FILM/SNEAK PEEK PUBLIC TO GET A REAL LOOK AT MOVIE FAKERY.

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski

The Art Directors Guild, the trade group representing TV and film production designers and set decorators, is giving the public a chance to walk around on an actual set.

The craftsmen and women, working with House Beautiful magazine, have constructed a '20s-era Hollywood bungalow inside the Green Building of the Pacific Design Center and are opening it to the public today through Aug. 31.

The house is furnished with the latest high-end fixtures, furnishings, and wall and floor coverings from vendors such as Bruce Hardwood Flooring, Grohe, KitchenAid, Restoration Hardware and Williams-Sonoma, but the creators say it will not appear to be just another model.

William Creber, one of the project's production designers, said, ``What we are creating is not a perfect model home, but something that looks both lived in and part of a real working movie set.''

For example, the exhibit includes a foreground miniature with a special- effects camera and monitor set up to give the illusion of a second floor even though two bedrooms and the master bath are situated on the ground floor. The house display includes working film cameras and stage lighting.

The bungalow is set to be featured in a pictorial in the November issue of House Beautiful.

Admission is free and the exhibit is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Parking is $3 at the Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., in West Hollywood. For more information, call the Art Directors Guild at [phone].

Giant lizards take Hollywood

Hollywood always has aimed for the latest, greatest visual effects it could muster, but nothing says ``made in Japan'' quite like Godzilla movies.

American Cinematheque is encouraging giant lizards and other destructive mutants to take over Hollywood Boulevard with its Japanese Science Fiction and Monster Weekend, coinciding with the annual G-Fest convention for Godzilla and Japanese monster fans.

The film series opens at 7 p.m. today with the screening of a new 35mm print (maybe that will help) of the original 1954 ``Godzilla,'' being shown in its original form with English subtitles and almost 20 minutes of footage not released in the United States. Later the film will be discussed by visual effects director Sadamasa Arikawa and the actor in the Godzilla suit, Haruo Nakajima.

The film series, running through Sunday, also includes ``Son of Godzilla'' (1967) and the U.S. premieres of ``Rebirth of Mothra 3'' (1998) and ``Ultraman Tiga : The Final Odyssey'' (2000).

All screenings are at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. For information about the film series, call [phone] or go to www.egyptiantheatre.com on the Web. For more information about the G-Fest at the nearby Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, call [phone] or see www.g-fan.com on the Web.

Thank heaven

The Alex Film Society in Glendale will present a new print of the award- winning MGM musical ``Gigi'' at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday.

The Lerner-and-Loewe musical starring Maurice Chevalier and Leslie Caron claimed nine 1958 Oscars, including best picture and best director for Vincente Minnelli. Its best-known songs include ``Thank Heaven for Little Girls'' and ``I Remember It Well.''

Tickets are $8.50 for the evening show, $7 for the matinee and $6 for members of the Alex Film Society and are available at the box office or through TeleCharge, [phone]. The Alex Theatre is at 216 N. Brand Blvd. For additional information, call [phone].

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Photo:

This architect's sketch offers a sneak peek of ``The Bungalow,'' a 2,500-square-foot set created by the Art Directors Guild and sponsored by House Beautiful magazine.