MOVIES: Special screenings — local filmmaker debuts at-long-last follow-up

It's only been 30 years, but filmmaker Albert Pyun finally has a follow-up to his 1981 debut, "The Sword and the Sorcerer."

Pyun, now based in Las Vegas, partially shot the follow-up, "Tales of an Ancient Empire," in Southern Nevada."Hercules' " Kevin Sorbo, Michael Pare ("Eddie and the Cruisers") lead the cast, along with Sasha Mitchell, fellow Las Vegan Olivier Gruner (whom directed in "Nemesis"), "Sword and the Sorcerer" star Lee Horsley — and Jessica Delgado, who headlines the Stratosphere show "Bite."

Fittingly, Pyun plans a local screening at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 25, at the Tuscany Hotel as part of the CombatCon gathering, billed as "Where History and Fantasy Meet." Pyun will conduct a question-and-answer session following the screening, which Pare and Gruner are expected to attend.

That's hardly the last locals will see of Pyun, or his work, this summer.

Next Saturday, July 2, Pyun's 1990 version of "Captain America" — never released in U.S. theaters — will screen at Rave Town Square, preceded at 11:30 p.m. by another Pyun Q&A.

The "Captain America" screening is free; for more info on CombatCon, check out http://thecombatcon.com.