Screening Room

The Mods & Rockers Film Festival returns to the American Cinematheque's Egyptian and Aero theaters for its 12th annual outing, this year celebrating the work of Oscar-winning documentarian Murray Lerner ("From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China"). Opening the four-day retrospective Thursday evening at the Egyptian is a 40th anniversary salute to the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, the largest rock fest of that era and site of the last major performances by Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison.

Don't worry, be happy — or at least get the warm fuzzies at the Feel Good Film Festival, which "celebrates films and the filmmakers and creative artists that create entertainment with positive themes, happy endings that make audiences laugh and that capture the beauty of the world. " The third annual festival, which includes feature, short and student films, begins Friday at the Egyptian Theatre with "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Cheryl Hines hosting the opener, "Father vs. Son," starring "Modern Family's" Eric Stonestreet.

Petro Vlahos might not be a household name, but he's one of the most accomplished scientific and technical innovators in film and television. He holds more than 35 patents on equipment including camera crane motor controls, optical soundtracks and projection screens, but he's best known for creating both the analog and digital hardware and software versions of the Ultimatte compositing system. On Thursday, Bill Taylor, the governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Science and Technology Council, will host "A Conversation With Petro Vlahos" at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.

Sixty years ago, Carl Reiner was a regular on Sid Caesar's legendary comedy-variety series, "Your Show of Shows," and Mel Brooks was one of the hungry young writers on the live NBC program. The pair became fast friends, and the comedy world has never been the same. The American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre is saluting these two national treasures with "A Laugh-Out-Loud Weekend With Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner." The fun starts Thursday evening with 1982's " My Favorite Year," starring Peter O'Toole as an aging matinee idol guest starring on a fictionalized version of "Your Show of Shows," and Brooks' 1981 comedy " History of the World Part I ."

Decades before Robert Pattinson's portrayal of brooding vampire Edward Cullen turned him into an international heartthrob, Jonathan Frid was inspiring a similar kind of ardor with his turn as the charismatic, enigmatic Barnabas Collins on ABC's gothic daytime drama "Dark Shadows," which ran from 1966 to 1971. This weekend, the Dark Shadows of the Sun convention will take place at the Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel. And at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the vintage Vista Theatre in Los Feliz, Frid will put his footprints in cement in the theater's courtyard.

Since iconoclastic actor-writer-producer-director-artist Dennis Hopper died in May after a long battle with prostate cancer, screenings of his 1969 masterwork, "Easy Rider," have been popping up around town. However, the Silent Movie Theatre is the first to schedule a tribute screening series to Hopper. "Dennis Hopper: Wasn't Born to Follow," kicks off Friday evening with "Easy Rider," which marked his directorial debut, and the 1971 documentary "The American Dreamer," which chronicles his post-"Easy Rider" success and the making of his next film, the ill-fated "The Last Movie."

What better way to celebrate America this Fourth of July weekend than by jumping on a motorcycle and leaving a trail of havoc in your wake? Better yet, do it vicariously with the late Dennis Hopper, who stars in, co-wrote and directed the seminal 1969 biker movie " Easy Rider," which also stars Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson as a boozy Southern attorney — his first Oscar-nominated role. The classic screens Saturday at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. http://www.cinespia.org With bite You might think the upcoming holiday was Halloween given some of the chills on tap with the American Cinematheque's programming at the Egyptian Theatre.

Joel Schumacher began his career as a costume designer with the 1972 film "Play It as It Lays." Nine years later, he made his feature directorial debut with "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" with Lily Tomlin. His latest film, "Twelve," opens at the end of July. This weekend, the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre is saluting Schumacher with a three-day in-person retrospective. On Friday evening, Schumacher will introduce his 1993 psychological thriller, "Falling Down," starring Michael Douglas as man who goes on a killing spree after he loses his job, as well as his 1990 chiller "Flatliners," starring Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon as med students who decide to experiment with death.

Two vastly different cinematic icons are being feted this week by the American Cinematheque. You will smile even as your heart breaks at the Aero's "Cine Lights: Charlie Chaplin on the Big Screen," which begins Thursday and continues through June 27. During the silent era, Chaplin's' endearing Little Tramp character was one of the most indelible figures worldwide. And some 80 to 90 years after they were made, the humor, pathos, sadness, pratfalls, sentiment and grace of his short and feature-length films still strike a chord with audiences.