During a recent interview with Josh Horowitz,Oscar-winner Gary Oldman described the unconventional methods used by director Luc Besson on a 1990s science fiction production. To manage Besson's specific directing style, Oldman adopted a vocal character inspired by the cartoon rabbit Bugs Bunny.
The $260 million success of a French-funded 1990s epic
The 1990s era of cinema was defined by massive budgets and even larger spectacles, a trend exemplified by the science fiction film directed by Luc Besson that is currently streaming on Netflix. While Hollywood blockbusters like Armageddon, Godzilla, and Independence Day dominated the global box office, Besson’s production offered a distinct European alternative to the standard American blockbuster. Primarily funded with French capital , the film managed to gross more than $260 million worldwide, a significant return on its reported $90 million budget.
This production featured a high-profile ensemble cast, including Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker, and Ian Holm. The film’s ability to blend international talent with a large-scale sci-fi vision allowed it to carve out a unique space in the decade's cinematic landscape, even as it received mixed reviews upon its initial release. as the report notes, the film remains a classic example of the stylistic excess that defined the 1990s.
Luc Besson’s thick French accent and unorthodox line readings
Directing styles can often become a point of contention on high-budget sets, and as the source reports, Luc Besson utilized a method that many in the industry consider a professional faux pas. Besson would frequently provide his actors with specific line readings, essentially telling them exactly how to deliver their dialogue rather than allowing them to find their own rhythm.
Adding to the difficulty of this approach, Besson reportedly delivered these instructions using a thick French accent. This linguistic barrier, combined with the imposition of specific vocal directions, created a challenging environment for the cast. According to the report, this unorthodox behavior made the working conditions significantly more difficult for Gary Oldman and his fellow performers, who had to navigate the director's specific vocal requirements.
Gary Oldman’s Bugs Bunny-inspired survival tactic
Gary Oldman found a creative way to navigate the eccentricities of the Besson set by adopting a character-driven vocal persona. To amuse himself and cope with the director's heavy-handedness, the Oscar-winner decided to give his character a voice inspired in part by the cartoon rabbit, Bugs Bunny.
This vocal shift served as a psychological tool for Oldman, allowing him to maintain his own sense of agency while working under Besson's specific direction. Oldman described this technique as his way of "surviving" the experience of the production. By leaning into a stylized, almost cartoonish performance, he was able to distance himself from the frustration of the director's line readings.
Why Valerian failed to replicate the 1990s commercial magic
While the original film was a commercial powerhouse, the spiritual successor released by Besson two decades later, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, did not see the same level of success. Both films share a "kitschy piece of pop art" aesthetic, yet the later project failed to reach the heights of the 1990s hit.
This discrepancy raises questions about whether the success of the original was due to the specific cultural zeitgeist of the 1990s or if the "excess" of that era was a key ingredient that cannot be easily replicated. It remains unclear if the shift in audience tastes or a change in the scale of international film funding contributed to the different outcomes for these two Besson-led projects, or if the specific ensemble chemistry of the original cast was an irreplaceable factor.
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