Navigating Outfest

Maybe it’s the white hot days or the mesmerizing sunsets, but come the So Cal summer, things have a way of creeping up on you. Take Outfest, for instance.

Thanks to an increasingly sophisticated filmgoing public and an abundance of Hollywood activists willing to get involved, L.A.’s gay and lesbian film festival has become a second-to-none survey of the best in the field.

Tickets are tight, but you don’t have to be superconnected (or even reasonably organized) to score seats -- even at this late date (the 11-day event starts July 10).

Patience and tenacity are key. Stop whining. You wouldn’t be reading this if you had made arrangements early when you were supposed to.

No tickets yet -- you’re in luck

Although Outfest has commandeered five theaters, the Directors Guild of America building on Sunset Boulevard is the place to start. There is a snack bar, several screening rooms and, most important, people to answer your questions. This is the place to go for a catalog (which includes descriptions of films and screening locations and times), updates on available tickets, and advance tickets.

They take plastic at the DGA, but if you’re planning to go standby at other venues, bring cash. If what you want to see is sold out, expect to wait in line. In most cases, however, festival officials assure us that standbys have a good chance of getting in. The key word is wait. And be aware that standby lines open one hour before the screening.

There is parking for $3 in the DGA lot. The ticket desk is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except this Friday and Sunday, through the end of the festival on July 21.

Try the Web

The Outfest Web site is www.outfest.org. At press time, though, site response was slooooooow....It’s worth a try, but it would appear your best bet is to go to the real-time source. (See above.)

Gore and glitter

Cheap seats are still available (if you call $40 cheap) in the nosebleed section of downtown’s Orpheum Theatre for the opening-night party and screening of “Party Monster,” the true, twisted tale of drug-crazed New York City club kids run amok in the early ‘90s. Macaulay Culkin heads a cast that includes Seth Green, Dylan McDermott, Wilson Cruz, Chloe Sevigny and, yep, Marilyn Manson. Your ticket also gets you into the post-screening gala behind the theater. It’s more glam than it sounds, with food from several cool restaurants and a “club kids” theme. Parking is fairly plentiful at pay lots near the theater, at 842 S. Broadway.

Fun things you will never get to do at Cannes

The “Chicago” singalong on July 16.

Oh, isn’t it grand? Isn’t it great? Isn’t it swell to sit under the stars at the John Anson Ford and sing along with Renee, Richard, John, Catherine and Latifah as they scheme, lie, connive and even shoot their way into the hearts of decent, god-fearing Chicagoans all over America? Tickets are still available, as are boxed dinners from Tasteful Creations. Make arrangements at least 48 hours before the screening at (310) 652-3797. The menu is at www.fordamphitheatre.org.

Other films at the Ford include “Sweet Home Alabama” scripter C. Jay Cox’s directorial debut, “Latter Days” (July 17, 8:30 p.m.); “Girls Will Be Girls” starring those clever gals with something extra -- Varla Jean Merman, Coco Peru and Evie Harris -- on a Tinseltown tear (July 18); and “April’s Shower: My Big, Fat, Closeted Lesbian Past Wedding Shower” (July 19, 8:30 p.m.).

Family fun

On July 13, the Village at Ed Gould Plaza becomes a playground for parents and kids, with interactive games, punch, cookies, a bounce room and special screenings of “The Three Little Pigs,” and “Three Blind Mice,” two animated features from HBO’s “Happily Ever After” series. Afterward, run home, deposit the kids with the sitter and head back for the 8 p.m. Martini Party preceding the “Flashdance” 20th Anniversary Screening Party at 9.

Screenings worth catching

This by-no-means comprehensive list includes “Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin,” a Black Power activist and advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., whose homosexuality made him a liability to the emerging movement for equality. “The Education of Gore Vidal,” Deborah Dickson’s look at one of America’s most provocative historians and thinkers.”Between Two Women,” British director Steven Woodcock’s ‘50s look at the development of an empowering relationship between the mother of a young boy and his art teacher. “Bulgarian Lovers,” Spanish director Eloy de la Iglesia’s tale of a Spanish lawyer and his Eastern European object of desire. “Road Movie,” Korean director Kim In Sik’s story of a downwardly mobile trader on the Seoul Stock Exchange as he finds love and adventure with the lost souls of the streets. Other screenings still open as of Wednesday afternoon included: “Gasoline,” “Goldfish Memory,” “Ghostlight,” “Kiki & Tiger,” “Love Forbidden,” “Merci Docteur Rey” and “The Mudge Boy.”