Barbarella's back, and Robert Rodriguez's got her.

No word yet on who will take the role made famous by Jane Fonda, but Rodriguez ("Sin City," "El Mariachi," half of "Grindhouse") will direct a new adaptation. Fonda's first husband, Roger Vadim, directed her in the 1968 sci-fi sex romp.

In an announcement this week, Rodriguez said, "Dino De Laurentiis came to me and said, 'Barbarella' is a world where you are completely free to unleash all your fantasies, creativity and imagination -- where the possibilities are limitless. I love this iconic character and all that she represents."

Dino and Martha De Laurentiis will produce and Universal Pictures will distribute the movie next year. Rodriguez is working with writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (part of the "Casino Royale" team) who are developing an original adventure for the character.

Morricone, music and movies

The Sunday night series at the Regent Square Theater has focused on directors, stars, genres, themes and pivotal years, so why not a composer? Especially an Oscar-winning one, such as Ennio Morricone.

After 300 motion picture scores and five Academy Award nominations, composer-conductor Morricone received an Honorary Oscar earlier this year. It was given for his "magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music."

Born in Rome in 1928, Morricone was hired by Sergio Leone in 1964 and began a long collaboration with the director on spaghetti westerns, although he wrote distinctive music for many other movies.

The Pittsburgh Filmmakers series opens June 3 with Leone's masterpiece, "Once Upon a Time in the West" starring Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale and Jason Robards. Film historians report Morricone wrote the score based on the script and Leone played it on the set so the actors could adapt their body rhythms to the music.

On June 10, the Regent Square will show a new print of 1970's "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion." A police inspector in Rome commits a crime and deliberately leaves clues to find out if he's really above suspicion. As Filmmakers points out, this movie is not available on DVD.

"The Battle of Algiers" will be the June 17 feature. The 1966 epic depicts the Algerian uprising against the French in the 1950s in a documentary-like style, with a cast of mostly untrained actors. The film was banned in France for years.

"Danger! Diabolik," which Filmmakers calls a mod candy-colored thriller, will close the series June 24. Based on an Italian comic strip from the 1960s, it's about a master criminal who regularly outwits police and government agents.

All movies start at 7:30 p.m.

This Sunday, the "Cautionary Tales: To Do No Harm" series will close with "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." PG film critic Barry Paris will lead the discussion at the Regent Square Theater.

And tonight, Pittsburgh Opera artistic director and South Africa native Christopher Hahn will introduce "Carmen in Khayelitsha" before the 8 p.m. movie at the Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave., Downtown.

Georges Bizet's greatest opera migrates to Cape Town, South Africa, where it is sung and spoken in Xhosa, one of South Africa's 11 official languages. All tickets will be discounted to $4 for tonight's screening only.

Teaching lab changes

Susan Howard is taking over as director of the Annie Seamans Electronic Media Arts Lab, where a media literacy program with classes aimed at teens is flourishing.

The lab is a state-of-the-art teaching lab offering classes in animation, experimental video art, music videos, digital audio and digital photography based at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and part of the recently merged PCA/Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

Penn State University grad Howard replaces Teresa Foley, who is now director of digital media arts at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe.

Howard has taught filmmaking since 1988, works as an editor on independent films and was an editor on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." She also is co-author of the widely used textbook, "Shot by Shot: A Practical Guide to Filmmaking."

She will be working with Gordon Nelson, hired as a full-time senior instructor.

Nelson, a charter-school teacher and independent filmmaker, is the former program coordinator in the Department of Film and Video at the Carnegie Museum of Art, and former director of operations at Filmmakers.

"Our commitment to the Annie Seamans lab, based on the remarkable work started by Teresa Foley, is reinforced by these two amazing people," Charlie Humphrey, executive director of the merged organizations, said in announcing the changes.

Go to pittsburgh-arts.org/school/medialab for details on summer classes.

Video fest Saturday

Last year's event was so successful that organizers brought out stacks of chairs to accommodate the overflow. So plan your arrival accordingly for tomorrow's Pittsburgh Creative Commons Video Festival at Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room, 477 Melwood Ave., Oakland.

Filmmakers were given the same public domain footage and one month to create their own short films. Fifteen videos, ranging from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, will be screened. Organizers promise everything from lowbrow comedy to high art.

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. with a reception beforehand. Admission, $5. Go to www.pghfilmmakers.org for directions.

Playing 'Parrot' catch-up

If you missed "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" during its long and lucrative run in Pittsburgh, it will air on PBS next week as part of the "Independent Lens" series. Barring last-minute changes, it should run at 9 p.m. Tuesday on WQED-TV.

"Wild Parrots" is the story of a street musician and his remarkable relationship with a flock of wild green-and-red parrots. It drew huge crowds when it played theaters here.