IAMA director of Iron Sky, and just wrapped the shootings of Iron Sky sequel The Coming Race. AMA.

First off, I really enjoy what you do - it's crazy concepts that only crazy people dare to explore, thank you for giving this type of entertainment to the world.

Seeing how the movies progress, I have only one question (idea for future movie)

Where would you take the 3rd movie - inwards more or outwards to space again?

As in will we get to see nano sized Nazis having bases in human bodies or after the moon they sent Nazi semen on a deep space probe and aliens used it to create a race of deep space Nazi-alien hybrids?

That I know already, it's going to be about Mars, the red planet. Communists. On Mars.

Have a read of Ken McLeod's Fall series, does communists in space quite well.

Haven't, but now I will!

I think it would be fascinating if the movie was centered around the communist Mars base actually being totally functional and peaceful, but the nations of Earth declare war on them anyway. It could be a really interesting parallel to the islamaphobia of the modern day.

I know you're a director and you've probably already got a good idea in your head of what you want to do with the film, but that's my two cents.

Yes, I do love that idea and it follows the direction I'm taking the story to.

This is just too far fetched. How am I supposed to believe a helicopter can fly all the way from Washington, D.C. to the South Pole? Ridiculous!

They stopped to refuel in Argentina.

Are you ready for the gay porn parody - "The Cumming Race?"

Oh yes. And I want to direct that.

Have you read The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut before making Iron Sky and have you draw any inspiration from it if you did?

I've read the book many years ago, but can't remember too much of it, but I think the general attitude of Vonnegut's approach has been an inspiration, yes!

First off, I'm a huge fan of the first movie, and I can't wait to see how you outdo a dark side of the moon complex shaped like a swastika running off of 40's/50's technobabble.

My question, is what kind of thought process went into the initial trailer for the upcoming sequel. Was it simply a matter of sitting down and brainstorming ways to crank the absurdity as high as you could in as short a time as possible, or was everything we saw in the trailer a deliberately and meticulously thought out continuation of the plot that you already had sorted out before the first movie even finished production?

Good question, the new trailer was for some reason a strong idea in my head very very early on, way before first iron sky was even out. I knew for some reason shot by shot what kind of a trailer I need to create even before I knew what was happening with the film.

If a new Star Wreck movie ever gets made, are you planning on reprising your role as lieutenant Dwarf? Really liked your acting work!

"taktisesta puuttuu edelleen tuoli!"

What I know is that Samuli is actually working on a new Star Wreck quite hard. Not sure if Dwarf is back, I assume probably not, but if, then of course!

Hey, it's great to see you here. I loved Iron Sky. How do you feel about current the rise of the Far-Right movement in Europe? What impact do you think your movies have on nationalist groups like the National Front in France, PEGIDA, UKIP, JOBBIK, Finns Party, BNP, Golden Dawn, the Swedish Resistance Movement, Scottish National Party, and others?

Hey there, and thanks. The far right movement is born from ignorance and frustration, but I understand the roots of it especially in Europe right now, growing and getting stronger, but I believe it's due to change in future. From what I've learned from meeting people who've seen Iron Sky around the world, it seems that the far-righters steer clear of it. We had a portion of followers who I'd consider to be quite right-wing, prior to the release of the first film excited about the film because of the imagery it's using, but when the film was out and it was clear that it's ridiculing such ideology, they became vocal haters of it.

Well, I'm quite right wing and I love the film! Not everyone who's right wing is a Nazi.

That's absolutely true, I stand corrected.

Dear Timo, when will you maybe ( hopefully ) decide to produce Iron Sky 3 ( greetings from an Ex-Moonbase Citizen - it was too cool ! - ) ?

I have decided it already, working on it as we speak :)

Where did you get the idea for Iron Sky?

One of my favorite movies of all time by the way.

The idea was born in a sauna in Finland many years ago, by a friend Jarmo Puskala. It started as a joke, but we took it seriously, and as we started to pitch the joke around, people responded very keenly on it, and decided to go for it.

Timo Thanks for doing this AMA. I have 3 questions.

1. Why haven't you called upon me to sever my hands to feed the rats inside the basement of your castle?

2. Are you aiming for another Finnish winter release for Iron Sky 2? I had a lot of fun drunkenly walking around Tampere in the snow after that premiere party for Iron Sky. We dont get that much snow here in Australia.

3. Will you re-sign my coat? Your signature doesn't look this fresh anymore

Thanks

-- Rattus

1. I'm expecting the hands to be fedexed in 24 hours. You know the address.

2. It might be autumn this time, but we'll see, too early to decide!

3. I will!

Hey, I don't really have much to ask but this might be the first AMA I get in on time. So did conspiracy theorists or theories shape the movies? Also, have you heard of "Die Glocke" and the whole "Ununpentium" conspiracy?

Good to have you here on time; yes, conspiracy theories have been a big influence, I sort of grew up with them and wanted to bring as many of them as possible into the world of Iron Sky. Die Glocke is one of my favorite ones, actually the very origin of Iron Sky 1

I LOVED Iron Sky! I was wondering if there's been more work with Laibach with this film?

Yes, Laibach will compose the score for Iron Sky The Coming Race as well!

The trailer turned me on to their music. They're too good - I think they're a pop band from an alternate universe where Hitler won the war.

Well put :) Although, as Laibach says: "We are as much a pop band as Hitler was an artist."

Hi, I love Iron Sky, its easily one of my favorite films ever made. You and your crew (plus backers) are amazing!

What's your favorite color on socks and what color are the ones you're wearing now (if any)?

Thank you! I don't trust any other color socks than black ones, none others make any sense on men. Right now, although, I'm wearing white-green woolen socks because the apartment I'm at has cold-ass floors.

Have you gotten a chance to play Fallout 4 now that you have finished shooting?

I've given it a bit of a try, but now going to focus rest of the year on that.

Hey, I caught Iron Sky on Netflix and immediately told all my friends about it. It rocks! My favorite part of spec fiction is always little details of the world building, like in 2001 when they show the women in grip shoes changing her orientation, or the way the characters discuss animals in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Can you share a "Slice of life" detail about the world in the hollow earth?

Well, not so much a world detail but a topic I've been trying to figure out, how does the horizon look inside the Earth, and how does the sky look like. It's really interesting to try to find solutions on how light behaves inside a ball and how to make it look both good and special.

You are awesome. Will characters be returning in the sequel?

Some - leading lady Renate, of course, and Wolfgang Kortzfleisch are coming back, also the President of the United States.

What is your favorite food to eat for breakfast?

I eat porridge.

do you ever throw some sliced bananas in there?

Rarely.

Funny, I've been talking to my friend Nevio Marasović about you the other day. We are doing VFX for his new movie. He said that I should definetly meet you if there will be a chance on some of the festivals since you are a VFX freak as much as a director. Is that true? I've been acctually following the development of the first movie quite closely. Do you think VFX has improved in the sequel? Trailer looks amazing! How are your deadlines? I know that you had crazy schedule. Oh, and one nostalgic question, do you have Lightwave in your pipeline again?

Hey there; the VFX house has changed, it's Pixomondo who made GoT, Hugo (got an Oscar for that) etc, so we're in good hands with them. I assume there's no LW anymore unfortunately, did like that community a lot!

Oh I know Pixomondo quite well. You sure went big this time. A good thing for a vfx intensive movie such as this. How long will the postproduction last? I see that theatrical release is in 2017.

Theatrical is 2017, I'd say meaning we're done with VFX by the end of 2016.

I'll be honest with you, Iron Sky is probably one of the worst films I've ever had the pleasure to waste 1Hr33minutes on. What came across your mind when you, or the writer decided to release this awful film? I'm saying this because it was funny how bad the film was; where did you get the budget?

Thanks for honesty, rare nowadays. The idea was born in a sauna evening, and from there developed with writers for years before being shot and released. The budget was Finnish-German-Australian co-production, with distribution money, soft money and bank money, and crowd funding and -investments, altogether summing up to 8 million €.

Why is Sarah Palin still relevant to you?

The character of President of USA is an easy one to build up all the crazy details of the US presidents - it's not Palin, it's a frankenstein of a bunch of US presidents.

Have you seen this homepage ( http://principality-of-sealand.eu/new_e.html ) - the official site of Vrils ?

Had not, much interesting thank you :)

They " stole " maybe the idea of thepicture of Agartha....you will find it on their homepage..or am I wrong ?

Not understanding

Do you have any directorial advice?

Respect everyone.

Did you ever worry that your movies could be misperceived as sympathetic to Nazism or making light of the holocaust? How did you deal with these concerns?

I did, especially during the release of the first teasers which didn't very clearly scream out that this is a comedy.

Hey there! I really, really enjoyed the premise of Iron Sky, but I found that its inability to decide whether it was totally absurd or totally silly kept me from truly enjoying the film.

Do you feel that The Coming Race has a stronger identity or balance in this regard?

I don't really think films decide whether they are anything, it's the filmmaker who makes the decision and the audience either likes that decision or not. So no, The Coming Race doesn't have in any way stronger or weaker identity, it's shit that's coming out of my brains and you either dig it or don't :)

How did the filming work? 2 months you say and it's only just wrapped up. But I watched a good looking trailer more than 2 months ago. So how did that happen?

We shot quite a cool material already on the first shooting week, and decided to quickly do a teaser because AFM (American Film Market) was closing, and wanted to get something ready there.

In the first movie the slogan was Black to the moon. For the nest one can we have a Mexican astronaut allowing the slogan to be Juan small step for man?

That's a nice idea, yes :)

Hi Timo! I really enjoyed the first Iron sky, and i am also a fan of how effectively and genuinely you connect with fans personally on the net.

My question is this: After the credits of the original Iron sky, there's a short teaser clip with some kind of satellite orbiting mars. Unless there's something I'm missing, having not seen the second film, what made you decide to ignore this hint about presumably the sequel and go with the hollow earth plot-line I've seen in the trailers? I love the direction you've taken, I'm just a bit confused.

You'll have to wait for part 3 to find the solution to that.

A "local" movie critic used the words: "darth vader's brothel" to describe the swastika shaped moon base from the first movie.

How accurate do you find the description?

Never thought of it like that, but that's pretty accurate yes :)

What do you think of working with Kit Dale? Do you think he has real potential to move away from his previous exploits in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to take a shot at an acting career?

Absolutely. He's the hardest-working man with the best work ethic I've ever met, and that is the key asset to success. He did a brilliant role, huge respect for that.

I just want to say... I love Iron Sky and I'm looking forward to this movie as well. Did you ever meet Laibach? Are they as cool as they seem or as scary as they seem?

Yes, I've met them many times. They are, if there's one word to describe them, intelligent. On and off stage.

Oh, and sardonic.

Hey! I think we went to the same high school! Friend made cloth bags and t-shirts inspired by iron sky and the school, might still have a couple, want one? http://i.imgur.com/7FlwGSx.jpg

Wow cool! Of course!

Why does the post-production take a whole year?

Many dinosaurs to be made.

How did you connect with Laibach? Was it easy to get them on board? What did collaborating with them look like?

It wasn't easy to get them convinced, but the moment they saw the first teaser of the first Iron Sky they were in.

Can you speak of any larger themes you included in your movie? Obviously it's a comedy, but I find the social commentary bits to be just as interesting- like the Nazi's being surprised by shaven women in a porn magazine, or Totally-Not-Sarah-Palin using Klaus' Nazi rhetoric to get re-elected in America.

Yes, I started to work on Iron Sky based on crazy idea, but for me to really realize the idea I needed something larger to grab on to, and social commentary came quite naturally there. I've been politically quite verbal most of my life, and although never really claimed to be politically active, I find politics and human behaviour themes to explore.

Would you be mad at me if I pirated this?

No. See, I don't own the distribution rights to this film, at least not when it's in distribution. By then, I've sold the distribution rights to distributor, who is interested in making money with the rights. He might get mad at you, but me... no.

What distributor?

That's not public yet. All in good time, Trevi, all in good time :)

Woah ! trailer is unique ...i will get into this after i do my laundry. All the best. Just 1 question . Where do i start if i want to make a film ? Thank you.

Start with an idea you think you could be willing to live with for few years, idea - be it a character, or concept, or whatever - you think that could really excite you for so long and through all the hardships a filmmaking brings to you.

Iron Sky was an awesome movie. Can't wait for more...

This is meant to be a question, isn't it?

I'm sure of it?

Hello! Thanks for being in the AMA for the long haul!

What experience would you say was most valuable when you were first starting to produce your own content?

Many things, but I always remember a fight I had with my production manager and producers when I was working on my first film. I was shouting at them when they were telling me this and that can't be done because of realism and resources related to it. I felt, being an inexperienced director then, that they were trying to limit my creativity. Went home, gave a long thought at it and came back apologizing to them. I realized that actually everyone involved is there to help me realize my crazy, weird-ass dreams, not working against me. Everyone, even when they are saying sometimes "no", are doing that to make sure you get the best out of work you're doing. I learned that and became a heaps of a better director after realizing it.

How can fans get involved with the making of the third movie? I'm a big fan of the first one and can't wait to see the second

We will let you know, as soon as we're up and running with that. Right now, give us a year to finish this one and then we're in business!

Do you enjoy alternate history? Such as The Man in the High Castle?

One of my favorite genres, yes.

hi, i loved Iron Sky, will the second one be on netfkix also? i don't think cinemas here woukd show it

Most likely yes!

Why did wreckamovie.com fail?

The team all wanted to do a bit different things with it. In the end, it was lacking a central, core business model that could support the expansion, and without funding, we weren't able to continue building or even upkeeping it. We did take the core ideas of Wreckamovie and took them to our own new platform at Iron Sky's website, here.

Do you always use the second to last take?

Because you get it, and then you say okay let's do one more just for the feck of it?

Good point, and yes, mostly second-to-last is the one I end up using.

How did you make such a shitty concept for a movie into such an awesome thing?

Also serious question, will there be more trailers for The Coming Race?

Yes, we will be releasing a bunch of trailers, teasers, teaser-trailers, clips and whatnots during the next year-and-a-half

What happened to your Jeremiah Harm project? Is that still being made?

Unfortunately, not. It was a project I really loved, and wanted to do, but unfortunately it died. I don't even know why. Got the writer to write Iron Sky 2, though!

[deleted]

Why not?

The CUMMING Race. Amirite?

I don't understand what you mean.

How did you have one of the best trailers ever (for iron sky) but make such a mediocre shit ass movie of the concept?

Have you ever thought it has more to do with your attention span than actually quality of the end product?