Kaleidoscope 2009

Important Movie Events of 2009.  Every month has something to do with Twilight is some way or another.

Kaleidoscope 2009: Important Movie Events

Taylor Lautner securing his Jacob Black role in 'New Moon', Heath Ledger winning posthumous Oscar and Jonas Brothers' concert failing to score big at the box office were the highlights of early 2009.

2009 is drawing to a close. Although the year isn't marked with any crippling writers' strike or a shocking death of a Hollywood young talent like Heath Ledger, it does have a story of its own. Kate Winslet winning her first twoGolden Globes, "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" logo being unveiled and Mickey Rourke finally aboard "Iron Man 2" are only a few events shaping up the film industry during the year's first three months. Here, AceShowbiz presents a look at the occurrences happening in movie biz over the first quarter. 

JANUARY

January is highlighted with one significant news that sent many of the "Twilight" fans sighing for relief. After weeks of uncertainty, the question whether or not Taylor Lautner reprises his Jacob Black role in sequel "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" had been met with a satisfying answer. On January 8, director Chris Weitz confirmed that the teen actor will still play Jacob despite Summit Entertainment's earlier consideration to replace him with a more mature actor.

• Other major events of the month:
• Jan 04: "Marley & Me" was #1 at box office for the third weekend in a row. 
• Jan 07: "The Dark Knight" grabbed most kudos at the 35th People's Choice Awards. 
• Jan 07: Taylor Lautner was confirmed to reprise his role in "The Twilight Saga's New Moon". 
• Jan 11: After seven nominations, Kate Winslet finally took home two Golden Globes at its 66th Annual Awards. 
• Jan 15: The fate of "Watchmen" was determined as 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. settled their dispute over its rights for good. 
• Jan 21: "Tom and Jerry" was being developed into live-action feature film. 
• Jan 28: Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double was seriously injured during "Harry Potter 7" rehearsal. 

FEBRUARY

Late Hollywood star Heath Ledger stole the spotlight in February when he became the second actor in Oscar history to win a posthumous Academy Award for acting. On February 22 at the 81st Annual Academy Awards, the Australian actor was dubbed Best Supporting Actor for his performance as lunatic Joker in "The Dark Knight", beating fierce competitors that include Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr. and Philip Seymour Hoffman. His family took the award on his behalf.

• Other major events of the month:
• Feb 05: "Sex and the City 2" was officially on the go. 
• Feb 08: "Slumdog Millionaire" collected seven BAFTA trophies. 
• Feb 08: "Wall-E" took two Grammys at the 51st annual Grammy Awards. 
• Feb 15: "Friday the 13th" scored the best opening ever for a horror movie. 
• Feb 19: Official title and logo for "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" revealed. 
• Feb 21: "The Love Guru" dubbed 2008 Worst Picture at 29th annual Razzie Awards. 
• Feb 22: Heath Ledger was given the Best Supporting Actor title by the Academy. 
• Feb 24: "Harry Potter 7: Part II" locked July 15, 2011 as its release date. 
• Feb 24: Marvel Studios confirmed Kenneth Branagh as "Thor" director. 
• Feb 25: Samuel L. Jackson reached deal with Marvel to return as Nick Fury. 
• Feb 25: Robert Pattinson's "Little Ashes" pushed back to avoid clash with Kristen Stewart's "Adventureland". 

More after the Jump

MARCH

March is marked by "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" failure to live up to its expectation. Predicted to gross in the $25 million range, the concert movie top-lined by musical trio Jonas Brothers missed industry projections by a clear mile. What made it even worse, it did not even manage to get close to what its predecessor, "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour", hauled in 2008.

• Other major events of the month:
• Mar 01: "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" failed at the box office. 
• Mar 02: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" got December 10, 2010 date. 
• Mar 06: Dakota Fanning officially tapped to play Jane in "The Twilight Saga's New Moon". 
• Mar 11: Scarlett Johansson confirmed as Black Widow and Mickey Rourke in for "Iron Man 2". 
• Mar 12: "The First Avenger: Captain America" delayed to July 22, 2011. 
• Mar 12: "Spider-Man 4" secured May 6, 2011 for its release date. 
• Mar 13: Director Jon Favreau confirmed as "The Avengers" helmer. 
• Mar 13: Keira Knightley turned down involvement in "Pirates of the Caribbean 4". 
• Mar 16: "Transformers 3" locked July 1, 2011 as release date. 
• Mar 24: Report about Robert Pattinson injured on "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" set clarified. 
• Mar 30: "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" found its Caius in Jamie Campbell Bower. 

The second quarter saw 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' leaking out before its release, 'Twilight' dominating MTV Movie Awards and Michael Jackson's death affecting the final cut of 'Bruno'.
With summer being the much anticipated months for the film biz, more shocking stories come into sight. The leak of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" unfinished version, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" experiencing on-set mishap, and the chopping off of La Toya Jackson's scene from "Bruno" were some of the affairs that juiced up this year's fairly modest summer months. 

APRIL

Though the story came to public attention on April 1, it wasn't one of the April Fool's jokes. One month prior to the theatrical release of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", its workprint version was leaked out online and made available for download on several bittorrent sites, prompting a more than 75,000 download ever since. Preventing further illegal act on the unfinished film, 20th Century Fox was quick to issue a statement, and vowed to prosecute the source of the initial leak and any subsequent postings.

• Other major events of the month:
• Apr 01: Unfinished version of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" leaked out. 
• Apr 02: "Sex and the City 2" locked May 28, 2010 date. 
• Apr 03: Jackie Earle Haley appointed as new Freddy Krueger for "A Nightmare on Elm Street". 
• Apr 05: "Fast and Furious" set new record for the biggest April opening ever. 
• Apr 05: "The Hangover" director Todd Phillips picked up to pen sequel. 
• Apr 07: Trilogy director Gore Verbinski ditched "Pirates of the Caribbean 4". 
• Apr 10: Sony Pictures greenlit "Spider-Man 3" spin-off, "Venom (2010)". 
• Apr 15: Complete cast of "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" announced.
• Apr 16: "Wanted 2" got its screenwriter. 
• Apr 22: David Slade picked up as "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse" director. 

MAY

The month of May brought up another story from the "Twilight Saga". Proving to be a favorite among America's youth, "Twilight" dominated the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. After landing six nods from the-first-time-ever fans' voting method in choosing the nominees, the vampire drama sucked up the most golden popcorn collections at the June 1 ceremony. It took home best movie, best fight, best kiss, breakthrough male performance forRobert Pattinson, and best female performance for Kristen Stewart.

• Other major events of the month:
• May 02: "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" kicked off summer as box office's #1 movie despite leak. 
• May 02: Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut in "New York, I Love You" met chopping block. 
• May 04: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was hit with a car stunt gone wrong mishap. 
• May 05: "Deadpool", the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" spin-off, was in active development. 
• May 11: Script for "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" was found in a trash bin. 
• May 22: First photos of Aang and Zuko in "The Last Airbender" came out. 
• May 24: "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" beat "Terminator Salvation" at the box office. 
• May 28: December 23, 2011 was set as the release date for "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" 
• May 29: Angelina Jolie resumed with "Salt" production despite on-set injury. 
• May 30: "Twilight" swept 2009 MTV Movie Awards with five golden popcorns. 
• May 30: "Up" became the tenth Pixar movie to land atop the box office chart. 

JUNE

The highlight in June was the death of Michael Jackson and the music industry wasn't the only part of Hollywood affected by his shocking death.Sacha Baron Cohen's latest comedy "Bruno" immediately underwent a significant cut. Hours before the movie was scheduled to have its Los Angeles premiere on June 25 night, filmmakers decided to do a last-minute edit to eliminate the prank scene featuring Michael's older sister, La Toya Jackson, out of respect to the mourning family.

• Other major events of the month:
• Jun 08: "The Hangover" traded #1 spot at box office with "Up" following a contrary preliminary figures. 
• Jun 03: First look at Josh Brolin in "Jonah Hex" unraveled. 
• Jun 09: First photo of Whiplash from "Iron Man 2" put out. 
• Jun 11: Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura cleared up rumor director Stephen Sommers was fired from "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra". 
• Jun 12: Peter Morgan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade recruited to pen "Bond 23". 
• Jun 14: "The Hangover" became the first film of summer 2009 to hold onto box office's #1 for two consecutive weeks. 
• Jun 18: "Indiana Jones V" confirmed to be in the work. 
• Jun 22: "The Last Airbender" unleashed its first teaser trailer. 
• Jun 24: Oscars expanded Best Picture nominations to 10.
• Jun 26: La Toya Jackson's scene in "Bruno" cut out of respect for Michael Jackson. 
• Jun 28: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" became the first mega-blockbuster launch of the year. 

Final half of summer was marked with 'Ice Age 3' and 'Transformers 2' almost having a box office tie, Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' getting thumbs up and the fate of 'The Hobbit' being determined.
The third quarter of 2009 kaleidoscope continues to put summer of the year under the spotlight. As the recap enters the second half of the busiest movieseasons of the year for the movie industry, AceShowbiz presents the events happening in the months leading to the Fall season. A nearly tie for the top slot at the box office, a thumb up for Michael Jackson's movie "This Is It" and a settlement for "Lord of the Rings" lawsuit were all taking place during this term. 

JULY

The month of July nearly saw a rare tie for the #1 at the North American box office. Over the U.S. Independence Day holiday weekend, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" presented a neck-to-neck battle to the top, which led to a $42.5 million weekend tally each when studio estimates were issued on Sunday, July 5. But, when the final figures were announced on Monday, July 6, it was revealed that "Revenge" managed to secure its box office crown for a second consecutive weekend by a mere $0.6 million worth of ticket sales.

• Other major events of the month:
• Jul 02: Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning first spotted as Joan Jettand Cherie Currie for "The Runaways". 
• Jul 05: "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" were in tie for #1 box office with "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". 
• Jul 09: "The Hangover 2" locked May 26, 2011 as U.S. release date. 
• Jul 13: Shooting of "The Karate Kid" officially begun in Beijing, China. 
• Jul 14: "Bridget Jones 3" was confirmed to be in development. 
• Jul 16: First photo of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in "Iron Man 2". 
• Jul 17: "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" passed $100 million mark in just 24 hours. 
• Jul 19: The rebuilding of Hobbiton for "The Hobbit" has been started. 
• Jul 21: First look at villainous Nizam in "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time". 
• Jul 23: Official teaser trailer of "Alice in Wonderland" arrived. 
• Jul 28: Katie Holmes experienced near on-set mishap during "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" filming. 
• Jul 29: War of words between Summit and Rachelle Lefevre built up over Lefevre's shocking replacement in "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse". 
• Jul 31: Eric Bana shot down idea of reprising role for "Star Trek" sequel. 

AUGUST

The big news coming in August was related to Michael Jackson's feature film about his final concert tour. On August 10, L.A. County Superior Court Judge announced that Sony Pictures Entertainment has received court approval to edit more than 80 hours of the late King of Pop's rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage into a movie. Entitled "This Is It", it was set for October 30 release around the world. On August 20, however, the studio revealed it has pushed forward the release to October 28 for a limited two-week engagement worldwide.

• Other major events of the month:
• Aug 06: Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec recruited to pen "Mission: Impossible 4". 
• Aug 07: Asian pop star Jay Chou set to star as Kato in "The Green Hornet". 
• Aug 09: "Twilight" swept 2009 Teen Choice Awards with nine surfboard trophies collection. 
• Aug 11: Los Angeles Court granted court approval for the development of Michael Jackson's movie, "This Is It". 
• Aug 13: "Wolverine 2" hired Academy Award-winning writer Christopher McQuarrie as screenwriter. 
• Aug 17: "Little Fockers" locked July 30, 2010 release. 
• Aug 19: Moriarty has been confirmed to appear in "Sherlock Holmes." 
• Aug 20: First teaser trailer for "Avatar" arrived. 
• Aug 20: Michael Jackson's "This Is It" was advanced from the original date on October 30 to October 28. 
• Aug 24: "Inception" teaser trailer came out. 
• Aug 24: Bryce Dallas Howard spotted filming her Victoria role for "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse". 
• Aug 30: Development of "Rambo V: The Savage Hunt" confirmed. 

SEPTEMBER

The ups and downs of "The Hobbit" became the highlight in September. On September 8, the feature adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel got the go ahead nod to move on with the production after New Line Cinema finally resolved its legal battle with Tolkien's estates and publisher Harper Collins over profits from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But, after weeks of relief, on September 23, came the news that the production was in jeopardy of being delayed indefinitely as production company MGM was hit with near-bankruptcy report. Everything resolved with good news in October.

• Other major events of the month:
• Sep 01: "Sex and the City 2" started filming in New York City withSarah Jessica Parker. 
• Sep 03: "Tron Legacy" got a competitive date on the December 17, 2010 schedule. 
• Sep 08: "The Hobbit" received thumbs up for production as the lawsuit over "Lord of the Rings" resolved. 
• Sep 08: It was revealed that "Red Sonja" was delayed because ofRose McGowan's injury. 
• Sep 11: Disney announced that the fourth "Pirates" movie is titled "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides". 
• Sep 17: A teaser trailer for "Valentine's Day" debuted. 
• Sep 21: Boris Kodjoe revealed that Ali Larter is to return as Claire Redfield in "Resident Evil: Afterlife". 
• Sep 23: Jackson Rathbone was injured during rehearsal for "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse". 
• Sep 23: Mattel's signature toy got a big screen treatment with "Barbie: The Movie". 
• Sep 24: Neve Campbell was confirmed to reprise her role as Sidney Prescott in "Scream 4". 
• Sep 27: First teaser trailer for "A Nightmare on Elm Street" arrived. 
• Sep 29: The Weinstein Company shut down the pre-production of "Halloween 3D". 

The year of 2009 comes to a close as 'Paranormal Activity' became a phenomenon, rights to 'Terminator' franchise was put up for auction, and 'Up in the Air' won critics' hearts.
Summer has passed and the look back at the year of 2009 draws to a close. Through this final quarter, AceShowbiz reminisces what had happened during the holidays and when the award season takes over the movie industry once again. From the astonishing box office success of indie phenomenon "Paranormal Activity" in October to the unveiling of the much questioned War Machine of "Iron Man 2" in November to "Up in the Air" dominating awards in December, the last three months of 2009 were filled with many stories from Hollywood's past and future projects. 

OCTOBER

"Paranormal Activity" has become the talk of the town throughout the month of October. Being set for a release in 13 different "college towns" across the United States in late September, this independent horror film went on to get a wide release in a matter of weeks due to the overwhelming demand from hundreds of thousands of fans. But, its real surprise story came on October 11 by the end of its third week in theaters. Played in narrow release of just 160 cinemas, the movie which was made with a $11,000 budget shot to #4 at the North American box office. Two weeks later, it finally conquered the chart, denying "Saw VI" a chance to taste the top spot.

• Other major events of the month:
• Oct 01: Director Michael Bay confirmed that "Transformers 3" release date has been moved up from July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2011. 
• Oct 01: Director Quentin Tarantino revealed plan for "Kill Bill 3". 
• Oct 01: "Friday the 13th Part 2" secured an August 13, 2010 U.S. release. 
• Oct 06: Despite report to the contrary, Fox didn't acquire the screening rights to "Bond" franchise. 
• Oct 08: Screen Gems came out with the official cast and story of "Resident Evil: Afterlife". 
• Oct 11: "Paranormal Activity" gave one box office surprise after receiving a daylong release. 
• Oct 12: Official trailer of "Toy Story 3" finally arrived.
• Oct 14: Director Jon Favreau ruled out possibility of directing "The Avengers". 
• Oct 16: Warner Bros. officially pulled "Green Lantern" production out of Australia. 
• Oct 18: "Twilight" swept Scream 2009 with four kudos, including for Best Fantasy Movie title. 
• Oct 23: First official look at "The A-Team" was uncovered. 
• Oct 25: "Paranormal Activity" conquered North American box office. 
• Oct 26: "Avatar" was hit with rip-off controversy. 
• Oct 29: The filming "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse" came to a wrap. 

NOVEMBER

One of the shocking stories coming in November was related to the "Terminator" feature film franchise. On November 1, The Financial Times reported that Halcyon, the production company behind "Terminator Salvation", will auction off the rights of the franchise after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Hours after the rights auction report surfaced, "Dollhouse" creator Joss Whedon sent an open letter offering $10,000 for the rights and generated comments that he was making fun on "Terminator". But, he was quick to clarify the intentions behind his offer, explaining Entertainment Weekly, "It's all ridiculous, but it comes from love."

• Other major events of the month:
• Nov 01: Michael Jackson's "This Is It" debuted #1 at the box office. 
• Nov 01: Halcyon put the rights of the "Terminator" feature film franchise on the auction block. 
• Nov 02: First trailer for "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" was premiered.
• Nov 03: Steve Martin and Alex Baldwin announced as co-hosts of 2010 Oscars. 
• Nov 04: Angelina Jolie's "Salt" debuted first teaser trailer.
• Nov 10: "Twilight" and "The Proposal" dominated the 36th People's Choice Awards nomination. 
• Nov 10: First official teaser trailer for "Clash of the Titans" arrived.
• Nov 10: "Kick-Ass" welcomed first official teaser trailer.
• Nov 11: "Saw VII" set October 22, 2010 as its U.S. release date. 
• Nov 16: Story details on "Sex and the City 2" were uncovered. 
• Nov 16: Director Rob Marshall was confirmed for helming "Pirates of the Caribbean 4". 
• Nov 22: "Knight & Day" shooting suspended due to bulls attack. 
• Nov 22: Debuting atop weekend box office, "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" scored the third biggest opening weekend of all time. 
• Nov 24: Director Ruben Fleischer unveiled plan for 3-D "Zombieland 2". 
• Nov 27: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" finished the filming process. 
• Nov 27: Robert Downey Jr. confessed on two planned "Sherlock Holmes" sequels. 
• Nov 30: First look at War Machine of "Iron Man 2" uncovered. 
• Nov 30: Director Paul Greengrass backed out from "Bourne 4" 

DECEMBER

"Up in the Air burst out to attention in December. This one particular drama from director Jason Reitman came under spotlight as Hollywood started to gear up for the award season. The critically-lauded film first began to show its potential of being the year's favorite film among critics when securing four kudos at 2009 National Board of Review on December 3. On December 14, it gained the chance to shine at 2010 Critics' Choice Awards with eight nods in its pocket. It then went on to become the top contenders at two of Hollywood's coveted awards, the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, as nominations were announced on December 15 and 17 respectively.

• Other major events of the month:
• Dec 02: "The Chronicles of Riddick" sequel began the scouting for shooting location. 
• Dec 02: Kristen Stewart-starring "Welcome to the Rileys" announced among the In-Competition films for 2010's Sundance Film Festival. 
• Dec 03: Sony Corp.'s Chief Executive Howard Stringer shot down rumor "Spider-Man 4" will be shot in 3-D. 
• Dec 03: "Up in the Air" swept 2009 National Board of Review with four kudos. 
• Dec 04: First sneak peek at "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I".
• Dec 06: "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" was finally dethroned by "The Blind Side" from box office's top spot. 
• Dec 08: "Resident Evil: Afterlife" got delayed from August 27, 2010 to January 14, 2011. 
• Dec 09: "Jonah Hex" unveiled its reshooting schedule from mid January to early February 2010. 
• Dec 11: Director James Cameron confessed to have mapped out two "Avatar" sequels. 
• Dec 14: "Nine" and "Inglourious Basterds" dominated 15th Annual Critic's Choice Awards nominations. 
• Dec 14: First trailer of"Robin Hood" unleashed.
• Dec 15: "Up in the Air" and "Nine" were announced as top contender for 67th Golden Globe Awards in movie category. 
• Dec 16: "Iron Man 2" let out first official trailer.
• Dec 16: Bryan Singer was confirmed to direct "X-Men: First Class". 
• Dec 17: 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination placed "Up in the Air" in competition with "Inglourious Basterds". 
• Dec 17: First teaser trailer of "Shrek Forever After" popped out.
• Dec 21: "The Hurt Locker" was the big winner at 14th Annual Satellite Awards with four gongs. 
• Dec 22: "Sex and the City 2" exposed first teaser trailer.

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Carrie