Luc Besson
Tokyo International Film Festival jury member Luc Besson went to the capital of China on Oct. 21, Tuesday, to promote "Lucy," a film he wrote and directed, Xinhuanet reported.
Wearing a black shirt with the word "Lucy" on it, the French director known for his box-office films "Leon" and "The Fifth Element" discussed his sci-fi thriller in a press conference during his stay in Beijing.
It took Besson a decade to complete the "Lucy" script, which was inspired by the notion that most people use only 10 percent of the brain's cognitive powers.
Previously, Besson said that "Lucy" is a philosophical movie.
"The only thing you can really do with power is to pass it on. The cells in our body die every day, and they pass what they know to other cells. The movement of just passing it on is the only movement that matters," Besson said during a press conference in Taipei in August.
With Scarlett Johansson playing the title character, "Lucy" also stars Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, South Korean actor Min-Sik Choi, Egyptian actor Amr Waked, Danish actor Pilou Asbaæk and "America's Next Top Model" alum Analeigh Tipton, among others.
The title character is a college student who had superhuman powers after ingesting drug that unlocked the full potential of her brain.
The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival, which will run from Oct. 23 to 31, will be headed by 44-year-old "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn, The Asahi Shimbun reported.
Besson is still the second youngest jury president of Tokyo International Film Festival. Now 55, Besson was 43 when he served as the head of the competition's jury. Chinese actress Gong Li, now 48, was 38 when she led the TIFF, making her the youngest jury president at the competition.
Other members of the upcoming TIFF jury are "Legally Blonde" director Robert Luketic, British casting director Debbie McWilliams, Japanese comedian Hiroshi Shinagawa, Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo and South Korean director John H. Lee.
