Eric told me that Ivan wanted to make a police action movie and looking for a director. So, Eric recommended me.

     After talking with Ivan on the phone, I agreed to direct his movie One Way Out. I flew out from San Francisco to Indianapolis with my cameraman Jan Van Tassell and met Ivan for the first time at the airport.

     The next day we met the crew that Ivan set up, young amateurs all but excited to get to work on their first feature film. Then we met the supporting actors. Once again, amateurs, but excited for the opportunity.

     Next came our three-hour ride north in a van headed for Chicago where a movie equipment rental company was holding the camera and lights. When we saw the equipment, we understood why Ivan got a big discount. Except for the camera, the lights and cables were old and worn. But cameraman Jan said that he could make due.

     The ride back to Indianapolis with an overloaded, top-heavy van was very scary. Especially going on a curved, banked freeway overpass. Ivan, Jan and the driver weren’t worried, but I sure was. Looking out the window, I could see that if we tipped over, the low guard rail wouldn’t stop us from falling 40 feet to the freeway below. But we made it slowly and safely back.

     The first day of filming, Ivan was dressed in a suit, with his hair styled and face made up. “Ivan,” I said. “You look like a leading man,” and meant it.

     “Thank you, Paul,” he said as he handed me the five blank shotgun shells he had prepared.

     “Is this all?” I asked.

     “Yeah, that’ll be enough.”

     “Ivan. You brought five shotgun shells to film a ‘shotgun war’ scene?”

     “It’ll be fine,” he said, which would be his catchphrase for the entire production. And with some ‘cheating’ camera angles the five shells were enough.

     While Jan was setting up the camera for the first shot, I noticed a skinny 12-year-old boy watching us as he puffed on a cigarette. “You like movies,” I asked him.

     “Yeah,” he said. “I want to be an actor.”

     “Come over here, and I’ll introduce you to the star. He’s Ivan Rogers the winner of the ‘tough-man’ competition. He’s super strong because he doesn’t smoke.”

     Ivan introduced himself and shook the kid’s hand. Then he gently took the cigarette out of the kid’s hand saying, “You don’t need these.” I hope the kid took Ivan’s words to heart. We put him in the scene for background action. 

     The highlight of One Way Out was the fist fight that Ivan had with a giant pro-wrestler named Abdula the Great. It was Ivan’s idea to put blood-packs on Abdula's face in three places and cover them with wax ‘skin’ and make up. He planned to actually hit Abdula on those three places so the blood would flow.

     “Well, if you two are going to do that,” I said, “then let’s film the entire fight in one continuous shot.” Jan and I watched the rehearsal and then planned the moves that Jan would make hand-holding the camera.

     It was a violent, bizarre, realistic fight. At one point, Abdula pushed Ivan into a sheetrock wall that broke with the impact. When it was over, I asked Abdula if he was okay. He said, “No problem.” I shook his hand and thanked him.

     Then I turned to Ivan and said, “That’s the most powerful fight scene I ever shot.” We shook hands. But I had done nothing but stage a few camera moves. It was all Ivan’s concept, choreography, and working with Abdula that trusted Ivan to make fist contact with his face without hitting too deeply.

     The rest of the filming went smoothly with great comradery amongst the crew. After we got the film in the can, Jan and I flew back home to let Ivan and his editor finish the movie.

     Ivan gave the movie to an independent distributor who got it shown at the Cannes Film Festival. In the Cannes newspaper was a review of One Way Out calling it “Better than Shaft.”

     Ivan and I stayed in contact over years by phone. He produced/starred in another movie, Two Wrongs Make a Right, which I was happy to hear that our assistant director on One Way Out, Robert Brown, got his chance to direct. The young woman assistant director, Shari Lynn Himes, became production coordinator on Malcom X, Backdraft and the TV series Prison Break. Jan Van Tassell went on to produce Forbidden Power.

     Because he produce/starred in two movies, Ivan was hired to act in seven more feature films. In the 80’s before digital, and filming movies on a cell phone, many talked about producing an independent movie, but few took the risk. Ivan did twice. I’m glad that he got that ‘Better than Shaft’ review.