Albert Pyun
| Albert Pyun | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 19, 1953 Hawaii, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1970 - current |
Albert Pyun (born May 19, 1953)[citation needed] is an American film director best known for having made many low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films. He frequently blends kickboxing and hybrid martial arts with science fiction and dystopic or post-apocalyptic themes, which often include cyborgs. Some of Pyun's better known films include The Sword and the Sorcerer, Cyborg, and Nemesis.
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[edit] Career
[edit] 1980s
Pyun's first film, The Sword and the Sorcerer, remains his highest-grossing as of 2011[update], eventually earning $36,714,025 in the United States.[1] Its opening on April 30, 1982 resulted in a gross of $4,100,886 which ranked the film #2 that week in America.[2] Richard Lynch received the Best Supporting Actor Saturn award for his performance as Cromwell.[3]
Pyun's second film, Radioactive Dreams, was awarded the top festival prize of the Golden Raven at the 5th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in 1987.[4]
Pyun's career took a more mainstream turn with the thriller Dangerously Close,[5] and the romantic adventure film, Down Twisted, starring Carey Lowell, Charles Rocket, and Courteney Cox.
In the late 1980s, Pyun made Alien From L.A., featuring supermodel Kathy Ireland's acting debut; the film was later mocked on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.,[6] Also during that time came Cyborg, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Cyborg opened as the #4 highest grossing film in America on April 7, 1989.[7] It eventually grossed $10,166,459 in the US.[8] 22 years after making Cyborg, Pyun released his director's cut of Cyborg in 2011.
In 1989, Pyun made Deceit, and began Captain America, based on the Marvel Comics superhero. Production ended when financing fell through.[9] A director's cut was released in May 2011,[10] when it played a film festival,[11][12] and had at least one commercial theatrical booking.[13]
[edit] 1990s
During the 90's Pyun entered into this most prolific period of filmmaking in his career.
In the early 1990s Pyun made Nemesis, starring Olivier Gruner and Thomas Jane, which opened on January 29, 1993,[14] Brainsmasher... A Love Story (1993) with Teri Hatcher and Andrew Dice Clay; and Mean Guns (1997) with Christopher Lambert and Ice-T.
On June 14, 1991, Kickboxer 2, written by David Goyer (Ghost Rider, Blade, The Dark Knight) and directed by Pyun opened in theaters to mixed reviews.[15]
Films included Knights with Kris Kristofferson and Lance Henriksen, Ravenhawk with Rachel McLish and William Atherton, Hong Kong '97 with Robert Patrick and Ming Na-Wen, Adrenalin: Fear the Rush with Christopher Lambert and Natasha Henstridge, Post Mortem with Charlie Sheen, Crazy Six with Rob Lowe, Mario Van Peebles and Burt Reynolds, Omega Doom with Rutger Hauer and Shannon Whirry, Arcade with Megan Ward, Seth Green, Peter Billingsly and John Delancie. Pyun also made his only episodic TV work to date for the NBC/Columbia Tri-Star prime time show The Fifth Corner with Alex McArthur, Kim Delaney and James Coburn.
[edit] 2000s
Pyun directed and produced Ticker Artisan Entertainment in May 2000, which featured Steven Seagal, Tom Sizemore, Dennis Hopper, Jaime Pressly, rapper Nas and Ice-T plus Chilli of the R&B group TLC. It was awarded the Video Software Dealers Association's 2002 Best Renting Direct-To-Video Title By An Independent Studio.[16]
Pyun is also in post production on an upgrade of his original Nemesis[17] and was inducted into B Movie Celebration's B Movie Hall of Fame in 2011.[18]
In 2004 Pyun went to the US territory of Guam and, along with film producer John Laing, convinced the Guam government to put up an $800,000 loan guarantee to finance their film Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon.[19] In his effort to convince Guam officials to approve the loan guarantee, Pyun told them that he and his producer (Laing) had a "sterling financial record" and that neither he nor John Laing had ever defaulted on a loan.[19] In 2006 Laing defaulted on the loan, and Guam lost its guarantee. Laing blamed Pyun for the failure of the film.[20][21]
His 2005 film Infection was praised by one reviewer for its camera work, specifically one uninterrupted shot from a surveillance camera mounted inside a police car.[22] The title of the film was changed by Lions Gate Entertainment to Invasion so as not to be confused with an earlier Lions Gate release.[23] Lions Gate also released Pyun's film Left for Dead.
Pyun received the Golden Unicorn Award in 2005 at the Estepona Film Festival for lifetime achievement.[24]
In September 2008, Pyun began production on his long delayed Tales of an Ancient Empire.[25] Shooting began on October 12, 2008, with Lambert and Kevin Sorbo. The film premiered at Louisville, Kentucky's Fright Night Film Fest.[26]
Another Pyun film, Bulletface, had a release date of January 26, 2010, and starred Victoria Maurette, Steven Bauer, Scott Paulin, Morgan Weisser, Assaf Cohen, Jenny Dare Paulin and Eddie Velez.[27]
Pyun's "Tales of an Ancient Empire" was released by Lions Gate Films on January 24, 2012. The film stars Kevin Sorbo, Michael Pare', Melissa Ordway and Ralf Moeller.
[edit] Selected filmography
- The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)
- Radioactive Dreams (1985)
- Dangerously Close (1986)
- Vicious Lips (1987)
- Down Twisted (1987)
- Alien from L.A. (1988)
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1989)
- Deceit (1989)
- Cyborg (1989)
- Bloodmatch (1991)
- Captain America (1990)
- Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991)
- Dollman (1991)
- Nemesis (1992)
- Arcade (1993)
- Knights (1993)
- Brainsmasher... A Love Story (1993)
- Spitfire (1994)
- Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (1994)
- Hong Kong 97 (1994)
- Heatseeker (Film) (1995)
- Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995)
- Nemesis 3: Prey Harder (1995)
- Nemesis 4: Death Angel (1995)
- Raven Hawk (1996)
- Adrenalin: Fear the Rush (1996)
- Blast (1997)
- Omega Doom (1997)
- Mean Guns (1997)
- Crazy Six (1998)
- Postmortem (1998)
- The Wrecking Crew (1999)
- Urban Menace (1999)
- Corrupt (1999)
- Ticker (2001)
- More Mercy (2003) (V)
- Final Examination (2003)
- Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon (2004)
- Invasion AKA Infection (2005)
- Cool Air (2006)
- Left for Dead (2007)
- Road to Hell (2008)
- Bulletface (2010)
- Tales of an Ancient Empire (2010)
- Red Moon (2012)
- Mean Guns 2 (2012)
- Cyborg/Nemesis (2012)
[edit] Producer
- Devil Girl (2007)
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/SwordAndSorcerer.php
- ^ "Sword and the Sorcerer". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=swordandthesorcerer.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ "Past Saturn Awards". Saturn Awards. http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html#fantasy. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- ^ http://cinemafantastique.be/Presentations-du-festival.html
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1986-05-09/entertainment/ca-4148_1_sentinels
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0776500/
- ^ "Cyborg (1989)". Box Office Mojo. 1989-05-02. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cyborg.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ "Cyborg (1989)". Box Office Mojo. 1989-05-02. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cyborg.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- ^ Josh Bell, "Chatting with original 'Captain America' Director Albert Pyun," Las Vegas Weekly, June 29, 2011, http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aRSSNskNBogJ:www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2011/jun/29/chatting-original-captain-america-director-albert-/+%22albert+pyun+captain+america+financing+problems%22&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari&source=www.google.com
- ^ http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108686-Own-The-Directors-Cut-Of-Captain-America-On-DVD-This-May, http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/2011/03/22/1990_captain_america_getting_directors_cut_blu-ray_release_fantasia/
- ^ http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2011/jun/29/chatting-original-captain-america-director-albert-/
- ^ http://fantasiafestival.com/2011/en/films/film_detail.php?id=434
- ^ http://drafthouse.com/movies/captain_america/austin
- ^ "Box Office Mojo Nemesis". Boxofficemojo.com. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=nemesis.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ Valentin, Albert (2009-09-01). "REVIEW: Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1990) " Kung Fu Cinema". Kungfucinema.com. http://www.kungfucinema.com/kickboxer-2-the-road-back-1990-10388. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- ^ "Video Software Dealers Association - VSDA - Announces Its 2002 Home Entertainment Award Winners". Mi2N.com. http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?ej=md&press_nb=39239. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- ^ "Promo reel for NEMESIS v2.0". Quietearth.us. http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2010/03/10/Promo-reel-for-NEMESIS-v20. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ http://www.bmoviecelebration.com/?p=718
- ^ a b Zita Y. Taitano, "Local court to hear 'Max Havoc' case", Marianas Variety, December 29, 2009, http://mvguam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10189:local-court-to-hear-max-havoc-case&catid=1:guam-local-news&Itemid=61
- ^ Kim Christensen, "Camera, Legal Action! The making of a kung fu flick on Guam turns into court battles on both sides of the sea", Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2007, http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jun/13/business/fi-guam13
- ^ Nate Denight, "Tropic Blunder: The Curse of Max Havoc," Uno Magazine Guam, June 1, 2010, http://tpiguam.com/unoguam/?s=albert+pyun&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Go
- ^ Bolender, Eileen (2007-12-22). "Dvd Review: Invasion". CHUD.com. http://chud.com/articles/articles/13043/1/DVD-REVIEW-INVASION/Page1.html. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- ^ Hasko Baumann, Thorsten Hanisch, Alexander Stahl (2004-09-09). "Retrospective of ALBERT PYUN'S CAREER". Dasmanifest.com. http://www.dasmanifest.com/06/albertpyun.php. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ http://www.screendaily.com/26-august-2005/184.issue
- ^ http://www.dreadcentral.com/tales-ancient-empire?page=1
- ^ "Tales of an Ancient Empire to Debut at Fright Night Film Fest - Comic-Con Gossip". Filmifi.com. 2010-07-27. http://filmifi.com/gossip/Tales-of-an-Ancient-Empire-to-Debut-at-Fright-Night-Film-Fest-5144618.html. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
- ^ "EXCL: First Look at Bulletface DVD Artwork". Dreadcentral.com. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35345/excl-first-look-bulletface-dvd-artwork. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- A Few Words With Albert Pyun on the Recent Cyborg Re-release
- Captain America : Director’s Cut going direct-to-Blu-ray!
- Uno Magazine article: Tropical Blunder - Behind Albert Pyun and John Laing's MAX HAVOC scheme
- Albert Pyun at the Internet Movie Database
- http://io9.com/#!5779203/is-it-finally-time-for-the-director-of-the-original-captain-america-to-get-some-love
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