Film

Ken Wales, producer of the 2006 film “Amazing Grace,” will speak after a free showing of the movie at the Lido Theater at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The film is based on the life of the 18th Century British antislavery crusader William Wilberforce. The event is part of Orange Coast Christian Outreach Week, which features numerous community events and inspirational speakers. Wales is the producer of the award-winning CBS series “Christy.” He also has produced several films, including “The Tamarind Seed,” starring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif, and “The Wild Rovers,” starring William Holden and Ryan O’Neal.

As mentioned in this space a week ago, I spent much of my youth at the Mesa Theater in Costa Mesa. Emblazoned with a big “MESA” atop its marquee, the magenta-colored building sat at the corner of 19th Street and Newport Boulevard. I enjoyed many a Saturday matinee there in the 1950s and ’60s, watching science-fiction flicks and B-movies, and chomping on Big Hunks. Every once in a while, the print would break and the screen would go blank, and a thousand kids would commence screaming.

'Serving Sara' does not dish up many laughs An absolutely dreadful attempt at comedy, "Serving Sara" is an insult to anyone with an IQ greater than their shoe size. This inane film is a wannabe zany farce and road trip movie with gross-out jokes and a little romance thrown in. But this clunker falls flat on its face on every count. No laughs, no love, no life. The first five minutes are mildly amusing and give a hint of what the movie might have been if it had better writing, directing and acting.

As a former film critic for Los Angeles magazine, Rod Lurie has only one negative critique of “Resurrecting the Champ,” his upcoming film. “Four stars!” the 45-year-old film director and screenwriter exclaimed. “Sam Jackson is going to win the Academy Award and Josh Hartnett should win it, but maybe he’s a little young. Alan Alda at his best. The only thing I would criticize is Rod Lurie’s performance in the opening scene.” Before the film opens nationwide Thursday, local audiences will have an opportunity to see Lurie’s cameo at a special advanced screening presented by the Newport Beach Film Festival’s Orange County Film Society at the Lido Theatre.

Corona del Mar High School students and parents filled the Lido theater Wednesday night for the first step in a campus campaign against bullying. CdMHS's Human Relations Council screened the Lee Hirsch-directed documentary "Bully. " The film was followed by a panel discussion to kick-off "Stand Up, Don't Stand By," a year-long campaign to raise awareness that bystanders can put a stop to bullying. "I hope that you guys take from the film what I did: We all have a duty to step up when you see the really terrible things you are going to see in the film," said HRC co-President Mason Lyle.

H ave you seen Bigfoot? The students of Sonora Elementary School sure have. In a mock documentary which incorporated more than 100 students, the school's drama club practiced technological and teamwork skills while producing a feature-length movie about the fabled monster for its annual production. "Any play you can get kids to participate in is great, but the further you can get them to think outside the box — just think of all the things you can expose them to," said parent and project co-advisor Donna Robb.

I'm not normally a prescient sort of fellow. ESP isn't hardwired into my DNA. But, the other night I felt eerily and unmistakably clairvoyant. I knew what was going to happen before it happened in the lives of others. No, I didn't see dead people. What I did see, however, was earthshaking in its significance. I could look into the eyes of individuals knowing what would befall them over the coming months and years. I was Carnac (err, Carnett) the Magnificent, and my on-target predictions were chilling.

Disney delivers a very sweet but very odd family film in "The Odd Life of Timothy Green. " The strange premise begins with a young married couple who yearn to be parents but cannot have children. Their prayers are answered when a fully formed 10-year-old boy sprouts up from their vegetable garden after a magic rainstorm. Leaves grow from veins in his legs. Of course, all sense of reality has to be abandoned at this early point in the story. Somehow the miracle child is enrolled in school.

COSTA MESA — Christmas could have been a drag this year for Brad Long. The 44-year-old video production specialist for the city of Costa Mesa needed a fourth hip replacement surgery, he got an infection that threatened to claim his leg, and he only had three weeks' paid leave from his job but needed several months off. But in the 13 years he's worked for the city — 12 of them part-time — Long has made a lot of friends....

There are sure to be plenty of memorable moments produced during and after the viewing of the documentary, "Touchdown Newport," about the 1970 Newport Harbor High football team. Probably none can be as poignant and heartwarming as what occurred at Lido Theater on Saturday, when the film made its debut for a private audience. Shortly after the documentary ended, the director Randy Hamilton introduced the central figure of the movie, Coach Ernie Johnson. The old man stood up from his seat and the crowd did the same, giving him a standing ovation.