Luc Besson Returns to Directing With ‘Dogman’ After Rape Case Dismissal: ‘In 20 Years, the Only Thing That Will Remain Are the Movies’ (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comElsa Keslassy International Correspondent Luc Besson, the formerly A-list director who rose to the top of the box office with his kinetic action films, had his career derailed by rape accusations leveled against him in 2018 by Sand Van Roy, an actress on his film “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” The ensuing legal battle consumed five years of Besson’s life, but after being cleared last June of all charges by the Cour de Cassation, the French equivalent to the Supreme Court, he’s re-emerging at this year’s Venice Film Festival with the indie drama “Dogman.” But will the industry work with Besson?
That’s one of the questions that we discuss during a lengthy interview at the Plaza Athénée Hotel in Paris on the eve of his big premiere.
Besson is evasive about the matter, preferring to talk up his latest effort, the story of a bruised man who faces rejection and finds solace in dogs, as well as dissatisfaction with a movie business that’s become more obsessed with superheroes than style.
I wanted to know how the rape case had impacted his career – is top talent wary of working with Besson now? “That’s not my problem,” he tells me. “I’ve been trying to focus on my work for the last several years.
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