all day / Movies

James Van Der Beek, the teen dream star of the WB’s popular “Dawson’s Creek,” stars in “Varsity Blues,” a comedy-drama about a high school football team as it approaches the end of a near-perfect season. The film, which co-stars Jon Voight as the hard-driving football coach, is set in a small Texas community where high school football is very serious business indeed.

* “Varsity Blues,” rated R, opens Friday in general release.

7:30 p.m. / Movies

“Writing With Light: The Cinematography of Vittorio Storaro,” a film series that showcases the work of the prolific and influential Italian-born cinematographer, kicks off with screenings of “The Conformist” (1969) and “The Last Tango in Paris” (1972) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Storaro, best known for his work with directors Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola and Warren Beatty, will speak at the last installment of the series on Jan. 30.

* “Writing With Light: The Cinematography of Vittorio Storaro,” LACMA, Bing Theater, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. All screenings at 7:30 p.m.: Friday, “The Conformist” and “The Last Tango in Paris”; Saturday, “Reds”; Jan. 22, “One From the Heart”; Jan. 23, “Apocalypse Now”; Jan. 29, “Dick Tracy” and “The Sheltering Sky”; Jan. 30, “Tango” and a discussion with Storaro. $5 to $7. (323) 857-6010.

8pm / Theater

“In the Mood,” “Minnie the Moocher,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo”--everything old is new again as International City Theatre’s 1999 season opens with “The All Night Strut!,” Fran Charnas’ musical revue of big-band and swing music, paying tribute to the rhythms and energy of American culture circa World War II.

* “The All Night Strut,” International City Theatre, Long Beach City College campus, Clark Street and Harvey Way, Long Beach. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. $22; Friday opening, $25. Ends Feb. 21. (562) 938-4128.

11am / Art

New paintings by Dutch artist Deni Ponty portray the cinematic world of Hollywood as a sacred religion in “Deni Ponty: Hollywood--Moving Pictures,” opening Friday at Couturier Gallery. Long fascinated by the architectural elements of Hollywood’s great movie palaces, Ponty captures the heart and soul of Los Angeles through the lobbies and marquees of its movie theaters.

* “Deni Ponty: Hollywood--Moving Pictures,” Couturier Gallery, 166 N. La Brea Ave., West Hollywood. Ends Feb. 20. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. (323) 933-5557.

8pm / Dance

The gravity- and category-defying Pilobolus Dance Theatre returns to the Southland with a splashy sampling of recent work. Named for a sun-loving fungus, the company began at Dartmouth in the early 1970s and immediately caused controversy by adapting movement vocabularies from outside the conventional dance world: everything from gymnastics to log-rolling. Even with a new generation of performers, its appetite for collaborative experiment remains voracious. In Malibu and Glendale, the rep is the same: “Apoplexy” (1998), “Solo” (1997), “Gnomen” (1997), “Orangotango” (1998) and “The Hand That Mocked, the Heart That Fed” (1998).

* Pilobolus Dance Theatre, Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. Friday, 8 p.m. $35. (310) 456-4522. Also Sunday, 7 p.m., at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. $15 to $43. (800) 233-3123.

8pm / Theater.

“Tartuffe,” staged by David Chambers and adapted by Richard Wilbur, is Moliere’s provocative comedy about religion and hypocrisy, revolving around the blatant scoundrel who insinuates himself into a foolish man’s household.

* “Tartuffe,” South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Feb. 14. $28 to $45. (714) 708-5555.

FREEBIES: The 15th Annual Biennial Graphic Arts Exhibition will feature 80 works by 68 artists at Loyola Marymount’s Laband Art Gallery, 7900 Loyola Blvd. Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Through Feb. 20. (310) 338-3063.

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Classical musicians perform in the Recital Hall of L.A. Harbor College, 1111 Figueroa Place, Wilmington. Also Sunday at 3 p.m. in Pacific Unitarian Church, 5621 Montemalaga Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes. (310) 374-2141.