the BEAT of the week: AFI Fest.

Los Angeles' longest running international film festival returns this week, and the lineup of films is, as usual, quite spectacular. Look out for screenings of highly anticipated movies like The Artist, Shame, Into the Abyss, Melancholia and Butter, alongside acclaimed shorts and foreign films. Tickets may be a bit hard to come by for a lot of the popular films, but ticket packages -- like $100 for access to all Special Screenings -- are still available and can be a good deal.

Stay tuned to the website for more details.

AFI Fest takes place Nov. 3-10 at various locations around the city.

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And speaking of a film screening at AFI Fest this week -- Roman Polanski's Carnage -- the two lead actors, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz, are set to appear at LACMA this week. The intimate event is sure to bring some new insight into how they work and how they create the amazing performances they've become known for (Waltz is a Oscar winner, Reilly was Oscar-nominated) -- plus, considering Reilly's comedic background and Waltz's deadpan humor, there will probably be some good laughs too. They'll be interviewed by New York Times writer-at-large Charles McGrath.

A Conversation with John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz takes place this Saturday, Nov. 5 at 3pm at LACMA, located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. in Mid-City. Tickets are $25 and available here.

-- Chau Tu

Advance Notice. The Fighter.

David O. Russell's The Fighter screened at the AFI Fest 2010 last night at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and it was fantastic.

I'm not only saying this because my boyfriend worked on the film--it's really a great movie. Mark Wahlberg, the star and one of the producers, introduced it. The crowd loved it. The L.A. Times posted an extremely positive article this morning online, calling it "a contender in both the commercial and awards departments" and noting the strong acting of Melissa Leo and Amy Adams in addition to Wahlberg's and Christian Bale's. And Robert Duvall, who was sitting in front of me, seemed to thoroughly enjoy it too.

Out December 10 in L.A. and New York, and December 17 nationwide.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: filmofilia.com

Advance Notice. Go to the AFI Fest for free.

The AFI Fest is already known for screening some of the most anticipated films of the year, unofficially kicking off the movie awards season in Hollywood. But this year, the fest is taking it up another notch by introducing the role of the guest artistic director, and giving that spot to none other than esteemed visionary filmmaker David Lynch.

For his role, Lynch designed the artwork for this year's event (above), and has selected six movies for a special sidebar program at the festival. His picks? They happen to be pretty amazing, naturally: Stanley Kubrick's Lolita, Hitchcock's Rear Window, Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd., Ingmar Bergman's Hour of the Wolf, Tati's Mon Oncle, and his own unforgettable Eraserhead. Lynch will be presenting the double-header of Eraserhead and Sunset Blvd. in person on Nov. 6, and you can send him a question to answer that evening by tweeting @AFIFEST.

And luckily for you, non-AFI members have to chance to see any of Lynch's picks -- as well as any other regular AFI Fest screening -- for free. Yes, free tickets will be available beginning tomorrow at noon on the AFI Fest website. The tickets will be limited, of course, so if you want to guarantee your way into the films, sign up to be an AFI member and get your tickets to the festival today.

The AFI Fest 2010 presented by Audi is taking place Nov. 6-10 at multiple locations in Hollywood. Check the festival website for a full schedule of films and events.

-- Chau Tu