Interview conducted by and copyright Edward Gross
Pyun's version of Captain America had its roots at Cannon Films and eventually followed co-owner of that company, Menahem Golan, to 21st Century Films. The license for the character soon to lapse unless the film went into production, the greenlight was given and the film was rushed through production -- much in the same way that Oley Sassone's Fantastic Four was under producer Roger Corman several years later.
RETROVISION: What was the genesis of your version of Captain America?
ALBERT PYUN: Believe Captain America had been bouncing around the halls of Cannon the entire time I was there (1985-1988). Heard a lot about it and being a big CA fan as a kid, I was intrigued like any other comic book geek to know what was happening with it. i managed to get a copy of Stephen Tolkien's script which I heard was great...and it was. When Menahem [Golan] split from Cannon, I lobbied for him to bring it with him to his new company. After that, I heard the scuttlebutt around Menahem's 21st Century offices about how the license option would run out if the picture wasn't started right away. So I went to Menahem and pitched him my take on it and he gave me the green light...a fast green light.
RETROVISION: For you, what was the appeal of the Captain America character and what did you want to bring to it in this film?
ALBERT PYUN: Well, like I said, I grew up on the Kirby comics and just loved the tragic aspect of Steve Rogers' life. I just wanted to be faithful to the character I remembered growing up with. I was coming off Cyborg, which was a disappointing expereince, and wanted to do a straight ahead movie without a lot of artistic frills which had sunk my Cyborg version.
RETROVISION: How challenging was it to try and bring this character to life -- and in period to boot -- with what I'm sure was a very limited budget?
ALBERT PYUN: Very challenging. My initial concept was to have two actors play Steve Rogers, one before the experiment and one after. I had dicussions with football star Howie Long about playing the after experiment Steve Rogers, but Marvel nixed this saying it had to be the same actor. Marvel and Stan Lee had a lot of creative say in the process. I initially did not like how the Captain America blue suit was looking in tests, so I petitioned to use the CA black uniform or at least be allowed to modify the look, but, again, I was turned down. Menahem was great. He supported everything I wanted to do, but Marvel I think hated the idea that Menahem was making the film so they were difficult. I met Stan for lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel and thoght he was nice and excited about the film, especially if I could create a cameo for him. Unortunately, Menahem was never able to close the funding for the film, so it was really a wing and a prayer shoot.
RETROVISION: How did you view the Steve Rogers character before the super soldier serum and after? In other words, how would you describe the man before and after he becomes a superhero?
ALBERT PYUN: I think he was the same. One of the things I liked about Stephen's script was how Rogers was always the weakling even after the experiment. He ultimately discovers that the true super hero was within him and was always there. He was a super soldier even without the serum because his courage and heroism never came from a drug. My Director's Cut of CA will show this clearly as the true source of strength for Captain America.
RETROVISION: Did you give much thought to the "relationship' between Captain America and the Red Skull? How would you compare and contrast the two?
ALBERT PYUN: I loved how they were essentially brothers born of the same experiment. One warped by it, the other liberated. What I loved was how Cap understood and sympathized with what happened with the Red Skull as a boy and saw him as a tragic victim of Nazism instead of an arch villain. He knew the Red Skull was driven by bitterness and rage about his childhood tragedy. Captain America was humane enough to understand this. Both endured tragedies and lost loved ones. And it wasn't going to take muscle and bullets to stop the Red Skull but by getting him to confront the past.
RETROVISION: I know it's a long time ago at this point, but what are your memories of production?
ALBERT PYUN: Strongest memories was sweating out whether there was enough cash to get through the day. Best memory was working with such terrific actors as Ned Beatty, Michael Nouri, Ronny Cox, Melinda Dillion and Darren McGavin. Billy Mumy was a blast. And I really enjoyed Francesca Neri, Matt and Kim Gillingham as well. Everyone tried hard under terrible circumstances. And of course it was a marvel to witness Scott Paulin's awsome performance each day after enduring 6 hours of make up by the great Gerg Cannom!
RETROVISION: The director's cut is considerably longer than the theatrical -- why was the theatrical cut so much shorter and what do you think the biggest differences are between the two?
ALBERT PYUN: Mainly scenes showing Steve Rogers coming to the realization that he was always a hero and super hero within and he wasn't a hero because of the costume and some serum. More on his compassion for the Red Skull, how he realized they were the same in most ways.
Look for the Blu-ray release of Captain America: The Extended Director's Cut this May.