History Trivia / TheFifthElement

** If you closely when Ruby Rhod sings "All Night Long", Bruce Willis can be seen trying not to laugh.

** This is one of the rare pre-2021 movies where Creator/BruceWillis is ''not'' voiced in French by Creator/PatrickPoivey. Besson wanted Poivey, but he was dismissed following a salary dispute with the local dubbing studio. He was instead dubbed by Bernard Métraux.

* TheOtherDarrin: This is one of the rare movies where Creator/BruceWillis is ''not'' voiced in French by Creator/PatrickPoivey, who was dismissed following a salary dispute with the local dubbing studio. He was instead dubbed by Bernard Métraux.

* DoingItForTheArt: The film was a passion project for Creator/LucBesson, having came up with the idea as a teenager and spending years trying to get it made.

* CreatorBacklash: Asked in a 2014 interview for ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' if he liked the film, Creator/GaryOldman stated, "Oh no. I can't bear it." He had explained in 2011: "It was me singing for my supper because Luc had come in and partly financed [my film]." Downplayed in that while it might not be the project he most wants to be remembered for, he's admitted [[AwesomeDearBoy he had fun playing a charismatic, over-the-top villain]] in a friend's passion project.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/GaryOldman went on to say he "can't bear" the film in an interview for ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}''.

* OldShame: Asked in a 2014 interview if he liked the film, Creator/GaryOldman stated, "Oh no. I can't bear it." He had explained in 2011: "It was me singing for my supper because Luc had come in and partly financed [my film]." Downplayed in that while it might not be the project he most wants to be remembered for, he's admitted [[AwesomeDearBoy he had fun playing a charismatic, over-the-top villain]] in a friend's passion project.

* CreatorCouple: Creator/{{Maiwenn}}, Creator/LucBesson's fiancé at the time, played the Diva Plavalaguna. She got the role after the original actress failed to turn up.

* CreatorCouple: Maïwenn, Creator/LucBesson's fiancé at the time, played the Diva Plavalaguna. She got the role after the original actress failed to turn up.

* ProductionPosse: The movie has three alumni from Besson's previous film ''Film/TheProfessional'': Eric Serra as the composer for the soundtrack, Creator/GaryOldman as Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg (previously portrayed Norman Stansfield) and Maïwenn as the Diva (who was the prostitute girlfriend of the Fatman's wife in the former movie).

** Also counts for Christopher Fairbank playing Professor Mactilburgh in an early scene. He's generally more well known as Moxey, a Scouser, in British comedy-drama ''Series/AufWiedersehenPet''.

* ProductionPosse: The movie has three alumni from Besson's previous film ''Film/TheProfessional'': Eric Serra as the composer for the soundtrack, Creator/GaryOldman as Jean-Baptise Emmanuel Zorg (previously portrayed Norman Stansfield) and Maiwenn as the Diva (who was the prostitute girlfriend of the Fatman's wife in the former movie).
* ReferencedBy: The video game, ''VideoGame/{{Apocalypse}}'', which came out a year after the movie, starring Bruce Willis as the hero - a retired ex-Special Forces soldier, not unlike Korben Dallas - in a futuristic megacity. There's even a stage involving a chase scene on flying taxis, except this time it's Willis' character who ends up falling atop and clinging on the vehicle.

* ThrowItIn: Creator/BruceWillis ad-libbed the line "I only speak two languages - English and bad English."

** A set of alien garbage collectors were created for a shot that was cut from the final film. A huge pile of garbage has gone uncollected, which is still referenced in the film. The creatures would have been seen holding sandwich boards saying 'on strike' beside the garbage.

* RelationshipVoiceActor: In the Mexican Spanish dub, [[Creator/MarioCastaneda Korben]] and [[Creator/LauraTorres Leeloo]] are [[Franchise/DragonBall adult and child Goku]] (the latter also being Gohan and Goten as children).

* DyeingForYourArt: Creator/MillaJovovich's hair was to be dyed from its natural brown color to her character's signature orange color. However, due to the fact that her hair had to be re-dyed regularly to maintain the bright color, Milla's hair quickly became too damaged and broken to withstand the dye. Eventually a wig was created to match the color and style of Leeloo's hair, and was used for the remainder of the production.

* TheOtherDarrin: This is one of the rare movies where Creator/BruceWillis is not voiced in French by Patrick Poivey, who was dismissed following a salary dispute with the local dubbing studio. He was instead dubbed by Bernard Métraux.

** Creator/TinyLister. as the level-headed, ReasonableAuthorityFigure President, playing a more prominent and powerful role than his typical ScaryBlackMan parts.

** Creator/JamieFoxx and Music/MichaelJackason were considered for Ruby Rhod.

* ProductionPosse: The film has three alumni from Besson's previous film ''Film/TheProfessional'': Eric Serra as the composer for the soundtrack, Creator/GaryOldman as Jean-Baptise Emmanuel Zorg who previously portrayed Norman Stansfield and Maiwenn as the Diva who was the prostitute girlfriend of the Fatman's wife in the former movie.

* ProductionPosse: In addition to having Eric Serra as the composer for the film, the film has Creator/GaryOldman who previously portrayed Norman Stansfield in ''Film/TheProfessional''.

** Ruby Rhod's name was originally Loc Rhod. The name appears in the original script and the novelisation.

* ProductionPosse: In addition to Eric Serra as the composer for the film, the film has Creator/GaryOldman who previously portrayed Norman Stansfield in ''Film/TheProfessional''.

** Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. as the level-headed, ReasonableAuthorityFigure President, playing a more prominent and powerful role than his typical ScaryBlackMan parts.

** Alert film buffs will note that Korben and Zorg never meet each other face to face. In an original draft of the script, Zorg would have faced Korben during the hotel evacuation, where the latter beat the crap out of the former for firing him and attacking Leeloo before stealing his ship (the ZF-1 was out of ammo, which resulted in Zorg's VillainousBSOD). Zorg then survives the destruction of the hotel with the personal shield of the ZF-1, only to land in a massive glacier. He then calls his secretary to send another ship, only for the battery in his ZF-1 phone to fail. That ending is featured in the novelization.

** Creator/JamieFoxx was considered for Ruby Rhod.
** Creator/ElizabethBerkley was considered for Leelo.

** Brion James usually typecast as a low-life criminal scum, is Korben's former commanding officer who charges him to save the world, and implicitly trusts him as the right man for the job.