FILM/SNEAK PEEK : FILMMAKER CORMAN TO SPEAK.

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski

Roger Corman, king of the drive-in movies, will address the Community Millennium Forum tonight in Beverly Hills, speaking on ``The Essence of Filmmaking.''

As a director and producer working outside the studio system, Corman has a record as one of the most commercially successful filmmakers in Hollywood. Among his low-budget, quickly made projects were the early works of Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Jack Nicholson and others.

Among his hundreds of credits: ``Little Shop of Horrors,'' ``The Pit and the Pendulum,'' ``Big Bad Mama'' and ``Boxcar Bertha.''

After Corman's program, guests are invited to document their hopes, concerns and plans for the next millennium, in writing and on videotape.

The forum, fifth in a series, begins at 7:30 p.m. at Beverly Hills High School's Salter Family Theater, 241 Moreno Drive. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling [phone].

Elvis movie as art

Some would say that in the art of cinema, Elvis Presley movies are the equivalent of velvet paintings, but the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has seen fit to include one in its regular Tuesday matinee series.

``Viva Las Vegas,'' the 1964 hit with Presley as a race car driver, will be shown next week at the museum's Bing Theater as its latest title chosen from the vast Warner Bros./Turner Entertainment Co. library.

The movie co-stars Ann-Margret, William Demarest and Jack Carter, and features songs such as ``The Lady Loves Me,'' ``What'd I Say?'' and, of course, the popular title number.

The movie screens at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $2 for general admission or $1 for seniors 62 and up, and are available at the door. The museum is located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.

`Secret' debut

``Secret Friends,'' the only film directed by British writer Dennis Potter, makes its Los Angeles debut today with a weeklong run at the Laemmle Grand 4-Plex.

Alan Bates stars as a mild-mannered painter of wildflowers who suffers an emotional breakdown while riding on a train. Gina Bellman plays his young wife.

Potter, who died in 1994, wrote some 40 scripts for film and TV, among them the Steve Martin movie ``Pennies From Heaven'' and the TV series ``The Singing Detective.'' ``Secret Friends'' was adapted from his novel ``Ticket to Ride.'' It has not been shown since its New York release in 1992.

The Laemmle Grand 4-Plex in located in downtown Los Angeles at 345 S. Figueroa St. Validated parking is available across the street at the World Trade Center. General admission tickets are $6.50. For more information, call [phone].

Brides and brothers

Glendale's Alex Film Society opens its fifth season Saturday with screenings of the MGM musical ``Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,'' starring Howard Keel and Jane Powell.

The 1954 Cinemascope movie won Oscars for musical directors Adolph Deutsch and Saul Chaplin.

The film society will be showing a new 35mm print of the film, along with a period newsreel and a cartoon. Cast members Russ Tamblyn and Ruta Lee will speak before the 8 p.m. screening.

Tickets cost $8.50 for the evening showing, $7 for the 2 p.m. matinee or $6 for Alex members. They are available through the Alex Theatre box office at 216 N. Brand Blvd. or through Tele-Charge at [phone]. For more information, call [phone].

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Photo

Photo: Successful independent director and producer Roger Corman will discuss filmmaking tonight at the Salter Family Theater at Beverly Hills High.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News