Red Scorpion has one of the most notorious and compelling behind-the-scenes production stories in motion picture history. Involving the sneaky and dirty former Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff and allegations that the film's funding came from South African apartheid money, Red Scorpion remains as controversial today as it did on it's initial release some twenty-five years ago. It's a incredible document of the Reagan era with it's '80s decadence and cold war ideals.
TV STORE ONLINE: So how did you come to get cast in Red Scorpion (1989)?
LUNDGREN: They came to me with this poster that had me on it looking a bit like Ivan Drago from Rocky IV (1985). I read the script, and I thought it was quite good. It was an interesting story about a Russian soldier who basically accepts a mission and then changes his mind because he realizes that he's not doing the right thing morally--he's torn between doing his duty as a soldier and his moral duty as a human being. I liked the film's concept very much.
TV STORE ONLINE: There were some scenes that were in the original script that never made the final cut of the film right?
TV STORE ONLINE: There were some scenes that were in the original script that never made the final cut of the film right?
LUNDGREN: Yeah, you're right. I do remember, there was an alternate opening to the film. Originally, I think it opened with this sequence where my character is in Russia training in the snow. I believe that got cut due to the budget issues. Also, I believe there were some changes to the ending of the film, but at this time I can't recall what those may have been.
