A Comprehensive Guide To What's Going On In Santa Monica And Environs

Friday, July 23

The underrated entertainer Peter Case plays at McCabe's, 8 & 10 p.m. (310) 828-4403.

The Return of the Master. John Williams, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducts his well-known movie scores, including the West Coast premiere of music from The Phantom Menace. Also Sat, the Hollywood Bowl, 8:30 p.m. (213) 480-3232.

An ongoing series of silents, with "Daddy Long Legs," starring Mary Pickford, directed by Marshall Neilan. Also "Bill Apperson's Boy," starring Jack Pickford. James Bridges Theater, UCLA, 7:30 p.m. (310) 206-FILM.

American Cinematheque Presents: Columbia Pictures 75th Anniversary, featuring Jack Nicholson's directorial debut, "Drive, He Said," (1972) at 7 p.m.; "The Circus Queen Murder" (1933) at 9:30 p.m., along with "The Shadow," and "Man Hunt." Lloyd E. Rigler Theater at the Egyptian. (323) 466-FILM.

Santa Monica Museum Salon Series. Art and Text launch party for Nord Art Issue #66 - Scandinavian art. Publisher Paul Foss will discuss how Los Angeles figures into the International Art World and the magazine's recent move to LA. Santa Monica Museum of Art, Bergamot Station, 7:30 p.m. (310) 586-6488; http://www.netvip.com/smmoa.

Open Poetry at Midnight Special Bookstore & Cultural Center, 8 p.m. (310) 393-2923.

Film Openings-

"Autumn Tale," Eric Rohmer's last installment of "Tales of the Four Seasons." French with English subtitles.

Denise Richards make fun of beauty pageants, mockumentary-style.

"The Haunting," brings Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" to the screen. Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Liam Neeson star.

"Inspector Gadget," as played by Matthew Broderick.

"My Life So Far," directed by Hugh Hudson, starring Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Malcolm McDowell.

"Trick." Tori Spelling stars in this twist on a one-night stand.

Saturday, July 24

Manuel Alvarez Bravo, an exhibition of silver and platinum prints selected from the artist's collection in Coyoacan, photographed 1920 - 1930's in Mexico, at the Gallery of Contemporary Photography, Bergamot Station. Reception 6-8 p.m. Through August 28, (310) 264-8440.

Recent Acquisitions, a selection of California Impressionist and Modernist paintings and sculpture, ends September 13. George Stern Fine Arts, (310) 276-2600.

The Dariush Mehrjui retrospective continues with another brilliant double feature: "Sara," which sets Ibsen's A Doll's House in contemporary Tehran, and "Leila," which is known as the artist's "keenest and most complex examination of contemporary Iranian culture." James Bridges Theater, UCLA, 7:30 p.m. (310) 206-FILM.

Note: "Leila" opens theatrically on July 30 at the Music Hall Theater, Beverly Hills.

George Cukor Centennial Retrospective continues with the ensemble spectacular "The Women," starring Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Joan Fontaine, Paulette Godard, and Mary Boland, also "Our Betters," the Somerset Maugham play, starring Constance Bennett. LACMA, Bing Theater, 7:30 p.m. (323) 857-6010.

Laemmle Theatres 7th Annual Classic Western Round-Up continues with "Pursued," starring Robert Mitchum, Laemmle's Sunset 5, 10 a.m., also Sunday, 10 a.m. (310) 848-3500. "Forty Guns," Laemmle Monica 4-plex, 11 a.m., also Sunday, 11 a.m.

Summer Concert Series: The Paris of Nadar. A program that captures 19th Century Paris, ranging from Rossini and Berlioz to popular cafe music, 8 p.m., The Getty Center, (310) 440-7300. $22, available through Ticketmaster; (213) 365-3500.

Family Workshops in Spanish and English. Bring the family and visit the galleries with a teacher, then work on art projects in the studio. This month's theme is "Drawing Family Stories." 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., advanced reservations required, The Getty Center, (310) 440-7300.

Family Storytelling in Spanish and English. Meet outside in front of the Museum Family Room, The Getty Center. 11 a.m. Free. (310) 440-7300.

First Book Story Time, a monthly event that benefits the national non-profit organization, First Book, reads Bark, George! By Jules Feiffer. Barnes & Noble Santa Monica, 10:30 a.m. (310) 260-9110.

Dutton's Brentwood Books. (310) 476-6263.

Storytime with special guest, Pig from If You Give a Pig a Pancake. For The Return of the Master. John Williams, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducts his well-known movie scores, including the West Coast premiere of music from The Phantom Menace. The Hollywood Bowl, 8:30 p.m. (213) 480-3232. Sunday, July 25
The Stuff that Dreams Are Made of: The Films of Marcello Mastroianni continues with "The Night," (1961). Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, Mastroianni plays a novelist having an existential crisis, also stars Jeanne Moreau. James Bridges Theater, UCLA, 7:00 p.m. (310) 206-FILM.

Family Workshops in Spanish. Bring the family and visit the galleries with a teacher, then work on art projects in the studio. This month's theme is "Drawing Family Stories." 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., advanced reservations required. The Getty Center, (310) 440-7300.

Family Storytelling in Spanish and English. Meet outside in front of the Museum Family Room. The Getty Center, 11 a.m. Free. (310) 440-7300. African Pulse with Dancers. Oumou Sangare, Hassan Hakmoun, and Aster Aweke. Powerful voices and hot driving rhythms from three different corners of the African Continent. The Hollywood Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (213) 480-3232.

Persis M. Karim will read from "A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans." Other authors reading will include, Arash Saedinla, Solmoz Sharif, and Ramin Tabib. Midnight Special Bookstore & Cultural Center, 5 p.m. (310) 393-2923.

Monday, July 26

Lisa Zeidner reads from her edgy novel, "Layover," about a woman who checks out of her life and into a different way of living. Dutton's Brentwood Books, 7 p.m. (310) 476-6263.

Tuesday, July 27

Fantastic Aventures. The Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Emmanuel Krivine, conductor, and Jean-Phillipe Collard, piano present Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice; Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No. 5, "Egyptian"; Berlioz: Symphonie fantanstique. The Hollywood Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (213) 480-3232.

Sylvia Brownrigg, the author of, "Ten Women Who Shook the World: Stories," reads from her first novel, "The Metaphysical Touch." Dutton's Brentwood Books, 7 p.m. (310) 476-6263.

Wednesday, July 28

Los Angeles Macintosh User's Group (LAMG) meets to discuss the internet, for beginners. Midnight Special Bookstore & Cultural Center, 7:30 p.m. (310) 393-2923, http://www.LAMG.org.

California Lawyers For the Arts Workshop Calendar continues with a discussion on music publishing, the industry and the basic songwriter/music publisher agreements in addition to sub-publishing, foreign royalties, reserves, licensing and rights of termination. Ken Edwards Center, 7 p.m. $5 for residents of Santa Monica and C.L.A. members ($15 for general public). (310) 998-5590.