In Finland, getting a university degree is the first thing that you expect your kids to do.

I did some film reviews for small papers in Finland and things like that to be able to keep living here.

I feel like I learned very early on that your heroes are only as powerful as your villains. And I'm attracted to intelligent villains.

Eventually, in '84, we made a film for a little over a million dollars - with American actors that was shot in English - that was shown in Finland A little action film called Born American.

You want to do something that shows some type individuality and talent and imagination - at the same time, you want to be truthful to the predecessors, because obviously the audience liked something about them and you have to replicate that experience to a certain extent.

It proved to be pretty impossible to get funds for a feature film in Finland. It's still small, but the film industry was miniscule at that point in the early '80s.

I went out to some advertising agencies and asked if I could do anything.