TODAY is the deadline for getting into the annual directory.

If you qualify, you can get a free listing in the Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission's 2010-2011 Production Directory.

You can be listed if you are a Memphis or Shelby County crewperson with qualified experience or a Memphis or Shelby County business that has a service that can be used by a production.

The Directory is seen by production companies that make films, TV shows, commercials, music videos, print ads and corporate projects. It is the primary resource used to hire locally. To see the current directory, go to www.ozonline.tv.

Individuals and companies that can supply production resources — lights, lumber, caterers, hotels, for example — are welcome to list.

If you want more than the free basic listing, you can purchase an upgraded listing starting at $80 that includes a description. To get your free listing or to find out more about upgrading, contact Kime Harless, 800 705-1121, or go to www.ozonline.tv to see if you qualify.

But do it today.

The International Black Film Festival of Nashville is accepting submissions now, including from students.

The deadline is coming up fast, so go the the website for more info: http://www.ibffnashville.com/

Memphis film history has rarely gotten so fine a look as this piece by Chris Herrington in this week's Flyer. 

The article, "From Mystery Train to Memphis Beat," looks at how Memphis has influenced film and TV, from "Mystery Train" in 1988 to TNT's new "Memphis Beat."

Key to the discussion, of course, is the issue of getting productions to shoot in town. And nowadays, that revolves around incentives.

Filmmaker Craig Brewer is quoted in the story as saying, "If you're a film commissioner anywhere now and you're talking to a producer about a project, the conversation no longer starts with 'Tell me about your locations.' It starts with 'Tell me about your incentives.' And if you don't have a good answer for that, the conversation ends."

Here's John Beifuss' story on "Memphis Beat" in The Commercial Appeal. Although the producers wanted to shoot in Memphis and worked with the Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission to try to make it happen, the incentives in Louisiana were too generous for them to ignore.

Produced by Warner Horizon Television and George Clooney's Smoke House Pictures, "Memphis Beat" has brought "some cast and crew members to Memphis a couple of times to capture footage of characters cruising down Beale Street, contemplating the Mississippi River, rolling past the Pyramid, and so on."

There is a lot of Memphis music in the series, including more than a half-dozen recordings such as "Time Is Tight" by Booker T. & the MGs, "Walking the Dog" by Rufus Thomas, "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Albert King and "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield, from her album Dusty in Memphis.