Luc Besson is clearly a cinematic force to reckon with, invading our cinemas this year as a producer (The Homesman) and writer (3 Days to Kill and Brick Mansions). And as a writer-director, his action romp Lucy has already topped the US box office and is expanding globally over the next two weeks to Europe, South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Scarlett JohanssonScarlett Johansson in 'Lucy'

Besson hasn't made many films that didn't have some element of action in them. But he never blows things up just for the spectacle. "If the action doesn't have a soul or purpose, I'm not interested," he says. "If it's pure action for its own sake, I enjoy it like a cheeseburger: you eat it, then you're hungry."

To keep things soulful, Besson puts strong, beautiful women front and centre. This is true even in his forays into sci-fi (The Last Battle and The Fifth Element), period drama (Joan of Arc and Adele Blanc-Sec) and biopic (The Lady). And as a director, he has made movies around Isabelle Adjani (Subway), Rosanna Arquette (The Big Blue), Anne Parillaud (Nikita), Rie Rasmussen (Angel-A) and even the then 13-year-old Natalie Portman (Leon).

More: read our review of 'Lucy'

So it's hardly surprising to see him teaming up with the world's current cinematic hottie Scarlett Johansson, known for her bold acting choices (see this year's Under the Skin). Together they make a formidable team, adding seductive braininess to the raucous action.

So what's up next? Well, Besson isn't resting on his laurels. Next year he'll offer Taken 3 and a reboot of his Transporter franchise. And he's no doubt got his eye on another feisty, sexy woman.

More: 'Lucy' is fantastic, but there will no sequel