In a comeback of Mickey Rourke-ian proportions, Austin shot back up the list of MovieMaker Magazine's top filmmaking cities this year, from an almost-out-of-the-running 10th place last year to a very solid #5. Now, this still puts us behind such heavyweights LA, NYC and, um, Stamford, CN, but we are fairly certain that with Texas' revamped incentives program and the continued success of the Austin Film Festival, Fantastic Fest and the quickly approaching SXSWFilm—not to mention a slew of other amazing film related events and cooperatives—we can bite and scratch our way to at least the #3 position next year. We hear that the craft services workers around here are bruisers, so look out Shreveport; we're coming for you. [Austin has made MovieMaker Magazine's list for the past 10 years. The "Top Ten U.S. Cities to Line and Make Movies" issue will be available in April.] more ›

Film nerds can rejoice—you can get back to nursing those dreams and get a little film education this Sunday, when the Alamo Cinema Club hosts a screening of Ninotchka with film historian/UT professor/Austin Film Society co-founder Dr. Charles Ramirez Berg. Dr. Berg will enlighten us as to why this Greta Garbo comedy is considered a classic. more ›

Two fast-food mascots who flirt, fight, and fall in love helped University of Texas alumnus Marko Slavnic win the Judges' Award and $100,000 in the Nikon Festival for his short film, "Chicken vs. Penguin." more ›

• As of Monday, it now costs most of us at least a buck to ride Capital Metro.
• The New York Times explores the reasons why Gov. Perry might have said 'nope' to a possible 700 million bucks for education.
• Older women in small towns in Central Texas are watching out for the “Twilight Rapist.” (The name comes from the time-of-day when he strikes, not the Twilight series of books.)

Zombie Girl follows 12-year-old director Emily Hagins as she writes, shoots and produces a feature-length zombie movie called Pathogen. But as the production runs into roadblocks, and Emily’s relationship with her mother becomes increasingly strained, Zombie Girl quickly morphs from an oddball character study into a funny, weird and inspiring movie about creative energy, familial bonds and youthful determination. more ›