Besson reveals how Avatar influenced his latest project

James Cameron's hugely successful 2009 sci-fi film Avatar had a dramatic impact on French director Luc Besson's plans for his upcoming film.

This was revealed by Besson, one of the most commercially successful directors in France, during a recent tour to Beijing to promote his sci-fi epic Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets.

Besson, who is known for works that range from Natalie Portman's debut movie The Professional and the sci-fi hit The Fifth Element to Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, says that he dumped the script for Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets into a trash can after watching Avatar. "It was not good enough," he says.