Luc Besson, Director Of ‘Valerian’ And ‘Fifth Element’, Discusses Connecting The Beatles’ Song To Trailer
Longtime director Luc Besson recently proved yet again that his artistic and creative edge in the world of film-making goes far beyond the final cut of the footage. He is also a master when it comes to creating captivating and jaw-dropping trailers.
That was made crystal clear with the first teaser trailer of his newest film, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The fact that that this highly-anticipated sci-fi films consists of performances from such stunning actors as Cara Delevigne and Dane DeHaan is just the tip of the iceberg. When it came to the musical score for his trailer, Luc Besson was able to masterfully connect a popular song from none other than the legendary Beatles to his mesmerizing footage.
Valerian is the first time a Beatles track (not a cover) has been licensed for a trailer https://t.co/dwvcOVtSLl
— Aaron Couch (@AaronCouch) November 10, 2016
Most people even slightly familiar with the Beatles’ award-winning catalog of music will more than likely recognize the deep harmonies of “Because.” However, as the background music for the two-minute preview of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, the artistic side of the song has been elevated far above where a lot of people may realize.
How did it happen? How did Luc Besson manage to get a perfectly-fitting song from the Beatles interwoven so beautifully into this film’s teaser trailer? In an interview with Slash Film, Besson said that he simply asked for the opportunity.
“I ask. I say ‘please.’ I mean, you know until you ask. So we just ask and, I mean, I didn’t talk to Paul [McCartney], but it sounds like the project just felt like it was appropriate. I wish I would know. I would love to talk to him to say ‘thanks.’ But at least we have it.”
Observing the visuals that are outlined in the futuristic film’s trailer, using such a classic song like “Because” really would not seem like the ideal fit theoretically. However, it does seem to create a resemblance of the vintage/futuristic vibe that was created with the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack as well.
Valerian actually looks awesome. It looks incredibly visually, and the fact they somehow got “Because” by the Beatles may have tipped it.
— Peter Prince (@LordLandshark) November 10, 2016
Luc Besson’s Valerian Looks Like All Your Scifi Dreams Come True https://t.co/XUHApkLaQL
— Roger Colby, Author (@RogerDColby) November 12, 2016
Pretty bold move scoring the #Valerian trailer with The Beatles. Looks very cool – hopefully it has a decent script too.
— Chris Bumbray (@cbumbray) November 10, 2016
According to Besson, when connecting the dots between the song and the Valerian trailer, he did not necessarily do it in the order that many people may think.
“It’s funny, because we have the song first and then we did the trailer with it. We did the opposite. We tried to find a feeling first musically and say, ‘Okay, what is the color of the music of what we want to say?’ And the song was what we wanted. It’s perfect. It’s like, ‘Ah, ok, there’s everything in it that we like for the film’… It was easy. I have more than 100 aliens in the film, so it was easy just to see which one fitted in best.”
Most sci-fi movie fans do not need an introduction or extensive research to know who Luc Besson is, or what he has contributed to the genre over the past two decades. However, with the cutting-edge and advanced CGI technology that he was clearly able to take full advantage of for this new film, Valerian will likely open quite a few doors for Besson in the minds of even more generations of future moviegoers.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, starring Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, John Goodman, and Ethan Hawke, is scheduled to make its worldwide debut in July of 2017. The film, which was written and directed by Luc Besson, hits U.S. theaters on July 21.
[Featured Image by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP]
