Now and then, we all need a boost, so we’ve put together a list of three great movies to pop in and get a little inspiration from on the filmmaking side this weekend.

1. “Clerks”, by Kevin Smith

“Clerks” is a classic independent film, and is hilarious if you are into Smith’s brand of humor. To make this a great inspirational viewing though, check out the Three-Disc 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition which has a great documentary on the making of “Clerks”. The funny and amazing story of how Smith maxed out his credit cards and worked his ass off to get “Clerks” made and the truly amazing story of how it became a cult hit from absolute obscurity is a dream for any filmmaker and a lot of fun to watch.

2. “American Movie”, by Chris Smith

If you’ve never seen “American Movie”, I strongly recommend that you drop everything and see it right now. The documentary follows the determined and resource-lacking Mark Borchardt as he tries to make a short film called “Coven” in order to raise enough money to make a feature film. Every filmmaker who has ever tried to make a movie with limited resources will find watching Borchardt go through all the road blocks and mishaps everyone making films themselves have experienced hilarious and endearing. It’s no surprise that Borchardt has become something of a cult indie filmmaking icon since this documentary came out.

3. “The Abyss”, by James Cameron

If “American Movie” is about the woes of making a film on a shoestring budget, the documentary the appears on “The Abyss” Special Edition DVD is a classic tale of the woes of making a film on a massive and next to impossible scale. Cameron’s 1989 underwater adventure was shot in extremely difficult circumstances (mostly underwater in several giant tanks) through a seemingly never-ending string of mishaps and disasters. Make sure you get the special edition with the documentary “Under Pressure: Making The Abyss” listed under the special features – for some reason there are several versions labelled special edition without it.

Well, that’s it for now! Enjoy these great films and get some DiY inspiration!