Here in the halls of Cinapse, we’re no strangers (or detractors) to low-budget maestro Albert Pyun. Ed Travis paid him tribute with a review of Heatseeker for The Action/Adventure Section in 2013, and I wrote a sprawling love letter to his debut The Sword & The Sorcererfor our Pick Of The Week last April. We love this man, and that’s even before considering his tireless can-do attitude in the face of difficult personal and professional hurdles. Click here to read full article.
When you see the list of musicians whose songs appear in Albert Pyun’s Dangerously Close (1986), you might think, if you know nothing about it as I did going in, that this movie’s going to be all kinds of 80s-style fun. After all, you’ve got the likes of Robert Palmer, Fine Young Cannibals, The Smithereens and Van Halen there. And hell, Albert Pyun directed the picture! You know, the man who produced such cinematic joys asThe Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), Cyborg (1989), Dollman (1991), Brain Smasher… A Love Story (1993), and of course, the 1990, Matt Salinger-starring adaptation of Captain America?! The thing is, Dangerously Close is hardly a good time. Click here to read full article.
ROAD TO HELL - FACEBOOK PAGE. CLICK TO VISIT.
ROAD TO HELL IN 2K... LOOKIN' GOOD!
Took about an hour to transfer the film onto the AMC servers. Once the picture came on...WOW. The colors really pooped, and the sound was perfectly played back (in 5.1 instead of 7.1). The image was intoxicatingly gorgeous. Like stepping into a hyper dreamy yet real world. It was magic. Sorry for the blurry pictures but I was distracted by the images and sound as I was trying to take the pictures. I virtually swooned as I watched the film. It has NEVER looked like this. This beautiful and lushly surreal. The audience is in for a treat for their senses.
I've been talking to several film fests about ROAD TO HELL screening. I think they are much more horror centric and have asked about The Interrogation of Cheryl Cooper. They've asked if I had any horror films recommendations but I told them I didn't. At least one in April might invite RTH though. That's what happens when you make films that don't fit into any genre hole easily. That's why I am talking to several theaters about the upcoming RTH release. The picture below is of the ROAD TO HELL DCP for theatrical screenings at mainstream digital theaters. Its in the 2:39 screen aspect ratio and with 7.1 sound. Great and relieved to finally have this in hand! Much better than Blu-ray or 35mm film to screen from. We hope to get a new series of reviews on RTH out there to help with the release marketing. - Albert.
New music video from ROAD TO HELL. "SHELTER ME" written by TONY RIPARETTI and performed by Roxy Gunn and Michael Pare. - Albert.
FAKESHEMP.NET have just uploaded a special episode of their podcast (The Pyuncast) which features exclusive antidotes from Olivier Gruner, Norbert Weisser and Tony Riparetty as well as 7 selected tracks from various Pyun soundtracks. Click below to listen.
I am mulling over ROAD TO HELL's theatrical release schedule. I'm thinking that Las Vegas would be the best city to start it as I live in nearby Henderson and the stars of the film, Roxy Gunn and Joei Fulco, make their home in Vegas or lived in the city. The second screening will likely be in Palm Desert California or Del Mar, California followed by , finally, Los Angeles. Tony, Cynthia and I are discussing.
Well, we shipped our ROAD TO HELL DCP file on a hard drive to the DCP maker. It should arrive there this morning and I'll pick it up on Wednesday. To test it, I'll have to rent a movie theater that can play back 7.1 sound. It's exciting and fully brings me into the state of the art of filmmaking. If all goes well, I'll create DCP's of THE INTERROGATION OF CHERYL COOPER and BULLETFACE. It will be amazing to see each film on a big screen with 7.1 sound tracks. Where it's a shock is to go back and work on my older films that are not in such pristine files. LEFT FOR DEAD will look beautiful as a DCP though. But the soundtrack has to be upgraded to 7.1 from it's current 5.1. We do have several directors cut versions of films ready to release on Blu-ray and DVD..."Slinger (Cyborg)...Radioactive Dreams...The Nemesis Trilogy...Adrenalin...Kingdom of Metal...and...the DC of maligned movies that were heavily re-edited by distributors such as Tales of an Ancient Empire and Cool Air. Its going to be exciting in the next several months to see these films in their proper form and some in theaters around the world. All before I start my next film, THE KICKBOXER: CITY OF BLOOD. Thank you all for patiently hanging with me through my illness. It really means a lot to me and Cynthia and is a source of great strength. - Albert.
The European Film Market is happening now in Berlin. Our foreign sales agent is busy getting our films, and in the case of THE KICKBOXER, the script out to buyers from around the world. Not a day goes by without some aspect of the business of filmmaking happening. 90% of a filmmaker's time is taken up with the business of filmmaking and a very small slice on the actual filmmaking itself. That's the cinema world now. - Albert.