The poll has been updated with a new topic: "My feeling on the current writers strike is..."

Vote here, and add any thoughts in the poll comments.

I've just added a new chat room to the site. It's still a bit experimental, but if you'd like to help test it, that would be great. Just use this link, or the "Chat" menu to the left (and above) and let me know in the comments what you think!

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29% of those who voted requested an "Events Calendar". And now you got it. Feel free to add your own filmmaking-related event to our calendar. Be it a call for entry, a festival date, a get together, an audition, or whatever, you can now add your event. For now, I'm going to allow anonymous users to create events. If this is abused, bogus events will be deleted and it will become a registered user-only feature.

Enjoy!

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Since "top 10" lists seem to be all the rage, I decided to put together a list of my favorite post-1990 "meta-films"-- that is, films about filmmaking. This list isn't about movies that just take place in a Hollywood-ish world ("Hollywoodland", "Sunset Blvd.", "Get Shorty", "Aviator", "Boogie Nights", etc.) where filmmaking is the backdrop, but films that are primarily about the filmmaking process itself, specifically where the protagonists are filmmakers.

To qualify for this list, the films had to be (1) made after 1990 (so no "Sullivan's Travels" or "8 1/2"for example), and (2) primarily narrative. That last one rules out great non-narrative documentaries like "Visions of Light", but without such restrictions, the list easily gets too long and I had to cut it off at ten.

I've decided to split the movie into two sections-- five films about the "development" (including writing) process, and five about film production. If anyone knows any good films about post-production ("This Film Is Not Yet Rated" maybe?), post them in the comments below.

Do yourself a favor and check these out. Okay, so here goes...

Things are a'changing fast here at filmmaker.com. New features (the LA Survival Guide, new calendar views of old messages and new interviews coming up.) More content is on its way, and be sure to answer the latest poll to let us know which new features you'd like to see.

(more after the break)

November 28, 1995. The day it all began.... From its first day, fm.c was intended to be a community-sustained site where filmmakers around the world could get together and talk film and breaking into the biz, both independent and studio. Thanks to the thousands of users and posts over the decade, we can all be pretty proud. Thanks everyone-- and here's to celebrating the 20 year anniversary in Nov, 2015!

Sheila writes, "Greyfirst Corp., a leader in semantic web technologies, released the latest version of Celtx, the open source pre-production software tool for creating video, film and TV content. Aimed at film and video makers, Celtx lets users write scripts, perform breakdowns, plan productions and collaborate with others online.

Further leveraging the technologies in Firefox, this new version of Celtx introduces Document Tabs. Users can now view their Script, Title Page, and Production Database as separate documents. The newest feature is a Web Tab that can be used to conduct research or add information to the Production Database.

More below..."

screenwriter19 writes, "Portalcast, Inc. announced a call for filmmakers to submit short films for showcasing on its Portalcast Entertainment Network. Filmmakers of all levels, from amateur to seasoned pros, can now take advantage of new technology to showcase their short subjects before a national audience and potentially earn big money in the process."

HollyShorts, Short Film Festival to Feature 22 Short Films 30-minutes or Less From US, UK, Poland, Canada and Thailand The organizers of the inaugural HollyShorts, Short Film Festival announced today the schedule of short films that will be showcased August 13 and 14 at The Space Theatre in Hollywood. The event, which will showcase 22 short films 30-minutes or less including, shorts from the U.S., UK, Poland, Canada and Thailand. The festival will kickoff with Y Nada Mas, a 19 minute short film from writer/director Justin Liberman, which debuted at the Tribeca film festival earlier this year and will close with Husk, a 27 minute short film from Brett Simmons, which was featured at Sundance. The opening night party for the event will take place at The Bungalow Club on Melrose.

SherriBeth writes, "David Carradine is to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2005 Action on Film International Film Festival. Actor and musician, David Carradine, who achieved fame with the 1970's hit television program "KUNG FU" and a string of feature films which include Director Quentin Tarantino's recent blockbuster films, "KILL BILL VOLS I & 2 will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work at the 2005 Action on Film International Film Festival.
The award show will be held on July 30th, 2005 at 6PM in the Grand Ballroom of the Long Beach Arena @ The Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach California.
The film Festival will feature nearly 100 films from around the globe including new works by Natalie Portman, star of Star Wars, Eric Roberts, and a slew of new animation and short projects.
The Action on Film Festival takes place July 29-31."