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2009

2/1 -

Each of the six major studios report a gross overseas box office revenue in 2008 of over $1 billion (approx. £668,573,000).  Total grosses are estimated at $9.9 billion (approx £6,620,100,000) according to the Hollywood Reporter.  Paramount Pictures International is the most successful studio with an estimated total gross of $2.04 billion (£1,364,211,684) thanks largely to the success of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. [MORE] [ADD]

3/1 -

Will Smith tops the annual Quigley poll of 2008’s top money-making film star, replacing 2007’s top star, Johnny Depp, who fails to make 2008’s top ten. [MORE] [ADD]

4/1 -

Israeli film Waltz With Bashir wins the Best Picture Award at this year’s  National Society of Film Critics awards, while Mike Leigh wins best director for Happy-Go-Lucky. [MORE]

5/1 -

Ned Tanen, the former President of Universal Pictures, dies from natural causes at his Santa Monica home at the age of 77.   Tanen was in charge of Universal from 1976 to 1982, overseeing the production of On Golden Pond and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. [MORE] [ADD]

6/1 -

Los Angeles attorney Blair Berk, the legal representative of Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Wright and three others, confirms that Louisiana prosecutors have agreed to drop all charges relating to the brawl that took place in a Louisiana bar in July 2008  against his clients. [MORE] [ADD]

7/1 -

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight wins five awards at the Peoples Choice Awards. [MORE]

8/1 -

Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire wins five awards at the 14th annual Critics' Choice awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writer (Simon Beaufoy), Best Young Actor/Actress (Dev Patel) and Best Composer (A. R. Rahman). [MORE]

9/1 -

Gran Torino, which veteran actor Clint Eastwood both stars in and directs, goes on general release.  The film proves to be a success with filmgoers, giving Eastwood the best US opening weekend of his career as both an actor and director. [MORE] [ADD]

9/1 -

Actor Ryan O’Neal is sentenced to 18 months rehabilitation treatment after pleading guilty to drug possession. [MORE]

11/1 -

Slumdog Millionaire wins four awards at the 2009 Golden Globe awards - Best Motion Picture, Drama, Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.   British actress Kate Winslet wins two awards – Best Actress for Revolutionary Road, and Best Supporting Actress for The Reader. [MORE]

14/1 -

The Motion Picture + Television Fund, a charity that cares for ageing TV and film actors, announces that it will have to close its’ two Woodland Hills, California care facilities due to lack of funds and relocate its patients and residents. [MORE]

15/1 -

Mexican-born Ricardo Montalban dies from ‘complications related to old age’ in Los Angeles at the age of 88. [MORE] [ADD]

Warner Bros. and Fox hammer out a deal over their legal dispute regarding ownership of the rights to Watchmen, the subject of a forthcoming film adaptation from Warner Bros. [MORE] [ADD]

19/1 -

Studios consider opening ‘urban’ films on a Wednesday (instead of on a Friday) following two violent incidents connected with the weekend release of Notorious, the biopic about gangsta rapper Notorious B.I.G.  One man is gunned down in a cinema in Greensboro and four men are stabbed at an after-movie party at Djumbala nightclub in Brooklyn. [MORE]

20/1 -  

 Warner Bros announce that nearly 800 jobs – approximately 10% of the organisation’s worldwide staff – are to be axed over the next few weeks.[MORE]

Lawyers representing Roman Polanski request a postponement of the hearing scheduled for 21^st January 2009 to determine whether 32-year-old charges of sexual relations with a minor should be dropped. [MORE]

23/1 -  

At the 15^th Slamdance Film Festival, Mo Perkins’ A Quiet Little Marriage wins the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature, while Zachary Levy’s Strongman wins the documentary award. [MORE]

25/1 -

Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire wins the Best Film Award at the 2009 Screen Actor’s Guild Awards ceremony. [MORE]

Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, the tale of a pregnant illiterate Harlem teenager struggling with her studies, wins three top awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. [MORE] [ADD]

27/1 -

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces that, in the case of The Reader, it will make an exception to its rule regarding a maximum of three producers to be nominated for each film, because of the deaths of co-producers Anthony Minghella and Sidney Pollack during production. [MORE]

 30/1 -

Dreamworks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda wins 15 of the 24 awards at this year’s Annies’ Awards, held at UCLA’s Royce Hall.   Favourites Wall-E and Waltz With Bashir win nothing. [MORE]

 31/1 -

Danny Boyle wins the Outstanding Directorial Achievement Award at the 2009 Directors’ Guild Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. [MORE]

3/2 -

Universal announces that the back lot destroyed by fire in 2008 will be re-opened in the summer. [MORE]

In an interview with the Los Angeles-based Kevin & Bean radio show, actor Christian Bale expresses his regret at his profane outburst aimed at Shane Hurlbut during the filming of a scene on the new Terminator film which was leaked onto the internet on the 3^rd February 2009. [MORE]

Henry Selick’s animated film Coraline is released to favourable reviews.   The film, which features the voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders tells the story of a girl who discovers an alternate version of her life. [MORE] [ADD]

7/2 -

Milk, written by Dustin Lance Black, wins the Original Screenplay Award at the 2009 Writers Guild Awards ceremony. [MORE]

9/2 -

DreamWorks enters into a long-term distribution deal with Disney after talks with Universal collapse. [MORE]

11/2 -

Docudrama Films announce they are to release on DVD Jane Fonda’s controversial 1972 anti-Vietnam War documentary fta.   The film was withdrawn from circulation within a week of its release amidst claims from director Francine Parker that the withdrawal was due to pressure from the White House. [MORE]

15/2 -

Marcus Nispel’s Friday the 13^th remake breaks domestic box office records for horror films by earning $42.2 million (£28.1 million) on its opening weekend. [MORE] [ADD]

Judge Peter Espinoza rules that Roman Polanski must return to the United States if he wishes to have his application for the dismissal of outstanding sexual misconduct charges heard. [MORE]

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California since 2003, returns to the big screen for the first time in six years for a brief appearance in Sylvester Stallone’s forthcoming film The Expendables.   The film, about a group of mercenaries attempting to overthrow a dictator, also features Ben Kingsley, Eric Roberts, and Mickey Rourke and is scheduled to start filming in March 2009. [MORE] [ADD]

Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire wins eight awards at the 81^st Academy Awards ceremony, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy). [MORE]

Zack Snyder’s Watchmen enjoys the biggest opening of 2009 to date, taking an estimated $55.7 million (£39.8 million) over the weekend. [MORE] [ADD]

18/3 -

British actress Natasha Richardson dies in a New York hospital after sustaining brain damage in a ski-ing accident in Canada. [MORE]

Joel and Ethan Coen announce that they are to remake the classic John Wayne western True Grit.   The film will tell the story from the viewpoint of the young girl played by Kim Darby in the original film, instead of that of Rooster Cogburn, the grouchy old marshal who helps her track down her father’s killers. [MORE] [ADD]

Paramount and DreamWorks Animation's 3D animation Monsters vs. Aliens is released.   Of the 4,104 opening locations, 1,550 are 3D sites – the highest ever number of screens for a 3D release.   Tickets for the 3D version cost $3-$4 more than regular tickets. [MORE] [ADD]

1/4 -

Thousands get an illicit preview of Fox’s forthcoming X-Men film, Wolverine, when an unfinished version of the film is leaked onto the internet. [MORE]

1/4 -

Fox Home Video’s new policy of removing extras from rental DVDs backfires embarrassingly when thousands of buyers of Slumdog Millionaire find that extras advertised on the packaging of their new copies are not included on the disc. [MORE]

Officials at the University of Maryland cancel the screening of the $10 million Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge, the world’s most expensive hardcore porn film, following threats from State lawmakers to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding if the planned screenings take place. [MORE]

Justin Lin’s Fast & Furious earns an estimated $72.5 million domestic gross in its opening weekend – a record for the month of April.   The road racing film re-unites Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, the stars of the first film in the franchise. [MORE] [ADD]

Clothing firm American Apparel challenge Woody Allen to prove he can command a fee of $10 million (£6.8 million) for commercials appearances.   The sum is the minimum amount for which the actor is suing them for using his image on an advertising billboard in 2007 without his consent. [MORE]

Disney’s documentary Earth grosses more than $4 million on its opening day (Earth Day) – a record for a documentary – and receives rave reviews. [MORE] [ADD]

Director Ken Annakin dies in Los Angeles at the age of 94 after suffering a heart attack and stroke within a day of each other in February 2009.   The British director was best known for The Battle of the Bulge and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. [MORE] [ADD]

In the wake of the near-collapse of the global banking system, 20th Century Fox announces it is to produce a belated sequel to Oliver Stone’s 1987 movie Wall Street.   Stone will once again direct Michael Douglas in the role of Gordon Gekko. [MORE] [ADD]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is released, signalling the start of the 2009 summer season.   Hugh Jackman reprises his role from earlier X-Men films but the film receives only lukewarm reviews from the critics. [MORE] [ADD]

Ron Howard’s Angels and Demons, the sequel to the 2005 film The Da Vinci Code, has its world premiere at Rome’s Parco della Musica Auditorium, just a mile from the Vatican. [MORE]

Chad Hummel, the attorney representing Roman Polanski, informs the court that the 75-year-old director will not attend a hearing to seek dismissal of sex charges dating back to the 70s.   Polanski would face arrest if he were to set foot in the States. [MORE] [ADD]

Portly comedian Dom DeLuise, who appeared in numerous films and US TV shows, dies in his sleep after a long illness at his home at the age of 75.   The actor-comedian enjoyed a second career later in life as a celebrity chef. [MORE] [ADD]

20^th-Century Fox launches a lawsuit against the Bollywood producers of Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai (This Guy is Fearless), which they claim is a remake of their 1992 film My Cousin Vinny. [MORE]

In a court hearing lasting just seconds, Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza dismisses director Roman Polanski’s legal bid to have a 30-year-old conviction for having sex with a 13-year-old girl dropped after the director refuses to return to America for the hearing. [MORE] [ADD]

Mickey Carroll, one of the last surviving Munchkins from the movie The Wizard Of Oz, dies at the age of 89.   Carroll also appeared as Spanky in the Our Gang film series, and was the godson of gangster Al Capone. [MORE] [ADD]

J. J. Abrams' Star Trek, which revives the franchise by having its’ story take place when James T. Kirk and his crew are young men at the outset of their careers, is released to favourable reviews from the critics. [MORE] [ADD]

Universal Pictures and Mandalay Pictures announce that Martin Scorsese is to direct a biopic of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra.   The film is to be scripted by Phil Alden Robinson who reportedly describes Leonardo DiCaprio as an obvious candidate to play Sinatra. [MORE] [ADD]

Wayne Allwine, the voice behind Disney’s Mickey Mouse for 30 years, dies of complications from diabetes at the age of 62. [MORE] [ADD]

Court records show that a settlement has been reached between Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson over the formers' legal action against Gibson claiming deliberate underpayment for his work on The Passion of the Christ.   Details of the settlement are not published. [MORE] [ADD]

A court awards Peter Falk’s wife of 30 years, Shera, conservatorship of the actor following his rapid decline into dementia.   The decision follows a bitter legal battle with Falk’s daughter Catherine. [MORE]

Oscar-winning character actor Karl Malden dies of natural causes at his home in Brentwood, California at the age of 97. [MORE] [ADD]

Harvey Schwartz’s 20^th Century Props holds a closing down sale after providing Hollywood studios for more than 40 years.  Props on sale include Howard Hughes’ original desk (used in Scorsese’s The Aviator) and a chair from 1934’s Cleopatra. [MORE] [ADD]

20^th Century Fox announce that Ridley Scott is to direct a prequel to his 1979 science-fiction classic Alien, making it the fifth film in the franchise. [MORE]

John Hughes, the writer and director of such teen hits as The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off dies of a heart attack while walking in Manhattan at the age of 59. [MORE] [ADD]

G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra achieves one of August’s best ever openings, grossing over $100 million worldwide despite Paramount’s decision not to show the film to critics before its release. [MORE] [ADD]

Sony Pictures acquire footage of the late Michael Jackson rehearsing for his 50 London concerts for $60 million with the intention of releasing a film in October, just four months after his untimely death. [MORE] [ADD]

Warner Home Video announces that it plans to release a newly restored version of Gone With the Wind, the best performing film at the box office of all time when adjusted for inflation, on Blu-Ray on 17^th November 2009.  The package will contain 18 hours of content. [MORE] [ADD]

The World Trade Organisation rules that China’s restriction of the distribution of American films within its borders is in violation of international trade rules. [MORE]

A federal judge rules that RealNetworks’ RealDVD player is in violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and issues a preliminary injunction preventing it from selling the software in the US. [MORE] [ADD]

The decision by US immigration authorities in Newark NJ to detain and interrogate Bollywood star Shah Rukh ‘King’ Khan when he attempts to enter the United States triggers an angry reaction in India. [MORE]

Virginia Davis-McGhee, who became Walt Disney’s first star when she starred in a series of silent shorts called Alice in Cartoonland in the early 1920s, dies at her home in Corona, California, at the age of 90.[MORE] [ADD]

The official website of James Cameron’s forthcoming film Avatar crashes when fans log on to access free tickets to a 16-minute preview of the movie at 104 IMAX cinemas on 21^st August.   Tickets for the preview soon appear on eBay, some for as much as $500 a pair. [MORE] [ADD]

Harry Sloan’s four-year tenure as CEO of troubled MGM comes to an end when he is replaced by Stephen Cooper. [MORE]

The eBay sale of the crypt above Marilyn Monroe’s falls through when the winning bidder fails to come up with the winning sum of $4.6 million (£2.9 million). [MORE] [ADD]

The trial of Gerald and Patricia Green, the couple accused of bribing Thai officials in order to win lucrative contracts like the Bangkok International Film Festival, begins in Los Angeles. [MORE]

Walt Disney Corporation announces that it has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. [MORE] [ADD]

New Line and the Tolkien Trust reach an agreement over the distribution of profits for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, leaving the way clear for production of The Hobbit to begin in 2010.   The Trust filed a suit against New Line in February 2008. [MORE] [ADD]

Gerald and Patricia Green are found guilty of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, eight counts of violating the act and seven counts of money laundering relating to the Bangkok Film Festival. [MORE]

Screenwriter Roger Avary is sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for causing a car crash that killed passenger and injured his wife on 13^th January 2008. [MORE]

Quentin Tarantino announces that he plans to film a third installment of the Kill Bill series. [MORE] [ADD]

The US files its formal request for the extradition of Roman Polanski from Switzerland.  The 76-year-old director has been in custody since his arrest in Zurich on 26^th September 2009.  He faces a prison sentence of up to two years if he returns to the States. [MORE] [ADD]

Paranormal Activity, the $15,000 horror film from Paramount rises to the top of the weekend box office with a take of $22 million.  By comparison, Saw VI takes just $14.8 million in its opening weekend despite playing in over a thousand more cinemas than Paranormal Activity. [MORE] [ADD]

Screenwriter Paul Haggis resigns his membership of the Church of Scientology in protest at its position on same-sex marriage. [MORE]

Rumours start to circulate that the troubled studio MGM will be effectively auctioned off within weeks. [MORE] [ADD]

Will Ferrell is named Hollywood’s Most Overpaid Movie Star by Forbes Magazine, largely because of the disastrous box office performance of Land of the Lost (2009). [MORE]

The Twilight Saga: New Moon earns a record-breaking $72.7 million (£43.7 million) on its’ opening day at the US box office, beating the old record held by The Dark Knight by $5.5 million (£3.3 million). [MORE] [ADD]

Katherine Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker wins best feature and ensemble cast awards at the Gotham Independent Film Awards. [MORE]

Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, in which George Clooney stars as a corporate hatchet man who spends 320 days a year travelling across the world to fire people from their jobs, wins four awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor at the National Board of Review Awards. [MORE]

Jennifer Jones, the Hollywood actress who starred in such movies as The Song of Bernadette (1943), Duel in the Sun (1946) and A Farewell to Arms (1957), dies of natural causes at her home in Malibu, California at the age of 90. [MORE] [ADD]

James Cameron’s keenly awaited fantasy Avatar, the first live-action film to be shot entirely in 3D, earns $77 million (£48 million) domestic and $236 million (£147.1 million) worldwide in its opening weekend.   The film cost a total of $425 million to make and market.  Industry observers estimate the film needed $79 million (£49 million) domestic in its opening weekend to break even, although attendances may have been adversely affected by severe snowstorms on the east coast. [MORE] [ADD]