Albert Pyun

About Albert Pyun

Who is it?: Director, Writer, Producer
Birth Day: May 19, 1953
Birth Place:  Hawaii, United States
Occupation: Film director
Years active: 1970–present

Albert Pyun Net Worth

Albert Pyun was born on May 19, 1953 in  Hawaii, United States, is Director, Writer, Producer. Albert Pyun is an award-winning American filmmaker best known for his contributions to the science-fiction and action genres. He is credited with pioneering the cyborg sub-genre and is considered to be a maverick and renegade in independent genre cinema. With over 50 titles to his name, he has enjoyed a prolific career spanning 30+ years and has earned himself a fevered cult following.His first film, The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), was the highest-grossing independent film of 1982, earning $36,714,025 in the US. The film's success led to Pyun being attached to various large sci-fi projects, including Total Recall (1990) (eventually directed by Paul Verhoeven) and he became a much sought-after director by several studios. His follow-up film was the post-apocalyptic sci-fi Radioactive Dreams (1985), which helped launch the careers of Michael Dudikoff and John Stockwell, and cemented Pyun's reputation for being an edgy and creative filmmaker. The 1980s was a highly productive decade for him, with the release of Dangerously Close (1986), Vicious Lips (1986), Down Twisted (1987), Alien from L.A. (1988), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1988), Cyborg (1989) and Deceit (1990).Pyun's work with Cannon Pictures saw him direct more films for the company than any other filmmaker and his involvement with "Spider-Man" and "Masters of the Universe 2" became legendary. When both films were canceled mid-way into their productions, Pyun devised a breakneck strategy to combine the sets and costume designs from both to salvage the lost money and deliver a single stand-alone film. The result was Cyborg (1989), which opened in 1989 as the fourth highest grossing film in America. It grossed $10,166,459 and gave Jean-Claude Van Damme his Hollywood superstar status.The 1990s proved to be an even more prolific decade, with PYun directing a further 24 films. Notable throughout those years include Captain America (1990), Nemesis (1992), Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995), Nemesis III: Prey Harder (1996), Nemesis 4: Death Angel (1996), Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991), Knightriders (1981), Omega Doom (1996), Adrenalin: Fear the Rush (1996), Hong Kong 97 (1994), Postmortem (1998) and Mean Guns (1997). His work with Charles Band's Full Moon Pictures saw him direct Dollman (1991) and Arcade (1993), both of which continue to hold a strong cult following.The 2000s marked a new era for Pyun, as he moved away from the independent studio system and began making films much more independently by way of self-funding and outsourcing money personally. This allowed for greater creative freedoms as a filmmaker, despite his budgets being drastically reduced. His new approach to filmmaking has divided audiences, however; those who have followed his career closely agree that his films since 2000 have been far more audacious and personal, none more so than his 2013 film Road to Hell (2008) (shot in 2008). Inspired by Walter Hill's classic Streets of Fire (1984), the film acts as a spiritual sequel and presents the two protagonists in an alternative future. Michael Paré and Deborah Van Valkenburgh reprised their roles of Tom and Reva Cody and their characters are pitted against a vibrant and surreal purgatory landscape. The film has enjoyed a steady run on the festival circuit and is slated for a home-entertainment release. Other notable films from this decade include the stunning one-shot horror film Invasion (2004) (aka "Infection"), the brutal drug trade thriller Bulletface (2010) and the long-awaited Tales of an Ancient Empire (2010), a follow up to "The Sword and the Sorcerer". Investor and distributor interference on this film jeopardized the final theatrical cut and the film is slated, along with several of his other films, for an upcoming director's cut release.The 2010s have proven to be a difficult time in Pyun's career due to declining health and difficulties getting a major project released. His film Cyborg Nemesis: The Dark Rift was shot, but remains unfinished due to pending post-production issues. An incomplete version of the film was screened for an audience at the Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival. His health took a turn for the worst in 2012 when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The effect of the illness took an emotional and physical toll on him and in early 2013 he announced his retirement. Following a brief hiatus he concluded that the best remedy was filmmaking and he made a triumphant return with The Interrogation of Cheryl Cooper (2014). While he endured medical tests and treatments, the film had an incredibly fast turnaround and was written, shot and completed within a matter of weeks. The story line was a direct follow-up to "Invasion" and continued the one-shot concept. It was entirely filmed over the course of a single day and showcased Pyun's ability to think outside the box, both practically and creatively.As of 2015 Pyun has attempted to develop various other projects, while maintaining ongoing treatment for his MS. These projects include "Napoleon", "The Kickboxer": "City of Blood" and "Algiers". In maintaining a strong relationship with his fan base Pyun has shared the production details of these projects on his Facebook page and maintains that he is still actively pursuing them. Their further development will depend on his ongoing health. He attributes his relationship with his fans as a driving force in fighting his illness and he has shared his medical journey with them almost every step of the way.November of 2015 saw the release of a conceptual teaser trailer for a brand-new film titled "Star Warfare Rangers" and the "Cyborg Witch of Endor" (later retitled Interstellar Civil War (2017)). Having evolved from various attempts to revive his "Cyborg" saga, the film is set to be an original story detailing the search for a missing Cyborg child. The film will mark Albert's 33rd collaboration with his long-standing composer Tony Riparetti and boasts an impressive cast including Brad Thornton, Glenn Maynard, Ellie Church, Tommie Vegas, Shane Ryan and Morgan Weisser, among others.Pyun's career has seen him work with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, many of whom got their first break with him. He has worked with the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sasha Mitchell, Christopher Lambert, Natasha Henstridge, Brion James, Tim Thomerson, Jackie Earle Haley, Teri Hatcher, Rutger Hauer, Olivier Gruner, Charlie Sheen, Burt Reynolds, Steven Seagal, Rob Lowe, Ice-T, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Sorbo, Tom Sizemore, Andrew Dice Clay, Dennis Hopper, Kevin Gage, Robert Patrick, Seth Green, Dennis Chan, Ned Beatty, Darren McGavin, Ronny Cox, Kris Kristofferson, George Kennedy, Richard Lynch, Lee Horsley, Richard Moll, Courteney Cox, Tom Matthews, Nicholas Guest, Kathy Ireland, Deep Roy, Michel Qissi, Andrew Divoff, David Carradine, Vincent Klyn, Mitch Pileggi, Yuji Okumoto, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Michael Pare and Deborah Van Vulkenburgh. His most frequent actor collaborations have been with Norbert Weisser and Scott Paulin, who have worked alongside Albert in dozens of films spanning several decades.Albert lives in Las Vegas, NV, with his wife and producer, Cynthia Curnan.
Albert Pyun is a member of Director

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some Albert Pyun images

Biography/Timeline

1980

In the late 1980s, Pyun made Alien from L.A., featuring supermodel Kathy Ireland; the film was later mocked on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. This episode was released on DVD in March 2013.

1982

Pyun's first film, The Sword and the Sorcerer remains his highest grossing, eventually earning $36,714,025 in the United States. Opening on April 30, 1982, it grossed $4,100,886 which ranked the film second that week in America. Richard Lynch received the Best Supporting Actor Saturn Award for his performance as Cromwell. During the production of the film stuntman Jack Tyree was killed while doing a high fall stunt at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. While performing a 78-foot fall in heavy costume and makeup, Tyree struck his airbag off center, resulting in a fatal impact.

1984

With the success of The Sword and the Sorcerer, Pyun was attached to several science fiction projects in 1984 including Total Recall, to be produced by Dino DeLaurentiis at Universal Pictures, screenplay based on the Philip K. Dick story written by Ronald Shusett (Alien). At the time, william Hurt, was attached to star.

1987

His second film, Radioactive Dreams, was awarded the Golden Raven at the 5th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in 1987. "Radioactive Dreams" recently screened at Exhumed Films' 2013 eX Fest.

1989

In 1989, Pyun made Deceit, and Captain America. A director's cut of Captain America was released in May 2011.

1990

Other 1990s films include: Knights with Kris Kristofferson, Kathy Long and Lance Henriksen; "Dollman" starring Tim Thomerson as a 13 inch tall Dirty Harry type cop from another planet. Jackie Early Haley played the villain; Raven Hawk with Rachel McLish and william Atherton; Spitfire with Henriksen, Sarah Douglas, Tim Thomerson and Kristie Phillips; 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 show The Fifth Corner with Alex McArthur, Kim Delaney and James Coburn.

1991

In June 1991, Pyun's film Kickboxer 2, written by David Goyer (Ghost Rider, Blade, The Dark Knight), opened in theaters to mixed reviews.

2000

Pyun directed and produced Ticker for Artisan Entertainment in May 2000, which featured Steven Seagal, Tom Sizemore, Dennis Hopper, Jaime Pressly, Nas and Ice-T plus Chilli of the R&B group TLC. In 2002 it was among five films honored for sales by the Video Software Dealers Association in the category of Direct-To-Video/Limited Release By An Independent Studio.

2004

In 2004 Pyun went to the U.S. 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. 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. In 2006 Laing defaulted on the loan, and Guam lost its guarantee. Laing blamed Pyun for the failure of the film. An out of court settlement was reached between John Laing and the Guam Economic Development Authority in May 2012 but up until October 2012 Laing has not honored the terms of that settlement. In late 2012 GEDA Administrator Karl Pangelinan reported Laing had made a $75,000 payment on the balance of the settlement amount and the balance outstanding was $75,000. GEDA officials confirmed the final payment was made in February 2013 bringing the matter to a close. Pyun was not involved in any of the legal litigation between GEDA and Laing.

2008

In September 2008, Pyun began production on Tales of an Ancient Empire. Shooting began on October 12, 2008. The film premiered at Louisville, Kentucky's Fright Night Film Fest. The film was eventually released by Lions Gate Films in January 2012 and stars Kevin Sorbo, Michael Paré, Melissa Ordway and Ralf Moeller.

2011

Pyun's film Road to Hell won the Best Picture award at the Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival in Belfast in 2011. Later in 2012, it opened the PollyGrind Film Festival in Las Vegas where it won Best Fantasy Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Song, Best Use of Songs, Best Use of Music, Best Visual Effects, Best Screenplay, and the Newcomer Award.

2013

In late 2013, Pyun announced he had multiple sclerosis. In March 2014, Pyun's health had improved enough for him to film The Interrogation of Cheryl Cooper.