Three-day forecast

FESTIVAL

Sports, music and technology

Besides the more than 600 surfers, skateboarders and stunt riders competing, the Philips Fusion action sports, music and technology festival will feature live concerts, dance contests, karaoke and the latest in all kinds of electronic gear -- all in the oceanfront setting of Huntington Beach Pier. And best of all, it’s free. Live regional and national musical acts will perform Friday and Saturday, 4-7 p.m.

Philips Fusion, Huntington Beach Pier Plaza, Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, Huntington Beach. Today to Sunday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. (310) 473-0411.

MOVIES

Attracting awards and controversy

Since its premiere at last year’s Venice Film Festival, where it won the event’s top prize, the Golden Lion, Peter Mullan’s “The Magdalene Sisters” has received generous numbers of awards and created much controversy. Based on true stories, the film looks at the degradation and abuse suffered by four women abandoned by their families and committed to hard labor in the Catholic Church’s Magdalene Asylums in 1960s Ireland. Geraldine McEwan portrays a nun, with Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duff and Eileen Walsh also featured.

“The Magdalene Sisters,” rated R for violence/cruelty, nudity, sexual content and language, opens Friday exclusively at the Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. (310) 477-5581; and the Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, L.A. (323) 692-0829.

WORDS

Discussing Spider-Man

Stan Lee co-created -- with Steve Ditko -- one of the most popular superheroes of all time: Spider-Man. Now Lee, who helped bring Spidey out of his web and onto comic pages, will entertain questions following a screening of the 2002 blockbuster big screen debut of his famous character.

“Spider-Man” and Q&A; with Stan Lee, Arclight Cinemas Hollywood, 6360 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. $10-$11. (323) 464-4226 or www.arclightcinemas.com.

POP MUSIC

Amos and Folds tour

Guitar bands be dashed. Tori Amos and Ben Folds have teamed up for the “Lottapianos” tour 2003, which arrives at the Greek on Friday. Amos is lobbying for additional exposure in dance clubs with a new remix by German producer-DJ Timo Maas of her song “Don’t Make Me Come to Vegas (which, by the way, is precisely where she’s playing tonight). Folds is taking a work-in-progress approach to his new album, due next year, with a series of downloadable EPs that he’ll post on the Web as he finishes each batch of songs.

Tori Amos, Ben Folds, Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. Friday, 7 p.m. $25 to $46. (323) 665-1927.

DANCE

Live and on film

Dance and film (not dance on film) is the idea behind “Caught Between: Dancing for Camera and Live Audience,” an annual event at the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood that showcases collaborations between contemporary choreographers and adventuresome filmmakers or videographers. The idea is to have live dancers interact with screen counterparts or environments, letting the audience savor a fusion of the physical and the technological. Ten pieces are scheduled. Participating choreographers (most of them locally based) include Moonea Choi, Bubba Carr, Allan McCormick, Lisa Naugle, Hanh Nguyen, Judy Pisarro-Grant, Louise Reichlin, Natsuo Tomita, Nina Winthrop and event co-producer Deborah Brockus.

“Caught Between: Dancing for Camera and Live Audience,” Ivar Theatre, 1605 Ivar Ave., Hollywood. Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. $20 (advance sale) to $25 (day of performance). (310) 645-9419.

ART

Objects of Japanese Americans

An array of more than 48,000 objects -- part of the Japanese American National Museum’s permanent collection -- is displayed to document the first-person American experiences of thousands of Japanese Americans. Among the items in the “Object Lessons” show are Karen Umemoto’s collection of activist buttons, Michiko Nishiura’s Butte High School trophy and Kim Ikemura’s 1930s era American flag.

“Object Lessons: Exploring the Permanent Collection,” Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. 1st St., Los Angeles. Opens Saturday. Tuesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Ends Jan. 4. Adults, $6; seniors, $5; students and children older than 5 years, $3; museum members and children under 5, free. (213) 625-0414 or www.janm.org.

MUSIC

Enhancing an exhibit

A concert of early 20th century music, “Paris: Music in the Time of Modigliani,” will complement LACMA’s exhibition of the artist’s work. Duo pianists Vicki Ray and Joanne Pearce Martin will play Stravinsky’s “Three Easy Pieces” and “Five Easy Pieces,” Poulenc’s Sonate, Ravel’s “Ma Mere L’oye,” Satie’s “En Habit de Dheval” and Milhaud’s “Le Boeuf sur le Toit.”

“Paris: Music in the Time of Modigliani,” Leo S. Bing Theater, L.A. County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Monday, 8 p.m. $10-$18. (323) 857-6010.

JAZZ

Shorter and friends

Acclaimed jazz saxophonist-composer Wayne Shorter comes to the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday and he’s bringing some “friends” with him: jazz pianist-composer Herbie Hancock, who first worked with Shorter in the Miles Davis band of the 1960s; dancer-choreographer Savion Glover, probably best known for “Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk”; and last, but not least, Grammy-winning guitarist Carlos Santana. During his 40-plus-year career, Shorter has won four Grammys himself. Shorter’s latest CD, “Alegria,” was released in March.

“Wayne Shorter: Life and Music,” Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., L.A. Wednesday, 8 p.m. $5-$40. (323) 850-2000.

THEATER

Road to redemption

In the world premiere of August Wilson’s new play, “Gem of the Ocean,” set in 1904, a man who believes that he has committed a mortal sin is set on the road to redemption by 285-year-old Aunt Esther. Directed by Marion McClinton, this is the ninth play in Wilson’s chronicle of the black American experience through each decade of the 1900s.

“Gem of the Ocean,” Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Opens today. Runs Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 3, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Sept. 7, 2:30 p.m. only; ends Sept. 7. $31-$45. (213) 628-2772.