This Friday and Saturday, June 11 and 12, the State Film Office will host its very first Film Finance and Distribution Conference. This free conference is open to all local filmmakers and will shine its focus on micro- and low-budget productions. If you’re hoping to get an independent film going here in the Land of Enchantment, this is a fine place to start. Panelists include reps from the New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department and key NMSFO personnel. Friday’s topic will be “Maximizing Your New Mexico Film Incentives,” while Saturday’s topic will be “Film Financing & Distribution.” Certain select participants in Saturday’s session will be invited to take part in a practice film pitch session with producer Suzanne Lyons (The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, Candy Stripers). The two-day event will take place at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street SW) in Albuquerque. To register, log on to nmfilm.com.

Despite (or perhaps because of) a certain temporal, dawn-of-the-MTV-era cheesiness, The Karate Kid has become a fondly remembered classic of ’80s cinema. It spawned several sequels, frequent shouts of “Sweep the leg!” and is now responsible for a 21st century series reboot. Like all nostalgic reboots (an update of The A-Team also hits theaters this weekend, for crying out loud), it’s hard to tell if the world really needs this new version. Probably not, but we're stuck with it. So, let’s examine what we’ve got.

“Torchwood” Still Burning—Seems there’s still a spark of life in BBC’s adult “Doctor Who” spin-off “Torchwood.” The FOX network version of the show never came to pass (which I think we can all agree is a good thing). But now the American pay cable network Starz has announced it will finance a new season of the cult favorite—under the direct supervision of the BBC! The show, about a secret team of government agents hunting down dangerous alien technology, has been dormant since last summer’s epic Children of Earth miniseries. Starz president and CEO Chris Albrecht told the Hollywood Reporter that the new series “certainly will” have a larger budget than the BBC original. Considering what producers were able to pull off on a limited budget, it’ll be exciting to see what they can create with more dough. “Torchwood” creator Russell T. Davies is writing the new series, which he says will consist of a 10-episode story arc. The new show picks up where Children of Earth left off—which shouldn’t be too difficult, considering everyone in the cast but John Barrowman and Eve Myles perished. According to the official press release, the show will no longer be set in exclusively in Wales but will “widen to include locations in the U.S. and around the world.” Starz has had solid success lately with the salaciously historical series “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”—which certainly raises the hopes for a naked Captain Jack and Gwen. The new series premieres next summer.

“Bethenny Getting Married?” (BRAVO 8 p.m.) She’s one of the “Real Housewives of New York City.” And she’s getting married. And she sold her impending nuptials as a reality show. There isn’t a single one of those sentences that piques my interest. You may feel differently. In which case, enjoy!

“Penn & Teller: Bullshit!” (Showtime 8 p.m.) The cheeky magicians kick off their eighth season by debunking ... cheerleaders? Either the pair has run out of legitimate targets or this is some seriously delayed high school revenge.