In 1997, visionary director Luc Besson unleashed his sci-fi opus The Fifth Element on the world. It was a daunting project and the most expensive European film ever made at the time of its release, costing approximately $90 million. Much like the rest of Besson's work, however, it polarized both critics and fans.
Chatting to Deadline, Besson itted that he never thought the film would be so divisive. "The response in the U.S. was, at the time, very deceptive for me. The film was probably [too ahead of its time]. The film did $70 million [at the] box office. We opened at number one, but I went to a couple of cities in the middle of America where I saw people leaving in the middle of the screening, saying, 'What the f**k is this thing?'"
Over time, though, the film garnered cult classic status and is now deservedly ed as a crucial piece of sci-fi cinema history. Naturally, a lot happened behind the scenes to make this project come to fruition and most people only know half the story of how The Fifth Element came to be.
Updated on May 2nd, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: In 2022, The Fifth Element turned 25 years old. The movie wasn't expected by critics to be a hit, but today, it has become one of the most fascinating and beloved science fiction movies of the last 50 years.
Over the last few years, The Fifth Element's cast and creative team have revealed a lot of behind-the-scenes information from the set that fans might not have known, and some of that information might make fans wonder how the movie made it to cinemas at all. It seems like the odds were really against it.
Milla Jovovich Didn't Initially Get The Role
When Milla Jovovich first auditioned for The Fifth Element, she had a handful of roles under her belt from childhood, but she was primarily known for her work in the modeling world. As a result, she approached her audition much like she would a modeling job, wearing a flashier outfit and plenty of makeup, which, according to Entertainment Weekly's Oral History of the movie, didn't go over well with Luc Besson.
Besson told the publication she was, "overdressed and over made-up and very, very, nervous." He ed on her for the role, but after seeing hundreds of other actresses, ran into her at a hotel pool where she wasn't wearing makeup a few weeks later, and reconsidered.
Besson had Jovovich audition again, which according to the actress included, "dancing with no rhythm, singing, speaking in gibberish. I didn't understand any of it, but I was game." She got the part as a result.
An Important Scene Was Almost Lost In An Accident
In the early '90s, movies weren't being shot digitally. Instead, they were filmed on actual film that had to be physically transferred for editing. Associate Producer John Amicarella will likely never forget that because he was called out to LAX and presented with trash cans full of damaged film while working on The Fifth Element.
The case carrying film from the time spent shooting the diva's operatic number had fallen in transport to the plane and run over by a forklift. Amicarella recounted the incident to EW, explaining they had enough usable footage to cut the scene together, but the same thing never happened to him while working on dozens of other movies.
Milla Jovovich Babysat For Bruce Willis
Jovovich was one of the youngest Fifth Element cast while on set. As a result, she didn't spend a lot of time hanging out with the older cast . Other than Besson, she didn't become particularly close with others on set. Bruce Willis, who was married to Demi Moore at the time, had his wife and kids visiting on set quite a bit though.
Jovovich actually used to babysit for Willis and Moore in between filming so the two could go out. She joked during the EW retrospective that she was so young on set that she, "probably had more fun with his kids at the time."
It Ruined Luc Besson's Marriage
Besson cast his then-wife, Maïwenn Le Besco, as Diva Plavalaguna after the original actress dropped out of the production. Le Besco really did him a solid there because it would've been a chore to find another actress in such a short time as the movie was already heading into production.
During the shoot, however, Besson and star Mila Jovovich grew closer and began dating. Besson and Le Besco divorced, and Besson and Jovovich married in 1997. The duo divorced two years later.
Bruce Willis Took A Reduced Salary
While Bruce Willis wasn't the first choice for Korben Dallas, he ended up being the perfect choice at the end of the day. Still, if it wasn't for Willis taking less than he normally charges, the audience might have seen someone else in the leading role.
Besson thought he'd have to settle for a cheaper leading man, but in a conversation with Willis, the actor told him that if he liked the script, they'd figure something out. Two hours later, Willis said he was in, revealing that sometimes he just does movies because they're fun.
Ultimately, Willis took a reduced salary upfront and a percentage of the film's profits. Considering The Fifth Element made over $263 million at the global box office, the actor's gamble paid off rather handsomely for him.
Prince Was Meant To Star In The Movie
Before Chris Tucker took the role of Ruby Rhod, Luc Besson had someone else in mind for the part: the late Prince. After Prince ed away in 2016, Besson tweeted a tribute including a sketch of Prince as Ruby done by Jean-Paul Gaultier and revealed that scheduling conflicts prevented the musician from taking the role.
According to Gaultier, though, Prince turned down the role because it seemed "too effeminate." Additionally, there was a bit a language mix-up as the musician misconstrued Gaultier's "faux cul" for something far more crude.
"I could see that something had just happened, but I didn't know what, only that he had indicated to his bodyguard that he wanted to leave right then and there," Gaultier said. "Later, Luc told me that Prince had been very surprised and amused by my presentation."
The Hall Explosion Was The Largest Indoor Explosion Ever Filmed At The Time
The Fifth Element was a film of many firsts. Not only did it break financial records at the time, but it also achieved numerous cinematic milestones. One of the major ones involved an action scene that could've gone terribly wrong.
There's a moment in the film where an explosion engulfs the Fhloston main hall in flames. While this might seem relatively trivial in a sci-fi action affair, it's important here because it was the largest indoor explosion ever filmed at the time. No CGI – it was all real.
Besson Wrote The Original Story In High School
While most projects get fast-tracked rather quickly, The Fifth Element was a long time in the making. As Luc Besson told Nerdist, he started to write the story when he was 16 years old and then shot it much later in his life.
"When I started to write at 16 it was more like a novel," he said. "It was not a film in my head. I never thought about making a film of it. So, it was a novel for a long time and then, at a certain point, 10 years later, I said, 'You know what? I would love to make a film of that.' But I started changing a lot of things because a novel is really different."
Gary Oldman Hates It
Gary Oldman's role as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg is one of the most fondly ed performances from the movie, largely because it's Gary Oldman. That said, the actor isn't a big fan of the movie.
Chatting about why he took the role in a video interview, Oldman was blunt about the situation: "I'd directed a film and Luc Besson was one of the producers and had initially helped me with raising financing, and I was singing for my supper. He called, said 'I need you to do a movie.' I didn't read the script. It was a favor."
When it was pointed out to him that it's become a cult classic, he responded, "I know! That's the wacky world we live in."
In another interview with Playboy, Oldman was less complimentary, saying, "Oh no, I can't bear it."
Mel Gibson Was Asked To Be Korben Dallas
It's difficult to imagine anyone else but Bruce Willis in the role of Korben Dallas, but he wasn't Luc Besson's first choice. In fact, the director's initial pick was a famous action star from down under.
In a Reddit AMA promoting Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Besson opened up about the actor whom he originally had in mind: "I had asked Mel Gibson first because he had his office next to mine at Warner Brothers. He peeked into my office every morning to tell me that he was thinking about it. After three months, he ed. But we became friends. Bruce was the only other choice I had in my mind."
