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French prosecutors have requested director Benoît Jacquot be charged with the rape and sexual assault of several actresses, according to a Le Monde report.

Jacquot, 77, was held for questioning on Monday after filmmaker/actress Judith Godrèche filed a complaint alleging Jacquot raped her during a relationship that began when she was 14. The relationship lasted several years, Godrèche, now 52, said. Godrèche first went public with her allegations in an investigation Le Monde published in February 2024.

Le Besco, now 41, followed Godrèche’s complaint with one of her own, alleging Jacquot raped her during a relationship also began when she was a minor. Julia Roy, now 34, has also accused Jacquot of sexual assault; Jacquot has denied all accusations.

Prosecutors are currently seeking to charge Jacquot with crimes against Le Besco and Roy, but not Godrèche.

In addition to her complaint against Jacquot for “predation” and “violent rape of a minor under 15 years old...

Natalie Portman has led a star-studded career over the three decades she has been performing as an actress. In the course of it all, she has worked with A-listed actors as well as some controversial directors, and nonetheless, created some of the most awe-striking cinematic masterpieces of all time.

Natalie Portman in the Star Wars saga

One of these masterpieces of hers includes her $19 million film Léon: The Professional; the very one that granted Portman her very exciting breakthrough in the entertainment industry. And even though the director of the film Luc Besson got into much controversy over s-xual assault allegations that he later got cleared of, Natalie Portman still holds this one film quite dear to her.

Suggested“I’ve tried not to set any limits”: ‘Riverdale’ Star Charles Melton Has No Intentions of Stopping After Natalie Portman Film Makes Him a Rare Art House Heartthrob

Natalie Portman...

Having already directed plenty of action-thrillers, a few sci-fis and — last year — a whole load of mutts (the Venice-bowing “Dogman”), Luc Besson is now set to venture into epic fantasy territories with one of the most famous big screen characters of all.

The French director is to direct an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s’ “Dracula,” telling the story of 15th century Prince Vladimir who cursed God following the death of his beloved wife and is turned into a vampire. Later, in 19th century London, he discovers his wife’s doppelgänger and dooms himself by pursuing her.

Variety understands that Christoph Waltz is in talks to star, as is Caleb Landry-Jones, which would reunite Besson with his lead in “Dogman,” which bowed in Venice last year. Like “Dogman,” Besson’s EuropaCorp is producing.

Kinology is talking to buyers about the project at the European Film Market.

Billed as Besson’s big...

Luc Besson, the award-winning writer, director and producer who founded Paris-based studio EuropaCorp in 1999, is returning as interim CEO after the company’s chief executive Axel Duroux resigned.

Besson took over the top spot earlier this week, the company announced Thursday, saying that the board of directors had accepted Duroux’s resignation effective Tuesday. Duroux was also an EuropaCorp director.

“Axel Duroux, who will remain a shareholder, will continue to work closely with EuropaCorp as special advisor to the Chairman until mid-May in order to ensure the best possible handover to the new management team,” the company statement said. “Luc Besson will act as interim Chief Executive Officer, for a limited period, from 13 December 2023.”

Besson became artistic director and non-executive chairman after Duroux joined the company at CEO in August 2020. That move came as EuropaCorp, which produced Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and the Taken, Taxi and Transporter franchises,...

New CEO and projects to be announced in 2024 as group restructures, ramps up audiovisual production.

EuropaCorp CEO Axel Duroux has resigned from his position and company founder and former CEO Luc Besson will step into the role as interim for a limited period, effective immediately, according to a group statement on Thursday (December 14).

The shake-up is part of the group’s desire to restructure and ramp up its film and audiovisual production. Duroux replaced Besson in the position in September 2020 and signed on for a four-year term that was mandated to end in September 2024.

A spokesperson for EuropaCorp told Screen...

“Judge the art, not the artist.” That is the mantra we hear each and every time someone in the entertainment world is accused of heinous behavior, and it’s one that was repeated by artistic director Alberto Barbera prior to this year’s Venice Film Festival.

In an interview with The Guardian, Barbera discussed his decision to include films by Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, and Luc Besson in the 2023 festival program — Polanski’s The Palace, a class comedy about a dinner party at a luxury Swiss hotel on the eve...

“Dogman” director Luc Besson might be a newcomer to Venice, but following his film’s warm reception on Thursday, he’s likely to come back.

Though Besson’s Golden Lion contender polarized critics, with Variety’s Jessica Kiang sparing few words by calling it a “numbskulled nonsense movie,” audience members at the film’s gala premiere opted to spread the love at its world premiere, showering the film and filmmakers with six minutes of sustained applause. That tied the six-minute ovation Venice audiences gave Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” earlier in the evening on the second night of the prestigious festival.

If Besson offered no closing thoughts, the director nevertheless appeared visibly moved, beaming under the spotlight and embracing his cast with bear hugs. Besson shared a particularly tender moment with star Caleb Landry Jones, with whom he developed and honed the central role over the course of a full year before the cameras ever rolled.

No animals were harmed in the making of Luc Besson’s new thriller, Dogman, but plenty of people get mauled, bitten, robbed and attacked, and one guy has his junk put into a serious vice grip, by a pack of extremely well-trained canines.

That being said, the director’s first film since his 2019 femme-driven assasin flick, Anna, is actually one of his least violent movies to date when it comes to bullets and bodies depicted on screen. If there’s violence, it’s predominantly of the domestic and psychological kind, in a story that follows a young man whose childhood traumas transform him into a very unusual sort of superhero: a paralyzed vigilante who dresses in drag, performs incredible lip-syncs of classic European ballads, and rules over a small, fierce army of obedient pups, as if the Joker and Ace Ventura were somehow merged into a single character. Also, he lives in New Jersey.

Filmmaker attends Venice with first film since 2019’s ’Anna’

Luc Besson returned to the public spotlight in Venice today at a press conference for Dogman, his first film since 2019 action thriller Anna and first public appearance since he was cleared of a rape accusation in June by a French court.

The director and the film team were greeted by loud applause from journalists on arrival in the press conference room at Venice.

Besson himself became emotional when thanking his actors and his producer and wife Virginie Besson-Silla, and appeared to be holding back tears.

A journalist asking a question to...

The first issue is the headline. As a culture journalist reporting the news of the 80th Venice Film Festival, should you lead with this year’s impressive list of directors, including Sofia Coppola, Ava DuVernay, David Fincher, Bradley Cooper and Yorgos Lanthimos, and stars — Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Penélope Cruz, Adam Driver, Mads Mikkelsen — speculating, perhaps, on who will and won’t make it to the Lido during Hollywood’s double strike? Or do you go for the all-important clicks by emphasizing scandal: Venice includes new films from Roman Polanski (The Palace), Woody Allen (Coup de Chance) and Luc Besson (DogMan) in the official lineup.

“I really struggled with it, to go for the stars or to go for the controversy,” says Eric Randolph, arts & lifestyle editor for the English division of international wire service Agence France-Presse. “I just couldn’t decide. And in the end, we went with the...

Luc Besson’s latest movie “DogMan” has signed SAG-AFTRA’s interim agreement, giving it the green light to promote the film during its premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

While it’s not the first such independent movie to sign the interim agreement for promotional purposes, it’s the first among movies due to premiere at the fall film festivals, of which many will be looking to have their stars hit the Lido or Toronto next month.

It’s unclear whether stars from “DogMan” will be on hand, but the film stars Caleb Landry Jones and Jojo T. Gibbs.

The film’s presence on the fall festival circuit is also a controversial one after Besson was recently cleared of all rape charges in a court case dating back to 2018, in which the director was accused of raping Dutch-Belgian actress Sand van Roy.

“DogMan” is Besson’s first film since 2019’s “Anna,...

Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera has shown once again that he is not scared to court controversy.

The festival head has given Roman Polanski a safe festival berth for his new movie The Palace at Venice, in a selection that is likely to spark debate alongside the inclusion of Woody Allen’s Coeur de Chance.

They are among 12 films due to play Out of Competition at the 80th edition running August 30 to September 9.

Barbera told Italian journalists in a Q&a after the main lineup announcement that Polanski, who turns 90 in August, will not make the trip to the Lido, while Woody is down to attend.

Related: Venice Is Still Hopeful That Its Red Carpet Will Be Full Of Stars If Movies Such As ‘Ferrari’, ‘Priscilla’ & More Are Granted SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreements

The Palace will still make for a starry red carpet with its ensemble cast featuring Oliver Masucci,...

Luc Besson is back in the director’s chair.

The French filmmaker, who was recently cleared of all charges in a 2018 rape case, helms upcoming drama “DogMan” which will premiere during this year’s fall festival circuit. “DogMan” is described as an incredible story of a child, bruised by life, who finds his salvation through the love of his dogs. The feature is Besson’s latest film since 2019’s “Anna.”

Caleb Landry Jones plays Douglas, a man who was abused as a child by his father and found solace in the friendship of dogs. Douglas later transitions to a woman and further explores his love of canines. Jojo T. Gibbs also stars alongside Cannes Best Actor winner Jones, who took home the prize in 2021 for “Nitram.”

Director Besson wrote “DogMan” and is producing the film under his Lbp EuropaCorp banner. Paris-based Kinology will handle international market sales, with Apollo Films releasing the film in France.

Decision by France’s top appeals court effectively ends one of the most high-profile cases to emerge in the country’s #MeToo movement

France’s top appeals court has rejected a request to reopen a rape claim against film director Luc Besson, ending one of the most high-profile cases to emerge in the country’s #MeToo movement against sexual assault.

Dutch-Belgian actor Sand Van Roy accused Besson, director of The Fifth Element and Leon, of raping her during a two-year on-off relationship, and filed a complaint against him in May 2018.

Luc Besson — the French filmmaker behind The Professional, The Fifth Element, and La Femme Nikita — has been cleared of all charges in the alleged rape of actress Sand Van Roy.

According to legal documents acquired by Rolling Stone, the ruling came Wednesday via the French high court the Cour de Cassation, who declared that “after examining the admissibility of the appeal and the files from the instruction, the Cour de Cassation has determined that there doesn’t exist, at present, any means to allow for the admission of the appeal.

Roughly a month before Venice Film Festival’s 2023 lineup announcement, the buzz around the competition is heating up with several star-studded films by heavyweight directors in the mix, including Pablo Larrain (“El Conde”), Michael Mann (“Ferrari“), Sofia Coppola (“Priscilla“), Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”) and Michel Franco (“Memory”).

These titles are believed to have been officially invited to the Lido in competition, according to sources.

Larraín’s follow-up to “Spencer,” “El Conde” depicts dictator Augusto Pinochet as a Vampire with a cast led by Chilean star Alfredo Castro.

Another film with a genre element, Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” is a surrealist science-fiction romance based on an adaptation of Alasdair Grey’s novel of the same name, and starring Emma Stone as Belle Baxter, a Frankenstein-like woman who is brought back to life after her brain is replaced with that of her unborn child. Stone stars opposite Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Christopher Abbott and Margaret Qualley.

Luc Besson has been cleared of rape accusations leveled by an actress with whom he had an intimate relationship after a French court rejected her final appeals.

“This decision confirms the dismissal in favor of Luc Besson and confirms all the decisions of the last five years which have found him not guilty,” his lawyer, Thierry Marembert, said in a statement to TheWrap.

A French court initially dismissed the accusation in 2019. Marembert said the latest decision, from France’s highest appeals court, finally puts the matter to rest.

“It therefore puts a definitive end to this procedure initiated in 2018, during which Luc Besson was systematically cleared by all the magistrates who examined the case,” the statement said. “As a lawyer, I welcome this exemplary procedure, which has allowed the manifestation of the truth which is that Luc Besson is innocent.”

The Paris court rejected an appeal filed by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy,...

Legal battle first began in 2018.

France’s appeals court has officially dismissed rape accusations bought against filmmaker Luc Besson by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy.

It marks the end of a long legal battle that began when French publication Mediapart published reports from a total of nine women accusing the director of sexual harassment and assault in 2018, including Van Roy, who went on to press formal charges, claiming the Fifth Element and Leon director raped her over a two-year period. The case became emblematic of the #MeToo movement in the world of French cinema.

The rape charges were officially dropped...

Luc Besson has been cleared of all rape charges from a 2018 case involving actress Sand Van Roy.

The “Léon, the Professional” director was accused of raping the Dutch-Belgian actress multiple times over the course of two years. The Van Roy case against Besson was dismissed in 2021 after an investigation, but the legal charges are now officially dropped by the highest court in France as of June 21, 2023.

“This decision confirms the dismissal in favor of Luc Besson and confirms all the decisions of the last five years which have found him not guilty,” Besson’s attorney Thierry Marambert said in a statement to IndieWire. “It therefore puts a definitive end to this procedure initiated in 2018, during which Luc Besson was systematically cleared by all the magistrates who examined the case. As a lawyer, I welcome this exemplary procedure, which has allowed the manifestation of the truth which is that Luc Besson is innocent.

France’s highest appeals court, the court of cassation, on Wednesday dismissed rape accusations leveled at director and producer Luc Besson (Lucy, The Fifth Element) by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy.

The Paris court rejected an appeal lodged by Von Roy after her initial claimant alleging she had been sexually assaulted by Besson was dismissed in 2021. In May 2018, Van Roy alleged she had been raped by Besson at the Le Bristol luxury hotel in Paris. The Belgian-Dutch actress has had small roles in Besson’s Taxi 5 and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and had been in an intimate relationship with the director for two years.

In a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter, Besson’s lawyer, Thierry Marembert said the ruling “confirms the dismissal in favor of Luc Besson and confirms all the decisions of the last five years which have found him not guilty. It...

French filmmaker Luc Besson has been definitively cleared of all charges in the rape case involving the Belgian-Dutch female actor Sand Van Roy.

The ruling was issued on Wednesday (June 21) by the Cour de Cassation, the French equivalent to the Supreme Court. The court document, obtained by Variety, says that “after examining the admissibility of the appeal and the files from the instruction, the Cour de Cassation has determined that there doesn’t exist, at present, any means to allow for the admission of the appeal.” As part of the ruling, Van Roy has been ordered to pay Besson €2,500.

It marks the fourth and final judicial instruction in this case. The legal battle started with Van Roy’s police complaints filed in May and July 2018. The case was dismissed by the Paris prosecutor after a nine-month investigation in February 2019, citing a lack of evidence. Van Roy then filed a civil...

France’s highest appeals court dismissed accusations of rape by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy against French director and producer Luc Besson on Wednesday.

According to local media reports, the Court of Cassation in Paris rejected an appeal lodged by the actress in relation to the 2021 dismissal of her 2018 complaint for rape against Besson.

Van Roy first filed a rape complaint against Besson on May 18, 2018, a few hours after a meeting with him in a luxury Paris hotel.

She filed a second complaint against the director two months later, accusing him of sexual assault over a period running from 2016 to 2018.

A Paris judge dismissed the case in 2021 after a lengthy investigation which was confirmed by the Paris appeals court in May 2022.

Van Roy’s lawyer Antoine Gitton immediately filed an appeal at France’s Court of Cassation, to which it was responding on Wednesday.

Van Roy’s 2018 accusations were followed...

“Jeanne du Barry” director Maïwenn is setting the record straight on her altercation with Mediapart editor-in-chief Edwy Plenel.

Maïwenn confirmed earlier this year that she did in fact pull Plenel’s hair and spit in his face at a Paris restaurant; Plenel filed a police report March 7 alleging the incident took place in late February. The writer/director/actress, née Maïwenn Le Besco, told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche (via Screen Daily) that the encounter with Plenel stemmed from her feeling “morally violated” that Mediapart published rape allegations against her ex-husband, director Luc Besson, without notifying her.

“I don’t blame Mediapart for their investigations into Luc Besson; I blame them for what they have done to me,” she said. “It was a cataclysm. I felt morally violated. There’s no justification for attacking a journalist, but there’s no justification for violating a woman’s intimacy and trust.

The director gave an interview to French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

In an article in French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche released today (June 11), Maiwenn belatedly detailed the reasons behind her reported attack on a French journalist earlier this year ahead of the world premiere of her film Jeanne Du Barry in Cannes.

On March 7, Edwy Plenel, editor-in-chief of French publication Mediapart, accused the actress/filmmaker of physically attacking him in a Paris restaurant in February without provocation, pulling his hair and spitting in his face before storming out of the restaurant. The incident attracted broad media interest in...

In the prelude to the big Cannes opener, the Johnny Depp-starring “Jeanne du Barry,” a journalist who was spat on by the film’s director has said that the (female) filmmaker is “outspokenly anti-#MeToo.” Maïwenn admitted last week to assaulting the journalist.

“She’s outspokenly anti-#MeToo and she made a gesture to please her world, and that’s why she bragged about it on TV,” stated Edwy Plenel when speaking to Variety in his first interview since the incident. “We could see a sort of pride that echoed that world.”

Planel was referring to Maïwenn’s comments in Paris Match in 2020 saying that “It’s crazy how many stupidities they say these days! These women don’t like men, that’s clear, and they’re causing very serious collateral damage.” In that same interview she noted “When I hear women complaining that men are only interested in their bottom,...

The assault allegation against “Jeanne du Barry” writer/director/star Maïwenn has become even more complex.

After Maïwenn admitted to attacking French journalist Edwy Plenel, the Mediapart magazine editor-in-chief is citing Maïwenn’s possible motive: retaliation for the publication reporting on her ex-husband Luc Besson’s sexual abuse allegations. “Léon, the Professional” director Besson was accused in 2018 of repeatedly raping Dutch-Belgian actress Sand Van Roy over the course of two years, as well as multiple other women. The case against Besson was dismissed in 2021 after an investigation.

Maïwenn was married to Besson in 1992; she was 16 years old when they wed. Besson knew Maïwenn since she was age 12, and the couple began dating when the actress was 15 years old. Maïwenn said during the 1994 DVD extras for controversial film “Léon, the Professional” that the central relationship was inspired by her and Besson’s love story. The couple divorced in 1997.

“We published what...

If you thought Johnny Depp starring in a film might be a lightning rod of controversy, imagine the movie’s director spitting on a journalist.

“Jeanne du Barry” will open the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday night, marking Depp’s return to the red carpet, following legal battles that have largely defined the actor for the past few years. Ahead of the film’s premiere, the director, French actor and filmmaker Maiwenn, admitted to assaulting a journalist by spitting on him.

“She’s outspokenly anti-#MeToo and she made a gesture to please her world, and that’s why she bragged about it on TV. We could see a sort of pride that echoed that world,” journalist Edwy Plenel tells Variety in his first interview since the spitting incident. Plenel was referring to Maiwenn’s comments published by Paris Match in 2020, saying “It’s crazy how many stupidities they say these days!

Natalie Portman is looking back on “Léon, the Professional.”

The 1994 film, helmed by Luc Besson, stars Portman as a young orphan who was mentored by a professional hitman (Jean Reno) after her family is murdered. Portman was 11 years old when she was cast in her film debut that had undertones of a sexual relationship.

“It’s a movie that’s still beloved, and people come up to me about it more than almost anything I’ve ever made,” Portman told The Hollywood Reporter, “and it gave me my career, but it is definitely, when you watch it now, it definitely has some cringey, to say the least, aspects to it. So, yes, it’s complicated for me.”

Portman addressed the allegations against “Léon, the Professional” director Luc Besson, who was accused in 2018 of repeatedly raping Dutch-Belgian actress Sand Van Roy over the course of two years. The case against Besson...

Maïwenn, the French actress and director whose latest feature, Jeanne du Barry, starring Johnny Depp, will open this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is being sued by a French journalist for assault.

Edwy Plenel, the editor-in-chief of Mediapart, an online investigative newspaper, filed a complaint with French police claiming Maïwenn assaulted him on Feb. 22 while he was having dinner at a restaurant in Paris’ fancy seventh arrondissement. The police report leaked to the French media on Friday, a day after Cannes announced Maïwenn’s film would open its 2023 edition next month.

The complaint, filed on March 7, accuses Maïwenn of aggression. Plenel alleges he was having dinner with a lawyer when Maïwenn, who had been sitting alone at another table, came over, grabbed him violently by the hair and spit in his face before rushing out. The Afp news agency, quoting from the complaint, said Plenel, while not physically harmed, was left “traumatized by the incident.

Maïwenn, the director of Johnny Depp’s latest film, “Jeanne du Barry”, is being sued by Edwy Plenel, the editor-in-chief of Mediapart magazine, for allegedly assaulting him at a restaurant.

As reported by Variety, the complaint, filed on March 7, accuses Maïwenn of attacking Plenel in late February while he was dining at a restaurant in Paris.

Read More: Johnny Depp’s Comeback Project ‘Jeanne du Barry’ To Open Cannes Film Fest

According to the police complaint, Plenel was left “traumatized” by the encounter, in which Maïwenn allegedly came to his table and grabbed him by his hair before spitting in his face. She didn’t say anything and left the venue immediately after the confrontation.

Maïwenn’s latest film, starring Johnny Depp, is debuting at the Cannes Film Festival. Despite the complaint being addressed a month ago, it leaked on Friday just before the new film was set to reach Cannes.

Maïwenn, who directed the forthcoming film Jeanne du Barry starring Johnny Depp, has been sued by Mediapart magazine editor-in-chief Edwy Plenel. The journalist claimed in a police complaint reviewed by Variety that the French director used aggression against him while eating at a restaurant in Paris in February.

According to Plenel, Maïwenn approached him at the restaurant and spit in his face after grabbing him by the hair. The news outlet Afp quoted the police complaint in saying Plenel found himself “traumatized by the incident.” Maïwenn allegedly left the scene...

French actor-director Maiwenn, whose latest film “Jeanne du Barry” starring Johnny Depp is set to open the Cannes Film Festival, is being sued by Edwy Plenel, the editor-in-chief of Mediapart magazine for allegedly attacking him at a restaurant.

A police complaint was filed on March 7 by Plenel, accusing Maiween of aggression. Variety confirmed the filing with the Paris prosecutor’s office following local news reports. In the complaint, Plenel alleges that he was assaulted by Maiwenn in late February while eating at a restaurant in the posh seventh arrondissement of Paris.

Maiwenn, who was sitting by herself at a nearby table, allegedly came to his table and grabbed him by the hair before spitting in his face without saying a word, then stormed out of the venue, leaving Plenel “traumatized by the incident,” according to the news outlet Afp, which quoted the police complaint.

Variety has reached out to Maiwenn’s attorney for comment.

Caleb Landry Jones, who won best actor at last year’s Cannes for “Nitram,” is set to play the lead in Luc Besson’s “DogMan.”

Besson penned “DogMan” and will direct it, on top of producing via his banner Lbp. EuropaCorp, the company founded by Besson and now owned by New York-based Vine Alternative, is co-producing the movie.

“DogMan” is expected to enter production in May and will be shot mainly in France and the U.S. The film tells the sprawling story of a child, bruised by life, who grows to find his salvation through the love of his dogs.

Producers are Virginie Besson-Silla, who produced Besson’s last five films including “Lucy” as well as Guy Ritchie’s “Revolver,” and Steve Rabineau, who joined Lbp in 2019 after a successful career as a top agent at WME for over three decades.

Before his laureled performance in Justin Kurzel’s “Nitram,...

The judge responsible for overseeing a rape complaint brought against filmmaker Luc Besson today dismissed the case following a lengthy investigation. This follows a request made by the Paris public prosecutor’s office in October that the case brought by actress Sand Van Roy be tossed out.

Besson’s attorney, Thierry Marembert, said today, “After three-and-a-half years, and the testimony of many witnesses, the Investigating Judge has dismissed the case and all allegations of criminal rape against Luc Besson. Mr. Besson has been fighting these false allegations for several years, and this dismissal finally and fully exonerates him of all charges brought against him… Now that these false allegations have been completely dismissed, the declaration of innocence by the Investigating Judge and the Public Prosecutor should be respected. Mr. Besson looks forward to continuing to devote himself to his films.”

However, an appeal against the dismissal is expected. Van Roy’s attorney,...

The rape claim against Luc Besson, the French director of “The Fifth Element” and “Lucy,” has been dismissed by a Paris judge following a lengthy judicial investigation.

A source close to the public prosecutor’s office in Paris confirmed to Variety that the case, which stemmed from two police complaints filed in May and July 2018 by Dutch-Belgian actress Sand Van Roy accusing Besson of raping her, has been dismissed. The judicial investigation included hearings with witnesses, including Besson’s former wife, the actor-director Maïwenn, with whom he has a daughter; and his former partner Anne Parillaud, an actor with whom he has two children. It also included expert opinions of the civil party and an interrogation of Besson. The judge took the final decision to dismiss the case based on the prosecutor’s recommendation.

Besson’s lawyer Thierry Marembert said: “After a procedure that lasted three and a half years...

A French judge has dismissed a rape claim made against French director Luc Besson by actress Sand Van Roy after reassessing an investigation into the alleged incident, according to Afp.

Van Roy accused the Fifth Element and Lucy director of raping her in May 2018. After a nine-month investigation, the Paris prosecutor’s office dismissed the rape allegations against Besson, citing a lack of evidence. Van Roy’s lawyer, however, filed a civil suit, arguing the preliminary investigation had been rushed and was incomplete.

Now, a second judge who reopened the case and reviewed the investigation has come to the same conclusion.

Besson has ...

Update, 11:28 Am: Luc Besson looks to be one step closer to seeing the rape claims against him dismissed.

The public prosecutor’s office in Paris has today requested Judge Marie-Claire Noiriel to toss out the three-year old case against the Lucy director by actress Sand Van Roy “At the end of the judicial investigation, it should be noted that the hearings and expert opinions of the civil party; the interrogation of Luc Besson, the investigations on rogatory commission did not make it possible to further characterize the elements constituting the offense of rape,” prosecutor Lecaroz Anne-Claire said in documents filed this week. “Whereas it does not appear from the information that there are sufficient charges against anyone for having committed the facts of rape on the person of Sandrine Van Roy.”

This request obviously was met with a good response among Besson’s reps.

“The Paris prosecutor’s request...

Luc Besson, the French filmmaker behind “Lucy” and “Valerian,” who is accused of rape by Dutch-Belgian actor Sand Van Roy, was made an assisted witness by a French judge on Monday.

The judge assigned the new status following a private, five-hour hearing with Besson as part of an ongoing judicial review into the French filmmaker stemming from a civil complaint for rape filed in Paris by Van Roy in March 2019.

The assisted witness status doesn’t mean Besson has been cleared of charges and that the case has been dismissed by the judge. “It’s an intermediary status that a judge can give if some clues emerged from the investigation that could suggest culpability, but aren’t conclusive enough for an indictment at this time,” a police source told Variety.

Although a new investigation could still be launched by the judge, the assisted witness status seems to indicate that that...

A French judge on Monday ruled to dismiss further charges against Luc Besson in connection to the ongoing rape case brought against the director by actress Sand Van Roy.

Examining magistrate Marie-Claire Noiriel spent close to five hours in a closed hearing questioning Besson before deciding not to allow further charges in the case.

In May 2018 Van Roy alleged she had been raped by Besson — the director of The Fifth Element, Nikita, Lucy and Leon: The Professional — at the Le Bristol luxury hotel in Paris. The Belgian-Dutch actress has small roles in Besson’s Taxi 5 and Valerian and the City ...

A French judge on Monday ruled to dismiss further charges against Luc Besson in connection to the ongoing rape case brought against the director by actress Sand Van Roy.

Examining magistrate Marie-Claire Noiriel spent close to five hours in a closed hearing questioning Besson before deciding not to allow further charges in the case.

In May 2018 Van Roy alleged she had been raped by Besson — the director of The Fifth Element, Nikita, Lucy and Leon: The Professional — at the Le Bristol luxury hotel in Paris. The Belgian-Dutch actress has small roles in Besson’s Taxi 5 and Valerian and the City ...

Virginie Besson Silla has been named CEO of EuropaCorp USA, with Edouard Boccon-Gibod being named chief of staff.

The moves were announced Wednesday by Axel Duroux, who was named chief executive of EuropaCorp back in August. Besson Silla will be responsible for developing and producing television, film and streaming content while overseeing the company’s United States operations. She will report to Duroux while continuing to collaborate with EuropaCorp artistic director Luc Besson and producing partner Steve Rabineau.

“I am very pleased to accept these new responsibilities and to continue at EuropaCorp, which has been my creative home for over 20 years,” Besson Silla said. “I am also excited to continue working with Luc and Steve on the diverse projects we have in our pipeline. Our goal is to present different points of view globally across every platform based upon the Company’s DNA.”

She is best known for her work...

After more than eight months of negotiations, Luc Besson’s Paris-based company EuropaCorp has finally reached a deal with its junior lender, the New York fund Vine Alternative Investments. The pact was approved unanimously by all members of EuropaCorp’s board.

The company, which is listed on the Paris stock exchange, was placed under a debt waiver by the French commercial court last May. The waiver was recently extended to allow EuropaCorp to complete its restructuring plan.

Vine will give EuropaCorp a new credit line of $100 million to bring the company back on track and allow it to develop a slate of films and start producing again. The company will be producing/distributing two English-language films and one French-language film per year. It will also be producing or co-producing English-language series. The outfit will be doing distribution in France, but not in the U.S. as it did in the past.

EuropaCorp founder Luc Besson (“Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”) was found guilty on Jan. 8 of having unlawfully fired his former assistant while she was on medical leave.

As part of the ruling by the high court of Bobigny, Besson and his production company EuropaCorp were sentenced to pay €10,000 and $22,229, respectively, in damages to the claimant, a single mother in her 50s. The assistant, who has not been named in the media, worked for Besson for four years starting in 2015, until she was fired in January 2018, allegedly for “serious misconduct.”

The claimant, who alleged that she was treated as a “slave” by Besson during the time she served as his assistant, had been on leave since the previous fall after having been examined by four doctors – including one ordered by EuropaCorp – who said she was not fit to work. She remained on medical leave for 13 months after being fired by EuropaCorp.

EuropaCorp founder Luc Besson, already beset by accusations of sexual misconduct, now faces a possible 10-month suspended prison sentence if he is found to have unlawfully fired his former assistant while she was on medical leave, Variety has confirmed.

On top of the 10-month prison sentence, the Paris prosecutor in charge of the case also recommended fines of €30,000 and €50,000 for Besson and EuropaCorp, respectively, during a hearing held Wednesday, according to the general secretary of the high court of Bobigny, near Paris. The court’s decision will be announced Jan. 8.

The assistant, who has not been named in the media, is a single mother in her 50s who worked for Besson for four years starting in 2015, until she was fired in January 2018, allegedly for “serious misconduct.” Prosecutors say she was unlawfully terminated while on a genuine medical leave.

The claimant had been on leave since the previous fall after having...

Besson did not attend hearing in criminal court on the outskirts of Paris.

A Paris criminal court prosecutor has recommended French producer and director Luc Besson be given a 10-month suspended prison sentence for the alleged discriminatory dismissal of a personal assistant, French media is reporting.

The request was announced at a hearing in a criminal court on the outskirts of Paris on Wednesday.

The prosecutor also asked that a $33,000 fine be levied against the director and another separate €50,000 fine for his film company EuropaCorp. The court’s final decision will be announced on January 8, 2020.

The case is related to...

When the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke two years ago, the news was mostly met in France with a Gallic shrug. Screen icon Catherine Deneuve even denounced the #MeToo movement as creating a “totalitarian” environment. But bombshell accusations this month from actors Adèle Haenel and Valentine Monnier may finally have turned the tide in the local film industry.

Following the Nov. 4 publication of an investigation by news website Mediapart, in which Haenel accused director Christophe Ruggia of having sexually harassed her for years from the time she was 12, French stars such as Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Adjani and Jean Dujardin, as well as institutions such as UniFrance and the directors’ guild Srf, have spoken out in support of Haenel and, to a larger extent, all victims of alleged sexual abuse in the movie business. Ruggia was swiftly booted from the Srf, and is now being investigated by the Paris prosecutor.

Four days later,...

Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard is one of the many French film figures who have applauded fellow actress Adele Haenel (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) for speaking out about the sexual harassment she has said she was subjected to from the age of 12.

In an article published Sunday on the investigative website Mediapart, Haenel said that Christophe Ruggia, who directed her in the 2002 drama “The Devils” (“Les diables”), repeatedly made advances toward her, including unwanted touching and kisses, and harassed her from the age of 12 to 15. “The Devils” was the first film she starred in.

In a post on her Instagram account, Cotillard wrote: “Your courage is a gift of unmatched generosity for women and for men, for the young actresses and actors, for all those who have been damaged and now know thanks to you that they don’t have to suffer this violence. And for those who have suffered it,...

Director Luc Besson appeared on French television Tuesday night, defending himself in the wake of a rape claim made by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy in May 2018.

“This is a lie from A to Z. I did not rape this woman. I have never raped a woman in my life,” he said in an interview with news channel Bfmtv. “I have never raised a hand to a woman. I have never threatened a woman. I have never physically or morally coerced a woman. I have never drugged a woman.”

Van Roy filed a police report ...

Director Luc Besson appeared on French television Tuesday night, defending himself in the wake of a rape claim made by Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy in May 2018.

“This is a lie from A to Z. I did not rape this woman. I have never raped a woman in my life,” he said in an interview with news channel Bfmtv. “I have never raised a hand to a woman. I have never threatened a woman. I have never physically or morally coerced a woman. I have never drugged a woman.”

Van Roy filed a police report ...

Seven months after the Paris prosecutor dismissed rape allegations against Luc Besson citing a lack of evidence, a French judge has reopened an investigation into claims filed by the French-Belgian actress Sand Van Roy, according to the Afp. The reopening of the investigation by a judge stems from Van Roy’s civil complaint filed in March by her lawyer, Francis Szpiner.

In the complaint, Szpiner said the preliminary investigation conducted between May 2018 to February 2019 by the Paris prosecutor was “rushed and incomplete,” according to French website Mediapart. The judge will now review all the elements of the investigation initially conducted by the prosecutor and can either dismiss it or launch a new investigation.

Besson’s lawyer, Thierry Marembert, told the Afp they are “hopeful the judge who will discover the case will come to the same conclusion as the prosecutor who’s followed the case for more than a year.