Carl Rinsch has a good balance between the visual and the drama and action, so I thought if he's going to direct, we can make a new, epic film. My fear was gone when I met him.

When I was eight or nine years old, I saw the TV version of 47 Ronin, played by Toshiro Mifune. He played Oishi. That was my first experience. I watched every week with my brother. "Who plays Oishi tonight? Who will play Kira tonight?" And we fought every week.

I think it's very hard to direct foreign language actors, but Carl Rinsch found a great way. A special super visional way.

Carl Rinsch has a good balance between the visual and the drama and action, so I thought if he's going to direct, we can make a new, epic film. My fear was gone when I met him.

The difference between working on Asian and American films is in the producer and director; everyone has their own style. But, Hollywood has a lot more money; they can spend a lot on films, and time. In Europe, there's a small budget and thinking about commercial. Only budget and taste is different between there and Hollywood.

It's a Samurai story [47 ronin], so if we change too much Japanese audiences will have strong against feelings to the film. It's not good.

It's very difficult to introduce the world to our culture.