WEEK IN PREVIEW

MOVIES

The action thriller “Ronin” gets rolling with a meeting of former intelligence officers and Cold War soldiers in a Paris warehouse. Directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Robert De Niro (far right, with Jean Reno), the tale of intrigue, friendship and betrayal opens in general release Friday.

MOVIES

“Clay Pigeons,” a noir comedy, offers a tangled web of love, obsession and murder set in motion when Joaquin Phoenix’s Clay Bidwell is caught in bed with the wife of his best friend. Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garafalo and Georgina Cates co-star in the film, which opens Friday in general release.

THEATER

The world premiere of the Howard Marren-Joe Masteroff musical farce “Paramour,” based on Jean Anouilh’s “The Waltz of the Toreadors,” opens Saturday at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. Joseph Hardy directs; Len Cariou, Melissa Hart and Amanda Naughton lead the cast.

MUSIC

Opening a new piano series at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, much-heralded 25-year-old Russian Arcadi Volodos makes his Southern California debut on Friday, playing his own work and pieces by such composers as Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Glinka and Liszt.

POP MUSIC

Still whip-smart and now free of the confines of being the sudden sensation of 1993, Liz Phair (above) has found her footing as one of rock’s essential singer-songwriters. With her “Whitechocolatespaceegg” album pulling in strong reviews, the Chicago native plays the Mayan Theatre on Thursday.

JAZZ

Long a highly respected vocal teacher, Sue Raney has appeared on many famous jingles and has one of the most beautiful voices in the L.A. area. At the Jazz Bakery for three nights starting Thursday, she will perform standards with the assistance of pianist Dick Shreve and bassist Bob Magnusson.

ART

An exhibition of enormous curved steel creations by acclaimed abstract sculptor Richard Serra opens today at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Included are seven sculptures in Serra’s “Torqued Ellipses” series, an 86-foot-long serpentine piece, a forged block sculpture and several maquettes.

ART

Lush, baroque paintings influenced by photography and film are among the abstract works and multimedia installations featured in “David Reed Paintings: Motion Pictures,” the first career retrospective of the artist’s work. It opens today at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, in La Jolla.

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Early Warning: Carol Burnett headlines in Stephen Sondheim’s musical revue “Putting It Together,” opening Oct. 22 at the Mark Taper Forum.