and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. ♪ long before he became one of the foremost, he was captured by a series called valerian. it's called "valerian and the city of a thousand planets." >> welcome to the alpha. the city of a thousand planets. after centuries of peace and prosperity an unknown force wants to destroy all we have created. >> agent valerian and laureline you must identify it. ♪ >> first of all congratulations. >> thank you. >> i say that because even if you're not a film maker, it's hard not to have an appreciation for what it must have taken to get done. because it's so massive on every scale. >> it's the work of a -- every day you have to bring a little. if you put your eyes up and you watch the mountain, you die. don't watch it. just do every day a little piece and surround yourself with the best people. 2000 people. seven years and then at the it end it looks like something. with your wife as producer you can't go wrong. >> that's true. >> i saw this in 2d. i saw this in 2d and i'm anxious to see it again. >> i'm not a big fan usually of 3d. "avatar" was amazing in 3d. but this is another level. i was amazed by it in fact. i was the first movie goer to see it in 3d but it's pretty amazing. >> as a child reading valerian what was it that captured and captivated you? >> we have to remember that time i'm 10 years old. i'm living 60 kilometers from pairing on the country side. when i open my window i have cows. there's one black and white channel, no radio. because nimy step father hates music and my only escape is valerian. and that was my passport to escape. a guy and a girl in space suit kicking butt to aliens. i mean -- you know. but that was my only way to get out and dream. >> what did that escapism do for your imagination? >> i think it's everything. it's my drug. i never drink in my life, never smoke. never take anything. but i'm dreaming. it's my way to -- no one can take your soul. you can live with it. and i have a very -- i have my best friend 10 years old. talking to him all the time. i like this boy. he's a great guy. and we have a good relationship. and even now if i'm not childish or a child anymore but i really have a particular relation with him and i think i made the film for him in fact. >> and what did he think of it? >> he says yeah good work. i like it. >> when you were a child reading valerian, did you see the humanity in this story that you have brought to life. i must admit you said earlier you're not a fan of 3d and this isn't my type of movie but i was completely blown away when i saw this. and not by all the woo woo woo woo. that's just not me. i was blown away by the humanity in the story. i followed the story and got caught up in the story that you were telling. as a kid, did you see the humanity or did you see all the woo woo woo stuff? >> i think you feel it. you don't understand it. but you feel that the food is good. there's talk of oppression and slavery, about a lot of things like this and you don't quite understand but you feel this is right. you feel that they're fighting for novel causes and you follow that and it teaches you also in life. they teach me so many things when i was young. >> like what? >> there's one of them where the humans are on the planet and they take all the minerals and everything and this alien who comes and they said no we just went hunting for tour. it takes us 10,000 years but it's our place. we were just hunting in the forest to another planet and the human can't understand because they say we're here since 800 years. and then when you're a kid, you say who is right? the -- that belongs to who? and you think about it and you like this alien and you say no, that's their land. we should get out and valerian and laureline help them get out. >> this shows human beings doing pretty awful things but it's human being in the end to help turn this thing in the right direction. you had to balance out the story line of we humans. >> i think we have to accept it. we invented insulin and the atomic bomb. that's who we are. the yin and the yang. we are black and white. we are like the two and we have to fight with it. it's up to us every morning to decide which side we want to be. and it's a fight. sometime it wants to be mean and say no, i don't like my neighbor. just to learn and accept and work on yourself and it's very importa important. i don't like to put my finger too much on it, because otherwise it looks like i give a lesson to people like this and i'm going to give you an example. if you said to your kid you must learn music. you should do piano or guitar because it's important in your life. i don't care. and then one day with our daughter i was pretending working and she comes in and she says what is that? oh, that's a piano. yeah. can i touch it? sure, sure, sure. can i play? yeah, sure, play. and then a month later said you think i can have a teacher to learn more? yeah, sure. i swear if i tell her before you have to learn piano, she will say no way and now she's so good. we just put the piano there aan that's there. and they catch it and make their own. and it's much more powerful when they tell you the lesson, you know. >> how has your curiosity -- because it's hard not to see you're a curious person. how has your curiosity served your film making? >> it's my food. i mean there's lots of people in the movie business who take their food from other films. it's the worst thing to do. my food is in the streets. you sit down in the park for an hour and you just watch it and it's the best show ever. the best show ever. the people -- i remember the other day there's this old lady crossing the park and i was so in pain for her. took like forever to do 10 meters. this jogger has five time because he was doing circleal around the park and she was here. just this movement of life like this poor lady takes an hour to get out of the park. the guys were sweating and going around forever. and the tree, watch your tree and say it's 300 years old. i'm 50. i'm the baby. he's watching you. and you say hi. and you learn from him. for example, if he wants to go up you have to put his roots down. i learn from that. i say okay. i have to stand on my family and my roots and be strong if i have to go up. you don't have to watch your film to help you learn. >> i read a piece not too long ago and i was just struck by your candor. your honesty in assessing how seriously you take your work but not yourself. i was struck by your candor in how you assessed the power of film but the film isn't -- you're not scientists inventing stuff. you're not doctors saving lives. you seem to be pretty well even keeled about your work. >> i'm an aspirin. that's all i can do. i can't save cancer beuti can for two hours i make you feel better. i'm a little aspirin. that's all i am. but i think a film is the art of lying. because everything is fake. but you have to tell the truthd so much to lie so well. you know? >> i feel you. yeah. very nicely put. you mentioned family tell me about your mom and dad. >> one moment where i had both of them in the same time because they divorced after and that was in greece and i was 7/8 years old. i have no shoes for at least nine months. the rocks, the sun, the sea. no friend, no tv for sure. no internet. nothing. and i was never happy as at this moment. it was just perfect. i have two friends. very nice. super sweet. always the same place. we come every day. you know the rank is number three or four. after there's human and dolphin and fox and i think the octopus is right there. pretty intelligent and if they like you, you can take them and play with them and they're very sweet. very sweet also. they don't leave together. they were not friends. so i have to see one person and the other one after. that was my day. >> again it's almost impossible to see your work, even in this project and not have a grasp, not get a grasp of your appreciation for an imals for life. you talk about it with the octopus story. >> it's essential. because they have something that we lost. i'm a biker sometime and i have my new jacket and i say excuse me. what time is it? and the person. oh. like this. because the beard, the jacket. they're scared and they don't know me. why they scared? and the animals and especially in the sea in fact when you go to places where they never seen a human. they're not scared. you're not yellow so your wrr not an enemy. i've met people, animals but i've met some of them in the sea and they look at you with a humanity who makes you feel like a stupid man. i remember this huge shark. he was probably 15 foot. he was like this very strong and i was looking on the thing and i see a shadow i thought was the boats and i turn and it's a 15-foot shark and my first reaction is like this. and then he pasds just like this and his eyes looked like -- he just looked like me and like oh, you too. you only? and then he went and that's it. and i feel so stupid just to -- there's not a millimeter of aggression or he was kind. he was just look at me and accept me the way i was. even if i was really different than him. he was okay with that and that's a lesson. i'm amazed to see and it's the subject of valerian and we live together. we start in 1975 with the american and the russian shaking hands in space that they don't do so often now and we see after the people coming together and doing this big station and i'm amazed sometime to see just for a question of colorer or religion or just the age. you're too old, you're too young. you're a man, you're a woman. it's like we're always looking for what could be wrong or what could be different. and i have this dream is to see before i'm dying to see the first alien coming on earth. because we will feel like brothers suddenly. they are not -- they are foreigners. and i hope it will unify everyone because we won't care about the difference we have because this one is different for sure. so i hope they will save us in a way. >> what gives you hope that we're heading in that direction? that we'll make it to that place. one couldn't argue the state of the world right now is leaving a lot of people hopeless for a lot of different reasons so what makes you so hopeful we'll get to that point? >> let's forget the last six months. >> i wish i could. yeah. >> let's watch for 1,000 years. 10 century to now. 10 century ago if you're not the same color or region, they just kill you and don't even talk. today took the plane, you can see christian, black, muslim. we live together. we say hi. oh, sorry, you want my seat. a pillow. we progresses. if we're looking on the big scale for 10 century we went like this and the last six months we have a bump a little bit. so if we're watching the curve i'm pretty optimistic. i think we're going the right way. the second one is the youth. the youth today, internet, where they're living together. they don't care so much about the social thing. the color the thing. if they like you, they like you. they mix much more today. you and i'm very optimistic with the youth because they are not as much as we are or our parents were. they're much more okay with all this. they're okay to live together. much more than us. >> speaking of the youth we have two young stars in this film and your fans know you've been pretty good about discovering and breaking these young stars out. what's your hope for the two? >> he was playing in broadway and he's the new dicaprio for me. he's so talented. kara, when i met her, i was fasnated by her. she was laureline for sure. i didn't know if she was a good actress and so i started a couple of tests with her. i tortured her. let's be honest. for hours. i need to know if she has it. and at the end she left, the agent called me and said what's wrong? and i said no. but she's crying. and i said no, she's got the part. she's great. and i think kara, first she's a natural born actress and a model. someone met her in the streets and she became famous over there. but she's not in fact for me. she's really an actress. really. >> there are going to be comparisons this week. there are going to be comparisons because we're humans and we have to explain to people what we saw. i suspect we're going to compare it to avatar. but in researching -- the more i've got into your work, the more i want to learn about you. i found a fascinating conversation where you talked about -- i'm paraphrasing -- but your respect for the guys before you who have done this. your respect for james cameron, etc., etc. as you've been watching over the years, the technology grow, the opportunity to use technology expand and watching the good stuff you've seen on "star wars," was that encouraging or discouraging for you? >> when i watched "avatar" the first time i was in shock. because my script was almost ready. i like it. i say that's pretty good. i went back home. i threw the script in the garbage. and i stopped again. >> "avatar" was that good for you? >> yeah. it's basically you're ready for the olympic game and you watch usain bolt and say i'm ready. that was the feeling. and after a couple of hours i was just like respecting him so much. because i'm so happy that some people are pushing the thing so much. and basically say kid, okay. come on. and he was kind enough to invite me on the set of "avatar" and give me lot of tips. this guy is very generous. he doesn't want to keep the thing for himself. he's happy to share and we're using all this technology that he has on "avatar" which is even better now and so all the people in new zealand and here in california who work on "star wars." they were all working together. and we benefit from all these guys for sure. >> so if this thing works, i suspect it will not that my opinion matters. if this thing works, then they're going to be begging for the next installment, the next installment. can you already see where this thing is heading? >> i would love. the main reason is there's two cops. >> i love those guys. i love them. >> so if you do another episode. if you do another film, it's another adventure. so you don't have this repetitive things where you go back to the same place, in new york, superpower and thing. you can go to a total different direction and a new mission and for a director, that's all you want. i don't like so much to go to a remake where you repeat yourself. it's the same story. it's a little boring to do in fact. but here i want to see these two agents again and again and again. >> thanks for being my aspirin for those two hours. i had lot of fun. i enjoyed it immensely. so thank you. >> and i want to thank you for one thing. >> what's that. >> the thing you did with prince two years ago. it was like thank you for that. >> miss him too. >> "valerian" opens this weekend. i think you'll have a good time. i did. let me know what you think about it. thank you in advance. that's our show tonight. thanks for watching and as always, keep the faith. ♪ for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at tbs.org. >> join me next time with folk singer judy collins. that's next time. we'll see you then. ♪ good evening from los angeles, i'm tavis smiley. tonight my conversation a actress jada pinkett smith. she joins me to discuss her new film "girls trip." and her life as one-half of a hollywood power couple. glad you joined us. our conversations with jada pinkett smith in just a moment. ♪