So why did Prince turn down the role? As Gaultier explained it in 2013, the " Purple Rain" star found the proposed costumes the designer had shown him in illustrations to be "a bit too effeminate." (Let that sink in for a minute.) 11. Chris Tucker (still best known at the time for his scene-stealing " Friday" role) won the role of colorful media personality Ruby Rhod because the part had been turned down by Besson's first choice: Prince.ġ0. One costume included a jacket that was said to have cost $5,000.ĩ. He had to outfit at least 900 actors and extras. French fashionista Jean-Paul Gaultier designed the film's elaborate, gender-bending costumes. They were accomplished via artful editing and an artificial leg operated from just outside the frame.Ĩ. Even so, the martial arts novice couldn't manage some of the high kicks required of her character. "Fifth Element" would relaunch the future " Resident Evil" mainstay as an action star, a career for which she began training over several months of rehearsals for Leeloo, studying acting and karate for eight hours a day.ħ. She can be Nefertiti and she can be from outer space."Ħ. "Milla has this physical thing, she can be from the past or the future," Besson said in 1997. One of them was Jovovich, who had taken a break from acting after " Dazed and Confused" three years earlier, in order to focus on her singing career. Besson said he saw 200 or 300 of those actresses read. The filmmakers auditioned 8,000 actresses to play mysterious, scantily clad heroine Leeloo. "I owed him one." He did his duty, but he didn't think much of his performance. Oldman, who'd played the villain in "The Professional," took the bad guy role of Zorg as a favor to Besson, who'd helped finance Oldman's directing debut, " Nil by Mouth." "It was me singing for my supper," Oldman recalled in 2011. "Sometimes I just do it because they're just fun," he said of his movie role choices in 1997, "and this was a real fun movie to make." He'd end up signing on for a reduced salary up front and a percentage of the profits.Ĥ. Ultimately, Besson thought he'd have to settle for a cheaper leading man, but in a chance conversation with Willis, the actor said that if he liked the script, he'd figure out a way to make the money work. He also sought Mel Gibson, who turned the part down.ģ. The filmmaker had approached Willis to star as heroic cabbie Korben Dallas back in the early 1990s, before he had financing in place. But it didn't reach the screen until he was 38 years old by that time, he felt he was old enough to actually have something to say about life.Ģ. Besson (above) said he started writing the screenplay when he was 16, creating the vivid fantasy universes to combat the boredom he experienced living in rural France. Here are the elements that made the film.ġ. Still, as many times as you've marveled (or snickered, or just gawked) at "The Fifth Element" on cable, there's a lot you may not know about the movie - its long gestation (22 years!), the hilarious story of how Tucker landed his role, and the production's scandalous off-screen love triangle. Some loved it, some hated it, but it was a box office hit around the world (for many years, the biggest French cinema export ever), and it remains a cult favorite today. Luc Besson's flamboyant, over-the-top sci-fi epic, starring a blond Bruce Willis, an androgynous Chris Tucker, a tragically-coiffed Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich left viewers stunned. PHOTOS: Discover Monae’s top style statements over the years in the gallery.Twenty years after the release of " The Fifth Element" (on May 9, 1997), we still have one question: What in the world was that? Off-duty, she can also be seen in Oxford loafers, heeled boots and Converse and L.A.M.B. The musician often pairs her red carpet outfits with heeled sandals, platform and pointed-toe pumps from top brands including Jimmy Choo, Giuseppe Zanotti and Christian Louboutin. Monáe’s shoe style is often glamorous and sleek. The character represents the unique feel of “The Fifth Element”, as her singing performance makes up one of the most memorable scenes of the film. Along the way, they meet Diva Plavalaguna, an alien opera singer who has blue skin and an array of tentacles, who is guarding the stones. “The Fifth Element” follows Korben Dallas, played by Bruce Willis and he’s made to work with the titular fifth element, Leeloo played by Milla Jovovich to recover the four stones that represent the four other elements that can stop a great evil that is threatening Earth. Monáe and her costume soon became the topic of conversation on social media with fans reminiscing over the film and, of course, the unique vocal stylings of the Diva Plavalaguna. Janelle Monae’s Met Gala 2023 Thom Brown Dress Lifts Up, Revealing Sequined Bra & Towering Shoes on the Red Carpet
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