Events in Film & Television in 2009

Jan 6 Dakota Fanning receives the Rising Star Award at the 20th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival

Jan 7 35th People's Choice Awards: Will Smith & Reese Witherspoon win (Movie Star) and Hugh Laurie & Christina Applegate win (TV)

Jan 11 66th Golden Globes: Slumdog Millionaire, Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslet win

Jan 26 "Blame It (On the Alcohol)" single released by Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain (Billboard Song of the Year 2009)

Feb 2 "RuPaul's Drag Race" hosted by RuPaul premieres on Logo TV

Feb 8 62nd British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS): "Slumdog Millionaire" Best Film, Danny Boyle Best Director

Feb 22 Heath Ledger posthumously wins Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor, for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight"

Apr 5 WrestleMania XXV, Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX (72,744): The Undertaker defeats Shawn Michaels; John Cena beats Edge and The Big Show; Triple H downs Randy Orton

Apr 6 "Star Trek" film reboot directed by J.J. Abrams, starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto premieres in Austin, Texas

Apr 9 Mockumentary "Parks and Recreation" starring Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman and Aziz Ansari debuts on NBC in the US

Apr 13 US record producer Phil Spector is found guilty of second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson in 2003

Apr 25 Elijah Wood is honored with the Midnight Award by the San Francisco International Film Festival

May 15 "Farrah's Story" documentary following Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer airs on NBC in the US

Jun 19 "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox is released

Jul 1 Animated film "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" directed by Carlos Saldanha and Mike Thurmeieris with voices by Ray Romano and John Leguizamo is released

Jul 15 "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", the 6th film based on the books by J. K. Rowling is released worldwide

Aug 31 The Walt Disney Company announces it will acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion

Sep 14 David Attenborough and Prince William officially open the Darwin Centre at the National History Museum London, in what is the Museum's most significant expansion since 1881

Sep 19 34th Toronto International Film Festival: "Precious" directed by Lee Daniels wins the People's Choice Award

Sep 20 61st Emmy Awards: Mad Men, 30 Rock, Bryan Cranston & Glenn Close win

Sep 22 Crime drama "NCIS LA" starring Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J and Daniela Ruah premieres on CBS

Sep 23 "Modern Family" premieres on ABC, starring Ed 'Neill and Sofia Vergara

Nov 16 "The Twilight Saga: New Moon", based on the book by Stephenie Meyer, directed by Chris Weitz, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, premieres in Los Angeles

Dec 6 Final Broadway performance of "A Steady Rain", starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig

Dec 18 James Cameron's "Avatar" starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver, released in the US, becomes highest-grossing film of all time

Dec 28 Scarlett Johansson makes her debut on Broadway in the Arthur Miller play "A View from the Bridge"