. The funny thing is, Princess Selenia changed color like ten times.
<B>NRAMA</B>: I read that she was the character that took the longest to visualize.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/ArthurInvisibles/PrincessSelenia-ArthurandtheInvisiblespic1.jpg" border="0" align="right"><B>LB</B>: Yes, three years overall.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Is that because she looks very much like a realistic girl?
<B>LB</B>: Yes when you have somebody eccentric, like Maltazard [voiced by David Bowie] it’s pretty easy.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Or even the brother, Betameche [voiced by Jimmy Fallon].
<B>LB</B>: Yeah, the brother was the first one to get finished. The two ones who were very difficult were Arthur and Selenia because they were real.
<B>NRAMA</B>: I was surprised that you wanted to work with Jimmy Fallon after he was in the remake of <i>Taxi</i>.
<B>LB</B>: He’s a cool guy. He’s a sweetheart and he’s so funny. When you get older it’s very important to work with nice people. I don’t want to work with stars and their entourage. Jimmy arrived wearing a t-shirt and said, “Hey buddy, how are you?” Then he cracks jokes.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Was working with Patrice Garcia at all similar to working with Moebius on <i>The Fifth Element</i>?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/ArthurInvisibles/Maltazard.jpg" border="0" align="left"><B>LB</B>: I would say that Patrice is probably the new Moebius. Patrice worked on <i>The Fifth Element</i> for two years. When Moebius was working on <i>The Fifth Element</i>, Patrice was 22 years old, so he was feeling like the master was coming. I think he learned from Moebius. Now Patrice is really complete. He’s really full. He’s at his best level right now and he invents all the characters and the worlds.
<B>NRAMA</B>: As I watched this movie, it felt like the animation was straining not to be 3D. I remember when Brad Bird was making <i>The Incredibles</i>, he said that he wanted to make the animation look real and dirty. But it was a long process because 3D wants to make everything look smooth and seamless. I didn’t read until later that you shot much of the actor’s movements and sets in live action and then the 3D was molded over that.
<B>LB</B>: Yes since we had the live action as a reference, we had the real nature all the time so because we were obliged to wait forever on the 3D. When you’re just 3D all along, it’s easy. Half of the film is real, the rocks, the grass, the piece of wood, the river. There are some shots where it’s real water running not a fake one. Some of the shots of the nuts are real nuts and some are not. That’s why we have to put some dirt and shadows and wind and everything everywhere.
<B>NRAMA</B>: In regards to the environment and overall theme of the movie, many people are talking about the preponderance of a “message” in another animated feature aimed at kids, <i>Happy Feet</i>. Mia Farrow told me that there is a lot of symbolism in <i>Arthur and the Invisibles</i> such as the fact that in the backyard the villain’s lair is right underneath an oil pipe to associate the bad guys with the oil industry. Since I just saw the film last night I didn’t think about those things but I still enjoyed the movie. How important is it for you to not put the message too much in people’s faces?
<B>LB</B>: Never knock people over. Never. You put the film on the table and you let them see what they want, that’s my philosophy. I hate people knocking you over with the thing. At the same time we’re not here just to please the people the way they want. We put the food on the table, we put out some salt and pepper and Tabasco and you let the people find out if they like it on their own. That’s my philosophy. I love to put a lot of layers into a film because you’re going to watch the film once, and then you’re going to watch it on TV or DVD in five years and then you start to see new things. I really try to work that kind of stuff into the deep tissue. When I was making [La Femme] <i>Nikita</i> I was against cinema of the ‘80s where all the heroes had big muscles and the girls were crying and they never did anything. I said, “God, the girls they need good parts.” That was one of the reasons why I pushed <i>Nikita</i>. When you watched the film, that is not the subject at all but a couple years later when you see how many big actresses can make action films you say, “Okay this third or fourth layer finally gets on the surface.”
<B>NRAMA</B>: How much were comic books a part of your life?
<B>LB</B>: A big one because I was raised with comic books like <b>Tintin, Spiro, Gaston, Valerian</b> and <b>Asterix</b>. I was not reading so much when I was young. I was just reading comic books all the time. My Mom finally said, “If you have an A grade, you will have one comic book.” So that was the only way to make me work [laughs].”
<B>NRAMA</B>: Were they an influence on <i>Arthur</i>?
<B>LB</B>: Not so much. But we did a comic book of <i>Arthur</i> after we finished the film and it’s quite beautiful.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Would you ever want to do just comic books?
<B>LB</B>: My first job at 17 years old was writing a script for <i>Heavy Metal</i> and it was drawn by Arno. He was only 18 years old at the time. So I had six pages in <i>Heavy Metal</i> [<b>Métal Hurlant</b> number 67]. I was so proud.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Do you have any of the original art?
<B>LB</B>: Yeah. A few years ago I got a call from someone that was selling the artwork. He said he saw my name so he called and said “I’m selling this.” I said, “Of course I want it.” So it’s hanging in my office.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Would you do something new with comic books?
<B>LB</B>: Yeah, I would love it honestly. That’s just so much fun.
As the director and producer of films like <i>Léon: The Professional, Le Femme Nikita, The Transporter</i> and <i>The Fifth Element</i> and many more, Luc Besson has long been seen as a master in the modern action genre. Understandably, many fans balked when Besson announced he was embarking to create a partially 3D animated children’s movie called <i>Arthur and the Invisibles</i>.
But Besson was able to subvert some of the pains that Pixar and DreamWorks go through when creating their 3D animated films - his production team came up with a system where they would shoot live action without wireframes and dots that are usually needed for CGI or motion capture. As a result, the process allowed the animation to have a very unique look, strongly influenced by acclaimed artist/designer Patrice Garcia.
As for the film’s story, its central character is a young boy named Arthur, who in the 1960’s, lives alone with his grandmother while his parents find work. At his grandmother’s, Arthur is told many fanciful tales about the small, invisible people that live in the backyard of his grandmother’s house and guard a fortune in rubies, buried there by Arthur’s grandfather.
When a wealthy landowner threatens to foreclose on the grandmother’s home, Arthur does what any child would do – he seeks out the elvish Minimoys and enters their world in order to find the hidden treasure and save his grandmother’s house. I got a chance to talk with Besson at the recent junket for <i>Arthur and the Invisibles in Manhattan</I>.
<b>Newsarama</b>: I read that you said Arthur was a retreat to childhood. I know that the last film you directed, <i>The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc</I>, was a very difficult film to shoot and then you started Arthur a year later. Was it the difficulties surrounding that film which make you want to retreat to childhood?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/ArthurInvisibles/ArthurandtheInvisiblespic1.jpg" border="0" align="left"><b>Luc Besson</b>: No, not so much. When I saw the character of Arthur for the first time, I realized at that precise moment that I had so many things I wanted to say to the kids of the world that I’ve never said. I never talked about my childhood. When I saw this character I realized I never once did talk about it.
<B>NRAMA</B>: What made you not talk about your childhood?
<B>LB</B>: It was not on purpose. It was that the subjects passing in front of me were <i>The Professional, Nikita</i> or <i>Joan of Arc</i> or <i>Fifth Element</i>, so I was never about to do a story about children. Those ideas stayed there for years without being used. When the character of Arthur was shown to me I thought “Hold on, hold on, we have a lot of story for him.”
<B>NRAMA</B>: Speaking of your other work, Princess Selenia reminded me of Leeloo [played by Milla Jovovich in <i>The Fifth Element</i>].
<B>LB</B>: It’s not me. It’s [<i>Arthur and the Invisibles</i> art director] Patrice Garcia. He comes with drawings of each character and ideas. The funny thing is, Princess Selenia changed color like ten times.
<B>NRAMA</B>: I read that she was the character that took the longest to visualize.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/ArthurInvisibles/PrincessSelenia-ArthurandtheInvisiblespic1.jpg" border="0" align="right"><B>LB</B>: Yes, three years overall.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Is that because she looks very much like a realistic girl?
<B>LB</B>: Yes when you have somebody eccentric, like Maltazard [voiced by David Bowie] it’s pretty easy.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Or even the brother, Betameche [voiced by Jimmy Fallon].
<B>LB</B>: Yeah, the brother was the first one to get finished. The two ones who were very difficult were Arthur and Selenia because they were real.
<B>NRAMA</B>: I was surprised that you wanted to work with Jimmy Fallon after he was in the remake of <i>Taxi</i>.
<B>LB</B>: He’s a cool guy. He’s a sweetheart and he’s so funny. When you get older it’s very important to work with nice people. I don’t want to work with stars and their entourage. Jimmy arrived wearing a t-shirt and said, “Hey buddy, how are you?” Then he cracks jokes.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Was working with Patrice Garcia at all similar to working with Moebius on <i>The Fifth Element</i>?
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/movies/ArthurInvisibles/Maltazard.jpg" border="0" align="left"><B>LB</B>: I would say that Patrice is probably the new Moebius. Patrice worked on <i>The Fifth Element</i> for two years. When Moebius was working on <i>The Fifth Element</i>, Patrice was 22 years old, so he was feeling like the master was coming. I think he learned from Moebius. Now Patrice is really complete. He’s really full. He’s at his best level right now and he invents all the characters and the worlds.
<B>NRAMA</B>: As I watched this movie, it felt like the animation was straining not to be 3D. I remember when Brad Bird was making <i>The Incredibles</i>, he said that he wanted to make the animation look real and dirty. But it was a long process because 3D wants to make everything look smooth and seamless. I didn’t read until later that you shot much of the actor’s movements and sets in live action and then the 3D was molded over that.
<B>LB</B>: Yes since we had the live action as a reference, we had the real nature all the time so because we were obliged to wait forever on the 3D. When you’re just 3D all along, it’s easy. Half of the film is real, the rocks, the grass, the piece of wood, the river. There are some shots where it’s real water running not a fake one. Some of the shots of the nuts are real nuts and some are not. That’s why we have to put some dirt and shadows and wind and everything everywhere.
<B>NRAMA</B>: In regards to the environment and overall theme of the movie, many people are talking about the preponderance of a “message” in another animated feature aimed at kids, <i>Happy Feet</i>. Mia Farrow told me that there is a lot of symbolism in <i>Arthur and the Invisibles</i> such as the fact that in the backyard the villain’s lair is right underneath an oil pipe to associate the bad guys with the oil industry. Since I just saw the film last night I didn’t think about those things but I still enjoyed the movie. How important is it for you to not put the message too much in people’s faces?
<B>LB</B>: Never knock people over. Never. You put the film on the table and you let them see what they want, that’s my philosophy. I hate people knocking you over with the thing. At the same time we’re not here just to please the people the way they want. We put the food on the table, we put out some salt and pepper and Tabasco and you let the people find out if they like it on their own. That’s my philosophy. I love to put a lot of layers into a film because you’re going to watch the film once, and then you’re going to watch it on TV or DVD in five years and then you start to see new things. I really try to work that kind of stuff into the deep tissue. When I was making [La Femme] <i>Nikita</i> I was against cinema of the ‘80s where all the heroes had big muscles and the girls were crying and they never did anything. I said, “God, the girls they need good parts.” That was one of the reasons why I pushed <i>Nikita</i>. When you watched the film, that is not the subject at all but a couple years later when you see how many big actresses can make action films you say, “Okay this third or fourth layer finally gets on the surface.”
<B>NRAMA</B>: How much were comic books a part of your life?
<B>LB</B>: A big one because I was raised with comic books like <b>Tintin, Spiro, Gaston, Valerian</b> and <b>Asterix</b>. I was not reading so much when I was young. I was just reading comic books all the time. My Mom finally said, “If you have an A grade, you will have one comic book.” So that was the only way to make me work [laughs].”
<B>NRAMA</B>: Were they an influence on <i>Arthur</i>?
<B>LB</B>: Not so much. But we did a comic book of <i>Arthur</i> after we finished the film and it’s quite beautiful.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Would you ever want to do just comic books?
<B>LB</B>: My first job at 17 years old was writing a script for <i>Heavy Metal</i> and it was drawn by Arno. He was only 18 years old at the time. So I had six pages in <i>Heavy Metal</i> [<b>Métal Hurlant</b> number 67]. I was so proud.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Do you have any of the original art?
<B>LB</B>: Yeah. A few years ago I got a call from someone that was selling the artwork. He said he saw my name so he called and said “I’m selling this.” I said, “Of course I want it.” So it’s hanging in my office.
<B>NRAMA</B>: Would you do something new with comic books?
<B>LB</B>: Yeah, I would love it honestly. That’s just so much fun.