Cheap$kate: FREE events in NYC this week

Battle of the boy bands: One Direction on ‘Today’ and The Wanted on ‘Good Morning America’
It’s the battle of the boy bands on the NYC morning shows this Friday as One Direction and The Wanted take the stage at two separate summer concert series. So choose wisely — after all, they’re so different. Oh, wait. Never mind. The five-member, U.K.-based One Direction, who got their start on “The X Factor” across the pond, will entertain screeching fans on “Today” in Rockefeller Plaza Friday morning, while five-member, U.K.-based The Wanted will take on fans in Central Park as part of “Good Morning America’s” summer concert series. Eenie, meeny, miney, moe ... (Friday, both venues open to the public at 6 a.m., FREE, “Today” window-on-the-world studio, 49th St. and Rockefeller Plaza, today.com/toyota concertseries; “GMA” in Central Park at Rumsey Playfield, 72nd St. and Fifth Ave., gma.yahoo.com)

Summer Talks

Director Brian De Palma
From his trademark split-screen technique to his love of doppelgängers, iconic director Brian De Palma returns to the big screen with all these and more in his latest turn behind the camera. “Passion,” starring Noomi Rapace (original “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) and Rachel McAdams (“The Notebook”), details the cutthroat nature of female competition in the world of advertising. Let’s see whether this film returns De Palma to his glory days — you know, the days of “Carrie,” “Scarface,” “The Untouchables.” The director will discuss the film, and more, Monday night at Lincoln Center’s Summer Talks series. “Passion” opens theatrically at Lincoln Center on Aug. 30. (Monday night, 7 p.m., FREE, Amphitheater at Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Lincoln Center, 144 W. 65th St., filmlinc.com)

Exhibit

‘The Universe of Keith Haring’ and ‘AIDS in New York: The First Five Years’
Take a peek into the world of pop art icon Keith Haring Tuesday evening with a FREE after-hours viewing of “AIDS in New York: The First Five Years” at the New-York Historical Society followed by a FREE screening of “The Universe of Keith Haring.” The exhibit explores the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on New York and the nation from 1981 to 1985, while the documentary offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Haring’s life and his AIDS-related death at just 31 years old. (Tuesday, exhibit viewing 6-7 p.m., screening, 7-8 p.m., FREE, New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, 212-485-9275, nyhistory.org/programs/universe-keith-haring)

Movie

‘Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’
As other summer movie series come to a close, Nighthawk Cinema is kicking off theirs with a FREE screening of “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” Tuesday. Part of its Country Brunchin’ series — which pairs Southern films, food and music — the film stars Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds. NYC’s premier Dolly Parton tribute band, Doll Parts, will warm up the crowd with a live preshow at 7:30 p.m., before the movie screens at 8:30 p.m. (Tuesday, doors at 6:30 p.m., FREE, grounds of former Domino Sugar factory, Havemeyer Park, S. Fourth St., Williamsburg, nitehawkoutdoors-whorehouse.eventbrite.com)