Robert Hubbard
writer, Micro-Film magazine

In our review of the last installment, "Wamego: Making Movies Anywhere", we saw Steve Balderson, promising young filmmaker working on his second feature, FIRECRACKER, starring Karen Black and Mike Patton. We got to see the long genesis of the project, which finally was shot in the fall of 2004. Eagerly, the filmmaker started to approach the next stage of the process...

If MAKING MOVIES ANYWHERE does indeed show that the indie filmmaker, can indeed 'make movies anywhere', then WAMEGO STRIKES BACK definitely illustrates that making the movie is only the first part of a long process - and maybe the easiest step. Getting your movie in front of an audience is the next big step, and it ain't easy, despite all the hoopla buzz on indie film and the amount of festivals popping up like dandelions.

Steve Balderson takes you along on the long, hazardous and sometimes absurd journey to get FIRECRACKER to an audience, and it's not pretty. Despite what you might have read in the latest entertainment news magazine, or flattering bio of whatever hot new director is the flavor of the month, it's not the easiest thing in the world to do... despite good reviews at festivals, or having 'names'  in the cast (it depends on the right kind of 'names').

Along this journey, you get some interesting advice/anecdotes about the process from Clark Balderson, Karen Black, Susan Traylor, and Eric Sherman, things that not many people take into consideration - from looking for a producers rep to help sell the film, to the amount of horror knockoffs that a company such as Lionsgate is inundated with after the success of a particular film franchise. You also get to see things that aren't normally talked about, such as the inner-workings of dealing with distribution companies, and the long process of raising funds for other projects - in this case, a family comedy, WILBERT BRUMMETT, to star Margaret Cho and Mink Stole.

Some may argue that WSB is a case of sour grapes, a filmmaker bitching about how hard it is out here for a director. One can put that reading upon the film, but to do so conveniently avoids the arguments the film makes - the principal one being that venues for independent film (not the Indiewood or faux-indie product that studio set up entire companies to produce) are few and far between, and if you adapt your vision to make "independent" films that aren't that much different from studio product, then is it really "Independent"? Whatever one may think of FIRECRACKER and PEP SQUAD (both available on DVD), they're both competently made and very cinematic, and very much the result of someone's vision... is that 'vision' something that is marketable to a mass audience is another question that WSB poses.

Lest you think that WSB dwells in negativity - (it doesn't) - the last third of the film concentrates on the release of PHONE SEX, Balderson's feature/art project which ushers in the next phase - doing smaller, personal projects while still attempting to wrestle The Beast of financing WILBERT BRUMMETT.

WSB is an entertaining sequel to MMA - those who enjoyed the first film will also enjoy this. Both films are essential viewing by indie/lo-budget filmmakers, who should pick these up, along with a copy of FIRECRACKER and do some in-depth study.

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