Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He has made many thrillers and action films that are visually rich. Besson had been nominated for Best Director and Best Picture César Awards for his films Léon: The Professional and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. He won Best Director and Best French Director for his film The Fifth Element (1997). His Taken 2 (2012) is France’s biggest export success. In 1980 he founded his own production company, called Les Films du Loup, and later Les Films du Dauphin. This was superseded in 2000 by his co-founding EuropaCorp film company with his longtime collaborator, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam. Besson has been involved with filmmaking for more than 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer. He is also being declared the John Hughes of action movies, due to his writing screenplays for action movies.