Why 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets' $200 Million Budget Is Justifiable
Science fiction movies are understandably high-budgeted, given the amount of visual effects and cinematic glamor that they aim to show. But when one goes beyond or even reaches the $200 million mark, that is already considered a huge gamble, and such is the case for Luc Besson's "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets."
According to Cineuropa, the film is now the most expensive French film ever made, overtaking the previous record holder, "Asterix at the Olympic Games," by huge bounds. It has been allocated a production budget of €197.47 million (approximately $ 209.68 million), showing that Europa Corp is going all out with the movie.
If one is to justify this kind of expenditure, knowing Luc Besson is at the helm of the project is already justification enough. He has been the mind behind critically acclaimed films such as "The Fifth Element" and "Lucy," which could be one of the biggest reasons why the movie had so much on its shoulders.
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Looking at the film's latest trailer, one would say that by how it looks alone, it appears the money is spent where it should be. It features a world that harmoniously combines cutting-edge technology with natural hues, creating a new imagining of the future. A lot of thought was obviously poured into making the movie.
One can also recall that Besson drew inspiration from another high-budgeted film, "Avatar." "I wanted to make this film years ago but I had to wait for the technology to catch up with my imagination," he said. After he saw James Cameron's film, he decided to give the project a go, thus the budget needs to match the vision.
It will be interesting to see if the film's production budget was worth it when "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" arrives on July 21, 2017.
