Apparently determined to reclaim his mantle of worst filmmaker of our generation from that up and coming whippersnapper Uwe Boll, the one and only Albert Pyun is returning from wherever the hell he's been for the past few years to once again sit in the director's chair, and this time he's bringing H.P. Lovecraft with him.
Quoting Fangoria:
Hawaiian-born filmmaker Albert (THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER) Pyun is working on a film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s tale “Cool Air, and gave Fango the scoop on the project. “We’re shooting now in Los Angeles and will wrap this Friday, Pyun tells us. “Robert Ladesich is the producer, and a new screenwriter, Cynthia Curnan, adapted the short story. Morgan [SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND] Weisser stars. My company, Filmwerks, will supervise distribution via Chris Davis International, and we hope to have it ready for release by October, just in time for Halloween!
Pyun has been a devotee of Lovecraft, and this story in particular (also adapted in Brian Yuzna’s anthology film NECRONOMICON), for years, and when he saw the possibility to bring it to the screen himself, he didn’t hesitate. “I’ve been a fan of it since I was a child, he says. “It always stuck in my head as something I wanted to put on film. Then I happened to read Cynthia Curnan's screenplay last year, and it captured my vision of the tale. I knew this was the perfect adaptation. He’s particularly excited about one scene: “I especially enjoyed shooting the main character’s heart attack because of its surprising twist in the story and its drama. Morgan conveyed the character’s bewilderment and fear in mesmerizing fashion.
The cast also includes Crystal Green as the doctor (in a gender switch from the story), Wendy Phillips as the landlady and Virginia Dare as her daughter Estella (another sex change). Norbert Weisser, Morgan’s father and a veteran of THE THING and numerous Pyun films, plays a mysterious lodger with a dark, twisted secret.
The director adds that the story won’t rely so much on blood and guts. “[We’ll have] more atmosphere and getting inside the character’s head, Pyun says. “There are a few effective effects shots, but I loved the screenwriter’s take on the main character’s internal paranoia and imagination. What is or isn’t real?
Ah, but it turns out that this isn't Pyun's triumphant return as the living legend already has a new flick under his belt and boy does it sound like a Pyun film -
MAX HAVOC: CURSE OF THE DRAGON The plot:
"Ex-kickboxing champion turned sports photographer Max Havoc again finds himself in Guam on a publicity photo shoot. Max's helpful ways land him in the lives of the vacationing sisters Jane and Christy Goody who have acquired a rare jade dragon, which belongs to the ruthless Japanese Yakuza who will stop at nothing to get it back. It's up to Max to stop the Yakuza, save the sisters and restore order to the peaceful island."
Starring Donnie Yen apprentice Mickey Hardt, rapper Fat Joe, former Man Show Juggy Girl Joanna Krupa, Shaft himself Richard Roundtree, Pyun regular Vincent Klyn, the ubiquitous Carmen Electra, BLADE II villain Luke Goss, and David Carradine, who is obviously hellbent on squandering all the ground he gained with the KILL BILL flicks!
No clue when that film will see the light of day but that doesn't mean he as to wait and see what the reception is before planning a sequel. Yep, Pyun already has a sequel in the works to be called
MAX HAVOC: RING OF FIREOoooh, I cannot wait.
But the question remains, will any of those future classics be as great as ARCADE or NEMESIS III: PREY HARDER or TICKER or ALIEN FROM L.A. or BRAIN SMASHER ...A LOVE STORY or ADRENALINE: FEAR THE RUSH or the all-time classic CAPTAIN AMERICA?
Only time will tell.
