When you direct as many films as Takashi Miike, you have to be in love with the moviemaking process.The Osaka-born director, 50, has made dozens of features since the early 90s, genre hopping between ultraviolent gangster dramas, period pieces, dark psychological horror and even children's films. Miike's latest - although, typically, his next is already in post-production - is 13 Warriors, which will be showing at the London Film Festival this month. Starring Koji Yakusho, it's a remake of Eichi Kudo's 1963 film of the same name and has echoes of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Here, Miike admits that directing is an addiction and reveals his passion for all aspects of the cinematic art...

REMAKES 'The most important thing about remaking a classic movie is how much you respect the original. I didn't worry about putting my own mark on 13 Assassins because I respected the original film. I've never sought to impose my personality on a film. My philosophy as a director has always been to set aside my ego and just enjoy making it.'

SHOOTING 'I love the act of shooting and I'm always seeking something I can get absorbed in. It's like an addiction. I may be chasing a dream I'll never accomplish. The pleasure of making a jidaigeki [period drama] is that the characters can achieve in only one night what might take 100 days in a contemporary drama. I always seek universal themes. Love begets revenge and justice begets violence.'

SOUND DESIGN AND CGI 'I've worked with the same sound team on several films. They pretty much understand my goals. Even if there are misunderstandings, that only brings something new to the film. I've been working with composer Koji Endo for more than 10 years. He's a genius when it comes to hearing what the film needs. I usually work with the same CGI team, too. I give them very detailed instructions, but they understand my basic taste. I don't create things that are impossible to create in reality - I create things that look better with CGI.'

FIGHT SCENES 'Swordfighting scenes are about love. Without brotherly love, we couldn't shoot such violent scenes. I worked with the fight choreographer scene by scene. That is also love. Planning the amount of blood and violence in a film can only be decided by inevitability!'

13 Assassins screens on the 23rd and 24th of October at the London Film Festival. For more details visit http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/.

(With thanks to the BFI and the London Film Festival)