FILM/SNEAK PEEK ARTIFICIAL HUMANS' IN THE MOVIES ONLY NATURAL.

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski

Call it the body inhuman. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is exploring filmmakers' longtime fascination with synthetic life forms in its series titled ``Artificial Humans in the Cinema.''

The theme this weekend is dolls, especially that legendary wooden puppet who yearns to be a real boy. The character figures in two of tonight's four silent films - Italy's 1911 version of ``Pinocchio'' and German director Ernst Lubitsch's 1919 film ``Die Puppe'' - and he comes up again in a Saturday matinee showing of Walt Disney's animated ``Pinocchio.''

On Saturday evening is a double feature of ``The Stepford Wives'' and ``Making Mr. Right.''

``Stepford'' has Katharine Ross and Paula Prentiss trying to figure out why all the housewives in Stepford, Conn., are so blissfully happy all the time. (Watch for the screen debut of 7-year-old Mary Stuart Masterson.) The 1987 comedy ``Mr. Right'' stars John Malkovich in dual roles, as a nerdy scientist and the android he creates in his own image.

Upcoming films include ``Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (June 3), ``Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (June 9) and ``Westworld'' (June 10).

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. General-admission tickets are $7, or $5 for museum and American Film Institute members, seniors and students. Tickets are available at the museum ticket office or by calling [phone]. For other information, call [phone].

Original women in film

When women filmmakers come up for discussion, the names bandied about usually are from the last two decades: Nora Ephron, Jane Campion, Martha Coolidge, Penny Marshall, Barbra Streisand, Betty Thomas, Mimi Leder and Gillian Armstrong, for example.

But what about directors Alice Guy, Lois Weber and Dorothy Arzner and screenwriter Frances Marion? They were among the trailblazers of the 1910s and '20s who brought such taboos as prostitution, divorce, infidelity and alcoholism to the silver screen.

Streisand pays tribute to them with a program she and partner Cis Corman executive produced, ``Reel Models: The First Women of Film.'' The one-hour special, airing at 5 and 11 p.m. Tuesday on cable's American Movie Classics, includes film clips, interviews and first-person accounts as well as comments from Shirley MacLaine, Susan Sarandon, Minnie Driver and Hilary Swank.

The program kicks off AMC's all-night festival of women's films, led by the 1971 comedy ``A New Leaf,'' written and directed by and starring Elaine May. Other titles scheduled include Guy's 1912 western ``Algie the Miner,'' Weber's 1915 work ``The Hypocrites,'' Marion's 1929 ``Pollyanna'' and Arzner's 1922 film ``Blood and Sand.''

AMC says the silent era was the golden age for women behind the camera, a period when at least half of all scripts were written by women. Although their names are not easily recalled, they definitely made their marks, as Weber did with her use of frontal nudity in ``The Hypocrites.''

Check the TV listings for show times or go to www.amctv.com on the Web.

Animaniacs

Everybody who's anybody in animation will be in Hollywood next week for the World Animation Celebration, a series of conferences, workshops, screenings and meetings centered on one of the fastest-growing entertainment fields.

The technological leaps and bounds seen in Disney's ``Dinosaur'' and the availability of the Internet for distribution (one industry observer calls it ``the great equalizer'') have spurred interest in the animation industry. Organizers say more than 1,100 films were sent in for competition consideration.

In this rapidly evolving art form, Matt Groening is elevated to elder statesman status with a June 1 tribute to his career and the 10th anniversary of his hit series ``The Simpsons.'' Gary Goldman and Don Bluth (``An American Tail,'' ``Anastasia'') will receive a lifetime achievement award on June 2.

Other events set for the May 30 through June 4 festival include: director Brad Bird discussing the making of ``The Iron Giant''; the Big Animation Internet Powwow on how to create animation business opportunities on the Internet; the World Animation Marathon in which 800 students work together to make an animated feature in just one day; and even a talk titled the History of Sex in Animation.

Screenings take place at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. Animation companies' recruitment booths will be set up in poolside cabanas at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., which is also the site for seminars.

For registration information, screening passes and schedules, call [phone] or look up www.wacfest.com on the Web.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Cheery, small-town housewives are featured in ``The Stepford Wives,'' playing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.