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As recently as the late 1980s, B-movie fans could find low-budget action-exploitation fare at the drive-in or at inner-city and other theaters that catered to those with a jones for cheap thrills. (Believe me, I know - I saw Prom Night II at the Mall of Memphis in 1987, and Crack House at the UA Southbrook in 1989.)
Eventually, however, cable TV, the video explosion, the near- extinction of independently owned movie theaters and Hollywood's increasing emphasis on what could be called megabudget drive-in movies (remakes of Godzilla and Gone in 60 Seconds, for example) pretty much killed the big-screen market for authentic exploitation movies.
In the United States, that is. Overseas, the appetite for what filmmaker Ivan Rogers calls "strong, hard action" is as voracious as ever, as international distributors look for non-Hollywood films to buy that won't cost a fortune. It's this demand that enables actors like Fred `The Hammer' Williamson, heavyweight karate champion Dolph Lundgren and, yes, Ivan Rogers to keep working.
"There's a whole world of moviemaking out there that people in America know nothing about," said Rogers, 46, in a recent telephone interview from his hometown of Indianapolis. "The major studios do what they do, but Hollywood is not the only game in town."
Rogers's filmography reads like a roll call from the bottom shelf of the "Action" section at Blockbuster Video: Tigershark (1986), Ballbuster (1989), Karate Commando: Jungle Wolf 3 (1993), Striking Point (1993), Caged Women II (1994), Laserhawk (1996), and so on.
Some of these films he wrote, some he produced, some he starred in and some - well, sometimes, he did it all. He even directed Caged Women II.
Nevertheless, it's safe to say Rogers remains pretty much unknown to the general public, even to action-movie completists. The filmmaker hopes that will change with the release of his new movie, Forgive Me Father, which opens in Memphis today.
Rogers directed, co-wrote and co-produced Forgive Me Father, in which he also stars as Father Virgil Garrett, a hit man-turned- priest who...