A tribute to Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert will launch a new series of free outdoor film screenings at Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion this summer. The 10-week series, presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, will begin June 18, with a screening of the Oscar-winning "Chicago" (2002), based on the hit Kander-Ebb musical. June 18 is the birthday of the late critic, who died April 4 at age 70.

The films will be shown on a 40-foot-long, 22.5-foot high, state-of-the-art LED screen, purchased especially for this series, with sound projected from the pavilion's concert-hall-quality system. The Tuesday-night series, with films starting at 6:30 p.m., runs through Aug. 20. Seating is first come, first served.

"Kicking off the film series with a tribute to Roger Ebert will remind us of how he championed Chicago as a center for filmmaking and critiques," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement.

The schedule:

June 25, "Funny Face" (1957), with Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, directed by Stanley Donen.

July 2, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942) with James Cagney, directed by Michael Curtiz.

July 9, "Amadeus" (1984) with F. Murray Abraham and Thomas Hulce, directed by Milos Forman.

July 16, "Moulin Rouge" (2001): with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, directed by Baz Luhrmann.

July 23, "The Jungle Book" (1967), Disney animated feature.

July 30, "The Buena Vista Social Club" (1999), documentary directed by Wim Wenders.

Aug. 6, "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), with Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

Aug. 13, "Cabaret" (1972), with Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Joel Grey, directed by Bob Fosse.

Aug. 20, "Dreamgirls" (2006), with Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, Eddie Murphy, directed by Bill Condon.

Earlier in June, there will be two "pre-screenings," also at the Pritzker: "Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones: Live at the Checkerboard Lounge, 1981" on June 4, to salute the Chicago Blues Festival and "The Triplets of Belleville" (2003) on June 11, as part of Chicago Bike Week. The latter film will start at dusk. For details, go tomillenniumpark.org.

PHOTO: Roger and Chaz Ebert are honored during a CSO Night at the Movies concert in 2011. Sun-Times photo by Scott Stewart

CANNES, France -- Film fans congregated on the beach here to raise their thumbs to the late Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert during the annual Cannes International Film Festival.

The tribute Thursday followed a panel discussion about his impact on film criticism. Before his death in April, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic was a frequent presence at Cannes. In 2009, the festival named a conference center at the American Pavilion after him. The thumbs up sign was a hallmark of approval introduced on the long-running TV show "Siskel & Ebert at the Movies," hosted by Ebert and colleague Gene Siskel.

Chaz Ebert, the critic's wife, has been at Cannes this year, supervising coverage for RogerEbert.com. For years, she accompanied her husband to the festival, but this year, she's carrying on their tradition alone. "Knowing Roger," she said, "he'll be looking down [from heaven], and he'll see everyone's thumbs."

AP

CAPTION: Chaz Ebert (center, second row) joins others in giving the thumbs up sign Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival to honor her late husband, film critic and Cannes stalwart Roger Ebert. (AP photo/Nekesa Mumbi Moody)

If you can't get enough of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" (and you know who you are), the Los Angeles Opera announced Thursday that it will screen Kenneth Branagh's 2006 film version on June 9 and 11 at six Southern California cineplexes. The film, which Branagh updated to a World War I setting, features several opera favorites with Chicago ties: James Conlon, music director of the Ravinia Festival, conducts, and tenor Joseph Kaiser, a Ryan Center alum, who has performed at Chicago Opera Theater and Lyric Opera of Chicago, sings the role of Tamino (above, center left).

Although "The Magic Flute" had a limited run in Europe, it has never been picked up for U.S. distribution, and the L.A. engagements will mark the film's belated U.S. premiere. L.A. Opera will stream a live webcast with Branagh after the 2 p.m. (CST) screening June 9, and invites opera fans worldwide to submit questions either online or via Twitter. For details, go to laopera.com.

The film features a new English language libretto by British actor Stephen Fry. Also in the cast are bass Rene Pape (Sarastro), soprano Lyubov Petrova (Queen of the Night), soprano Amy Carson (Pamina) and baritone Benjamin Jay Davis (Papageno). For more info about the film, go to magicflutemovie.com

Field Trip, a new app from Google, is offering free admission to Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, Adler Planetarium and Field Museum.

"Field Trip is your guide to the cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around you," according to the app description. "It can help you learn about everything from local history to the latest and best places to shop, eat, and have fun. You select the local feeds you like and the information pops up on your phone automatically, as you walk next to those places."

You can download the app here. Look for the May 17 post about the free museum pass for more information on how to work the app.

If you are traveling this weekend, you can also get free admission at:

Conservatory of Flowers, SF
California Academy of Sciences, SF
Walt Disney Family Museum, SF
Museum of Contemporary Art, LA
Museum of the city of New York, NY
Museum of Arts and Design, NY
National Building Museum, DC
Portland Children's Museum
Portland Art Museum
Pittock Mansion, Portland

On Sunday, Netflix will unleash the newest set of Arrested Development episodes on the world, an event almost 10 years in the making. Over the next few days, leading up to the new episodes, we'll be revisiting some of our favorite moments from the cult television comedy culminating in a running diary as we binge-watch the new episodes on Sunday.

Today, we look at the post-AD careers of the main cast members. Head's up: a few clips have some naughty language so grab the earphones.

Previously: Top 10 recurring jokes, Top 10 cameos and guest stars

Jason Bateman (Michael Bluth)

For gals of a certain age, Justin Bateman had all the right moves. And as many Teen Beat covers. (Take that, Ricky Schroeder...) So after Michael ("Well, isn't it the boy who cried Phoenix") rode off into the sunset, some fans wondered where to get their former teen idol fix. Thankfully, Michael Bluth revitalized the former Teen Wolf Too's film career, and Bateman landed supporting roles in Dodgeball, A True Underdog Story and The Breakup and a dramatic role -- albeit small -- in the "Kingdom." But it was Juno -- the feature film that should have been an afterschool special in the '80s -- where Bateman found himself alongside Jennifer Garner and opposite Ellen Page, reprising a version of his dang oh-so-adorable father character. His over-the-top supporting role opposite Russell Crowe in State of Play gave us a glimpse of Michael's cray cray -- if Michael was a material witness desperate for the next hit off a crack pipe. He partnered with Will Arnett (Gob Bluth) to launch an award-winning digital production company dumbdumb.com, which creates custom comedy spots for clients. - Meg Moore

Michael Cera's career took off after his role as the young George-Michael Bluth when Arrested Development ended, probably having the most successful career of any of the AD cast. In 2007, he reunited with Arrested Development co-star Jason Bateman in the quirky Juno, the same year he co-starred with Jonah Hill in the crude teen comedy smash Superbad. He's also played goofy leading men in "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World." While none of the movies he's led have been smash box office hits, they've been modest successes (except for 2009 comedy Year One). - Kara Spak

Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth)

While Walter might not have been the most well-known of the cast among AD's target demographic, she was the one with the most extensive. award-winning career, one that included Play Misty For Me, Grand Prix, and extensive TV work on shows like Amy Prentiss (for which she won an Emmy), Murder She Wrote, and Dinosaurs. After AD, she played a prominent role on the WB's Beverly Hills 90210 reboot and is probably best recognized by AD fans as her role on Archer as Mallory Archer, a spy agency matriarch whose acerbic behavior falls pretty close to that of Lucille Bluth. Selfish, harsh, and dealing with a son with mother issues, Mallory is never one to let ethics get in the way of a big financial windfall even if it only leads to disaster. Fellow AD'ers Judy Greer (Kitty on AD), David Cross, and Jeffrey Tambor have all appeared with Walter on Archer as well (Greer is a regular cast member). - Marcus Gilmer

Jeffrey Tambor (George/Oscar Bluth)

It's rare that TV actors get the chance to star in one long-running series, let alone two. But the great Jeffrey Tambor is part of that elite group. In addition to playing comically corrupt real estate George Bluth (and his twin brother Oscar) on AD, he did a career-making turn as comically insecure sidekick Hank "Hey now!" Kingsley on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, Tambor's post-AD roles have been mostly forgettable in shows that never quite took off or quickly evaporated: Welcome to the Captain; Twenty Good Years; Batman: The Brave and the Bold. But he also did some voice work on the smart animated comedies Bob's Burgers and Archer, guest-starring alongside series regular and AD wife Jessica Walter, as well as turns on HBO's Entourage and in all three Hangover films -- among many other less prominent projects that put far more money into his bank account than most folks (including journalists who write capsule career summaries) will likely earn in a lifetime. Still, it's good to see him back as a Bluth, if only for one season. - Mike Thomas

Will Arnett (G.O.B. Bluth)

For the first few years post-AD, Arnett seemed to keep a lower profile than other co-stars, doing animated voice over work and smaller film roles with only one higher-profile starring role in a film (the comedy flop The Brothers Solomon). But Arnett flourished in some fantastic recurring roles on television: in the short-lived animated series Sit Down, Shut Up (which featured several other AD alums), The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (alongside fellow-AD alum David Cross), and 30 Rock, where he played Devon Banks, arch-nemesis to Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy. His role as Banks was his best performance post-AD until the critically-loved but little-watched sitcom Up All Night for NBC. Arnett spent the post-AD years married to Amy Poehler, his on-screen AD wife, but sadly the First Couple of Funny split in 2012. - MG

Portia de Rossi (Lindsay Funke/Bluth)

Since her role as Lindsay Bluth Funke ended in 2006, Portia de Rossi has appeared in a series of TV roles, mostly notably on Nip/Tuck and Better Off Ted. Her personal life has kept her in the public eye, though. In 2008, she married talk show host Ellen DeGeneres during the short window gay marriage was legal in California. "I was closeted and very, very afraid that if I talked about being gay it would be the end of my career so I wasn't about to then date the most famous lesbian in the world," de Rossi told Oprah during a 2009 interview with DeGeneres about the first time the two met. In 2010, de Rossi published the memoir Unbearable Lightness, where she wrote about suffering from eating disorders while filming her breakout role on "Ally McBeal" as well as her relationship with DeGeneres. - KS

Tony Hale (Buster Bluth)

Hale has taken perhaps the widest path since AD, taking dozens of small roles in movies (Stranger Than Fiction) and on television shows (Chuck, Andy Barker: PI) both big and small. Hale has embraced just about anything thrown at him and has recently hit a new stride starring in VEEP alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus as "Gary," the suck-up personal assistant to Louis-Dreyfus' Vice-President. While that character isn't as fearful of the world as Buster, there's still an obliviousness and overwhelming desire to please that makes it an easy transition back to Buster for Hale to film these new AD episodes. - MG

David Cross (Tobias Funke)

After Tobias Funke hung up his cutoffs, David Cross beefed up his C.V. He branched out to other wide-reaching projects -- voice-over work for video games, directing music videos, book publishing and co-writing an off-beat comedy series. He also ran into a little beef with fellow comedian Patton Oswalt over Cross' acting in the kids cash-in Alvin & The Chipmunks movie franchise. Cross wanted his MTV, and appeared in music videos by The New Pronographers, Superchunk and Yo La Tengo. He also directed The Black Keys' "10am Automatic." But he made a splash across the pond partnering with Shaun Pye to write and star in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. Not only did he pick up deals with U.K.'s Channel 4 and IFC, Cross found love with Amber Tamblyn, an actress who had a recurring role on the series. - MM

Comedy Central recently announced a development deal with Chicago comic Hannibal Buress. But he's not the only homegrown talent you'll see on the network in the coming weeks and months. Another local stand-up, Milton "Lil Rel" Howery, is slated to appear Friday, June 7 at 11 p.m. as part of a Comedy Central showcase called "The Half Hour."

Cast last year for a remake of "In Living Color" that never got off the ground, the Chicago native has also appeared in several films (including the Chicago-shot "Barbershop 2") and an array of television specials: among them, "Russell Simmons Presents" (2010), "Martin Lawrence 1st Amendment" (2011) and "Jamie Foxx 2011 NBA All Star Comedy." He also scored a seat in 2012 at Chelsea Lately's comedic roundtable on E!

Warning: some strong language

Volunteers from PAWS CHICAGO, the city's largest no-kill animal shelter, will travel Friday to rescue approximately 75 pets from the Oklahoma City-area, site of Monday's deadly tornado.

Oklahoma City Animal Care & Control is out of space after taking in more than 150 animals left homeless by the tornado. PAWS is taking animals, some which have significant medical problems, and transporting them back to Chicago. Some of the animals should be ready to adopt at 11 a.m. Monday, May 27. Others will be in a foster home and receiving medical care until they are ready to be adopted.

For more information about PAWS CHICAGO and the adoption event, click here.

Dame Helen Mirren, who played Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 movie "The Queen" and is currently starring as her in the West End play "The Audience," recently stayed in character for a visit with a 10-year-old boy with Downs Syndrome who is dying of cancer.

Young Oliver Burton wanted to meet the actual queen, but she wasn't available. So Mirren stepped in, inviting Burton and his family to her play and then drinking pop and sharing tea sandwiches with him after the show. The show's corgi canine stars, Coco and Roco, also made an appearance, according to the Daily Mail.

"She stayed in character for the whole thing," James Browne, Oliver's father, told the paper. "Oliver thought she was the real Queen, and well, that's good enough for us.
She was really lovely. She did the whole thing - had a butler there, was dressed in costume and did it all properly for him."

Oliver was first diagnosed with leukemia in 2003 and has twice beat the disease. The paper reported that his most recent diagnosis is grim.

As all Liberace fans must know by now, the upcoming HBO film "Behind the Candelabra" depicts the final years of Mr. Showmanship, and his affair with the much younger Scott Thorson. The film, supposedly director Steven Soderbergh's swan song, has received mostly rave reviews (check out the one by Sun-Times' Lori Rackl), with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in particular singled out for their fearless performances.

But many don't know that Lee, as his friends called him, was a child of the Midwest, born less than 75 miles away from Chicago in West Allis, Wis. Here are some more tidbits to ponder before "Behind the Candelabra" debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday:

+ He made his professional debut at age 16 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under music director Frederick Stock. Later he appeared again with the CSO in a 1940 concert at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee. In a Milwaukee Journal article published in 1993, Liberace's former teacher Florence Kelly recalled that the young pianist was terrified of Stock, a legend in the classical music world. She told him, "You're going to play like you've never played before. This is it!" Then he performed so well at his 1936 audition that Stock "let him play the entire Liszt A Major Concerto without interruption."

+ He had a ribald sense of humor. One of his favorite jokes: "What's better than roses on your piano? Tulips on your organ."

+ He made his very last public appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," broadcast on Dec. 25, 1986, just six weeks before his death of AIDS-related causes on Feb. 4, 1987.

+ He plays an undertaker in the film satire "The Loved One" (1965), directed by Tony Richardson (also a closeted homosexual), and billed in its promotional material as "the motion picture with something to offend everyone!" (DVR alert! TCM will broadcast "The Loved One" at 10:45 p.m. Friday.)

+ He was born with a stillborn twin, as was the case with Elvis Presley. Later, his mother would say of the tragedy, "Even then, he wanted too much."

Joel Murray -- of the Wilmette Murrays -- first met Chris Farley when they were students at Marquette University in Milwaukee. After graduation, they performed sketch comedy and improvised together on the stages of Second City and elsewhere.

In a recent Facebook post, Murray ("Mad Men," "Shameless," "The Artist") wrote that he and other Farley pals from Marquette "are still angry at the universe that [Chris] is gone." Farley, who long struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, died of an overdose in Chicago on December 18, 1997. He was 33.

Murray posted this, too: a fairly recent remake of the first scene Murray and Farley ever improvised together. Shot early last year by some expat Chicagoans from Backyard Productions (Rob Pritts directs), it centers around a dad (Murray, as "Mr. Farley") picking up his son (Chris, played by Daryl Sabara) from jail after Chris is collared for public drunkenness. The duo frequently performed it on the road during Second City touring shows.

Murray, by the way, says he's slated to sing the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field on June 21 (even though the Cubs supposedly nixed celebrities at the mic). Later that evening, he'll emcee the 2nd Annual Hot Stove Cool Music Chicago benefit concert at Chicago's Metro.

June 21 also happens to be the day that Pixar's "Monsters University" comes out, and Murray is among several Chicago area folks (Bonnie Hunt, Sean Hayes and Julia Sweeney) with plum voice roles.

You don't need to know how to build a fire, catch a fish or pitch a tent to camp in select Chicago city parks this summer.

The Chicago Park District, working with The North Face's Explore Your Parks, is offering novice family camping. For $50 for up to six people in a group, the park district provides families with tents as well as fishing equipment and lessons in fire building and cookout camping. A parent or guardian must participate.

Dates on Northerly Island are sold out but you can register here for:

Aug. 17-18, Palmisano Park, 2700 S. Halsted St.
Sept. 14-15, Gompers Park, 4222 W. Foster Ave.
Oct. 5-6, Jackson Park, Wooded Island, 6401 S. Stony Island Ave.

A registration date has not yet been announced for:
Sept. 21-22, Bull Frog Lake, Palos Park, Ill., in conjunction with the Cook County Forest Preserve