Double Feature

MOVIES The NeverEnding Story / Labyrinth Drink along to a double feature of beloved '80s fantasy features, presented by the Cinema Speakeasy and the Downtown Independent. Come in your favorite fantasy costume, and get ready to "dance, magic, dance. " Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., Los Angeles. Doors open at 7 p.m., costume contest at 7:45 p.m. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. (213) 617-1033. http://www.downtownindependent.com BOOKS Ted Danson Though best known for his role as the lady-killing, beer-slinging ex-ballplayer Sam Malone on the TV show "Cheers," Danson is also a longtime environmental activist who has testified before Congress about marine conservation.

Get your gangster fix with a double feature of Martin Scorsese's lauded life-of-crime classic "Goodfellas" and the Coen Brothers' equally classic mob tale, "Miller's Crossing. " Bloody and bold, these two films will have you cocking your fedora and dusting off your spats in no time. The Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. Sat. 7:30 p.m. $11. (323) 466-3456; http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com.

New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion and actress Abbie Cornish will be on hand for a Q&A to take place between a double-bill of Campion films. "Bright Star," a biopic about poet John Keats (played by Ben Whishaw) costarring Cornish as his neighbor and muse, is followed by "Sweetie," Campion's first feature, a dark comedy that traces the combative relationship between two sisters in a dysfunctional family. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. 7:30 p.m. Sat. $10. (310) 260-1528, www.

Kathy Butterly does for sculpture what digital technology does for information: pack so much into such small spaces that it's impossible to reconcile an object's literal dimensions with the kicks it delivers. Size matters, but not like it used to. Think of what Butterly does as the microscopic sublime. Intimately and gently, she blows your mind, time after time, and never the same way.  At Shoshana Wayne Gallery, “Lots of Little Love Affairs” consists of 15 tabletop sculptures the New York artist has made over the last 18 months.

L.A. Underground Cinema, a new distributor handling edgy, low-budget features, makes a splashy debut Thursday at the Sunset 5 with a dynamite double feature, Jordan Alan's "Love & Happiness" (at 10 p.m.) and James Merendino's "The Upstairs Neighbor" (at 11:40 p.m.). Both have a specifically L.A. sensibility. Love and happiness are what rugged hit man Charlie (Charlie Mattera, a writer in a socko debut) promises his clientele. Charlie hates L.A. but finds plenty of takers for his services.

UCLA's outstanding "New Spanish Cinema and the Films of Carlos Saura" concludes this week at Melnitz Theater with an evening of Saura films(tonight) and a bizarre double feature, "Behind the Glass" and "Labyrinth of Passions" (Friday). Saura's "Antonieta" (1982), screening at 6 tonight, represents a remarkable and effective international collaboration.

The Vagabond Theater, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., one of the city's oldest specialty film theaters, has reopened with a double feature composed of "Woodstock" (1970), the Oscar-winning documentary of the landmark rock festival, and "Quadrophenia" (1979), which combines drama--a seaside clash between Mods and Rockers--with rock music inspired by the Who; it marked the screen debut of Sting. Information: (213) 387-1659.

A Wallace Reid double feature, "The Roaring Road" and "Hawthorne of the U.S.A.," both directed by James Cruze in 1919 will be presented Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Studio Museum, 2100 N. Highland Ave., by the Silent Society. "The Roaring Road" deals with a Los Angeles to San Francisco car race and "Hawthorne of the U.S.A." finds Reid as a law clerk who breaks the bank at Monte Carlo.

MGM/UA home video has come up with one of the most consumer-friendly ideas yet in laser-disc packaging. Called the "MGM Double Feature Disc," it serves up two movies spiced with an original theatrical trailer for $40. It's not that the movies are all so good. Many aren't. But they look good, especially those struck from negatives made in the glory days of Technicolor, filled with those luscious reds and yellows that rival Crayola crayons.

"Instant" winnings up to $50,000 and a total pool of $90 million will be available in the new "Double Feature" state lottery scratch-off game that begins today. Lottery Director M. Mark Michalko held a press conference Wednesday at Pickfair Mansion in Los Angeles during which he said the new game, keyed to Hollywood's centennial celebration, will give players the chance to instantly win up to $50,000.

If you're a slacker and not afraid to show it, then the New Beverly Cinema has the film festival for you. The New Bev's “Slacker Week” festival begins Sunday and Monday with Cheech and Chong's 1978 stoner classic “Up in Smoke,” directed by Lou Adler, and another stoner favorite, 2004's “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,” with John Cho and Kal Penn. On tap for Tuesday is the 2001 Broken Lizard comedy “Super Troopers,” followed on Wednesday by the 1978 classic “Animal House,” directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi, and Judd Apatow's 2007 blockbuster, “Knocked Up,” with Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl.

MOVIES The New Beverly shines a light on French filmmaker Francois Truffaut's Hitchcock phase with a double feature of his 1968 revenge tale "The Bride Wore Black," starring Jeanne Moreau as a vengeful widow, and his 1969 suspense thriller "Mississippi Mermaid," with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Deneuve. "Bride" screens in a new 35mm print. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., L.A. 7:30 p.m. Thu. and Fri. $8. (323) 938-4038. http://www.newbevcinema.com.

The Vampire-Con Film Festival returns to the New Beverly for the third year, offering up four ways to appreciate the undead on the big screen. Friday's double feature, "Revenge of the 80s," presents "Fright Night" (1985) plus "Vampire's Kiss" (1988), while Saturday trots out the Blacula franchise — "Blacula" (1972) and "Scream, Blacula, Scream!" (1973) — for "Saturday Night Vampire Fever. " Don't forget to dress in your vampire finest for the festival's costume contest. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 W. Beverly Blvd., L.A. Fri. 8 and 10:20 p.m.; Sat. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. $7 each day. (323)

Glenn Ford double feature When: Saturday, Peter Ford will sign books at 6:30 p.m.; the program begins at 7:30 Where: American Cinematheque Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood Price: $11 Info: http://www.americancinematheque.com

MOVIES The NeverEnding Story / Labyrinth Drink along to a double feature of beloved '80s fantasy features, presented by the Cinema Speakeasy and the Downtown Independent. Come in your favorite fantasy costume, and get ready to "dance, magic, dance. " Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., Los Angeles. Doors open at 7 p.m., costume contest at 7:45 p.m. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. (213) 617-1033. http://www.downtownindependent.com BOOKS Ted Danson Though best known for his role as the lady-killing, beer-slinging ex-ballplayer Sam Malone on the TV show "Cheers," Danson is also a longtime environmental activist who has testified before Congress about marine conservation.

There was a rare sighting in the Southern California desert Friday night. An official report confirmed that there was a huge stadium nearly filled with people in tennis-watching clothes. It said that they were cheering loudly every 30 seconds or so, that there was lots of smiling, fist-bumping and oohs and aahs. The report said a fun time was had by all. But the last sentence of the report destroyed the credibility. It said the people were there watching DOUBLES. It figured.

The Ray D. Prueter Library in Port Hueneme will offer a double feature on Family Film Night Wednesday at 7 p.m. First on the schedule is "Rookie of the Year," a film about a girl who gets a shot at being on an all-boys baseball team. Her parents are supportive, but her brother, friends and other players and their parents are against the idea. The other movie, "Just Say Hic: A Turkish Folktale," is based on a book.

Five years ago, Nicolas Cage and Chris Cooper starred in director Spike Jonze's quirky comedy "Adaptation." Last February, however, the actors found themselves in competition when their films opened the same weekend. Cage's Marvel Comics adventure, "Ghost Rider," received generally poor reviews but found box office glory, while Cooper's spy drama, "Breach," won the hearts of the critics but met with tepid audience response.

Anyone in the mood for a bit of Stanley Kubrick's brilliance can find an eclectic range of the iconic director's meticulously crafted work at the Egyptian Theatre this weekend. Thursday's double feature opens with his classic comic riff on war, "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," followed by his cut at sexual obsession in "Lolita. " Friday lifts off with "2001: A Space Odyssey," with its meditation on humanity featuring the hypnotic voice of Hal. But Saturday brings my favorite, "Full Metal Jacket," his unsparingly gritty vision of Vietnam and the cost of any war for the men on the ground — it never fails to shake me to the core.

POP MUSIC An Evening With Mavis Staples The gospel legend will take the stage at the intimate Clive Davis Theater to discuss her history-making five-decade career and newest work, including her hotly anticipated new album, "You Are Not Alone. " Following the interview, Staples will take questions from the audience and perform a few songs from her expansive catalogue. The Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. $20. (213) 765-6800. http://www.grammymuseum.org. American Carnage Tour Three old-guard titans of thrash metal unite for an evening that may have, pound-for-pound, more drum fills and tapping solos than any concert in decades.