If you were one of the scores of extras for "She's Out of My League" -- posing as hockey fans or airline passengers or cocktail-party hipsters -- circle March 12 on your calendar.

That is when the made-in-Pittsburgh romantic comedy with Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve is scheduled to open. Another movie with local ties, "Shelter," starring Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, has been announced for 2010, but no date has been set.

Although winter can be a dead zone, more high-profile directors (from Martin Scorsese to Roman Polanski) have movies opening before summer's big bang. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson step away from their star-crossed romance in "Twilight," Johnny Depp reteams with director Tim Burton, and two Nicholas Sparks' novels are coming to the big screen.

May will mark the return of Iron Man, the "Sex and the City" fashionistas, Shrek and company, and Robin Hood as portrayed by Russell Crowe and will introduce Jake Gyllenhaal as a rogue royal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time."

On its 2010 schedule, Fox has "Unstoppable" slated for Nov. 12 and "Love and Other Drugs" for Nov. 24. That's a long way off (and we know release plans can change), but it could make for a most interesting Thanksgiving 2010.

As always, dates are subject to change, and it's certain that some titles will move to another season, quietly disappear or shift ever so slightly.

JAN. 8

"Leap Year" -- Amy Adams, Adam Scott and Matthew Goode star in a romcom about a woman who, after four years of dating, decides to propose to her boyfriend in Ireland on Feb. 29. Airplanes, weather and fate put a crimp in her plans.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" -- Terry Gilliam's fantastical morality tale, starring Christopher Plummer as a sideshow magician who sends audience members through a magic mirror into another world. With Heath Ledger, in his final role, and Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell who all stepped in to finish the film.

"Youth in Revolt" -- Adaptation of C.D. Payne's novel of the same name, with Michael Cera as the lovesick California teen.

"Daybreakers" -- Futuristic sci-fi thriller, set in 2019, after a mysterious plague has swept over the Earth and transformed most people into vampires. Humans are an endangered, second-class species. Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill star.

JAN. 15

"Book of Eli" -- It's the end of the world, yet again. This time, Allen and Albert Hughes direct a post-apocalyptic thriller starring Denzel Washington.

"The Lovely Bones" -- Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan from "Atonement" plays the murdered girl in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel. She watches her family -- and killer -- from heaven in this movie also starring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Michael Imperioli and Rose McIver.

"The Spy Next Door" -- Jackie Chan learns spying is easy, baby-sitting hard, at least when the hellions are the children of his girlfriend (Amber Valletta).

"A Single Man" -- Director Tom Ford's elegant portrait of a Brit in 1962 Los Angeles, mourning his partner of 16 years killed in a car accident miles away. Colin Firth could (and should) earn his first Oscar nomination as the grieving gay professor.

"Broken Embraces" -- Pedro Almodovar's latest, starring favorite Penelope Cruz, is set partially in the world of filmmaking and leans on notions of doubles, stand-ins, pseudonyms, long-held secrets and parent-child relationships. It's the story of "amour fou," and we see how crazy, fevered love drives men and women to embraces, unbroken and broken.

JAN. 18

"The Mirror" -- A dying man remembers his childhood during World War II, adolescence and a painful family divorce through a series of flashbacks, historical footage and original poetry in this Andrei Tarkovsky movie that reportedly helped to inspire "Antichrist."

JAN. 22

"The Tooth Fairy" -- Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as The Rock, is a hard-charging hockey player who goes from knocking out opponents' teeth to serving a stint as the real tooth fairy.

"Legion" -- Supernatural action thriller in which a desert diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race. Paul Bettany straps on the wings as Michael the archangel.

"Extraordinary Measures" -- In a movie inspired by a true story, Brendan Fraser plays John Crowley, a husband and dad who raised more than $100 million to launch biotechnology companies to develop a treatment for the rare disease affecting two of his three children. Keri Russell is his wife and Harrison Ford plays a cranky but brilliant researcher.

"The Messenger" -- Ben Foster is an Army casualty affairs officer who, with a partner (Woody Harrelson), informs next of kin about combat deaths. Against all rules, he befriends a soldier's widow.

"Antichrist" -- Psychosexual thriller, from Lars von Trier, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a grieving couple who retreat to "Eden," an isolated woodsy cabin, where things go awry.

"The Yes Men Fix the World" -- The troublemakers who sneak into corporate events disguised as captains of industry are back, and this time they've set their sights on man-made disasters.

JAN. 29

"Edge of Darkness" -- British TV series from the 1980s has moved and morphed into a thriller starring Mel Gibson as a veteran Boston homicide detective and single father. When his 24-year-old daughter is murdered, everyone assumes he was the intended target, but he suspects otherwise.

"Crazy Heart" -- Jeff Bridges is a broken-down country singer searching for redemption in this version of Thomas Cobb's novel and co-starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Robert Duvall with original music by T Bone Burnett.

"When in Rome" -- An ambitious New Yorker (Kristen Bell), disillusioned with love, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome where she plucks magic coins from a "foolish" fountain of love and ignites the passions of odd suitors and the attention of one charming reporter.

"Until the Light Takes Us" -- Story of Norwegian black-metal, a musical subculture known for murders and church arsons along with musical and visual aesthetics.

FEB. 5

"Dear John" -- Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried star in a movie version of Nicholas Sparks' novel about a young soldier home on leave and the idealistic college coed he comes to love and correspond with, during increasingly dangerous deployments.

"From Paris With Love" -- Jonathan Rhys Meyers and John Travolta are U.S. agents, one a low-level operative and the other a trigger-happy loose cannon, paired in Paris in this thriller written by Luc Besson and directed by Pierre Morel ("Taken").

"La Danse -- Le Ballet de l'Opera de Paris" -- Documentary master Frederick Wiseman allows moviegoers to observe the Paris Opera Ballet from all aspects, including rehearsal studios, costume rooms and administrative offices.

FEB. 12

"Valentine's Day" -- Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx and Shirley MacLaine are part of the all-star cast of this romance about Los Angeles residents navigating their way through romance and one Valentine's Day.

"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" -- Logan Lerman stars in an adventure fantasy based on Rick Riordan's first book about a trouble-prone boy who happens to be the son of a Greek god and a human woman.

"The Wolfman" -- Benicio Del Toro steps into the frightful footsteps of Lon Chaney in a fresh take on the haunted nobleman who is lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes, only to discover a horrifying destiny for himself.

"My Name Is Khan" -- Epic love story reuniting Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the story of an unconventional hero journeying across America to win back the love of his life and inspiring others along the way.

FEB. 19

"Shutter Island" -- Once scheduled for Oct. 2, 2009, this thriller, based on a Dennis Lehane novel, reteams director Martin Scorsese with actor Leonardo DiCaprio. He and Mark Ruffalo are U.S. marshals summoned to a remote island to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from a fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.

"The White Ribbon" -- Acclaimed Michael Haneke film, set in a village in northern Germany on the eve of World War I. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual, raising the question of who is behind it all.

FEB. 26

"Cop Out" -- Kevin Smith directs Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare and mint-condition baseball card coveted by a memorabilia-obsessed gangster.

"The Crazies" -- Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell star in a remake of George A. Romero's 1973 film about a biological plague that hits a small Pennsylvania town. Unlike the original, this one was filmed in Georgia and Iowa.

MARCH 4

Pittsburgh Jewish Israel Film Festival -- The 17th annual installment opens on this day and runs through March 21.

MARCH 5

"Alice in Wonderland" -- 3-D was made for Tim Burton, and vice versa. He tackles the Lewis Carroll classics "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" with the help of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a girl.

MARCH 12

"She's Out of My League" -- Romantic comedy, filmed in Pittsburgh in 2008, starring Jay Baruchel as a security screener at Pittsburgh International Airport and huge Penguins fan, who falls for a woman (Alice Eve) who may or may not be out of his league.

"Green Zone" -- Director Paul Greengrass and actor Matt Damon reunite on a thriller set in the chaotic early days of the Iraq War. Damon is part of a team of Army inspectors looking for weapons of mass destruction.

"Greenberg" -- At a crossroads in his life, Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) house-sits for his Los Angeles brother and strikes up a friendship with his sibling's assistant (Greta Gerwig).

"Remember Me" -- Robert Pattinson steps out of Edward Cullen's shadow in this romantic drama about a college student with a strained relationship with his father (Pierce Brosnan) and a love interest (Emilie de Ravin) who comes with more complications than usual.

MARCH 19

"Hot Tub Time Machine" -- After a crazy night of drinking in a ski-resort hot tub, friends wake up, heads pounding, in 1986. Cast includes John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke and Chevy Chase.

"The Bounty Hunter" -- Gerard Butler is a bounty hunter who learns his next target is his former wife (Jennifer Aniston), a reporter working on a murder cover-up. They end up running for their lives in Vegas.

"The Runaways" -- Music-fueled story of the all-girl teen rock band of the 1970s, starring Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie and Michael Shannon as rock impresario Kim Fowley.

"Season of the Witch" -- Nicolas Cage is a medieval knight who undertakes a mission pitting him against a devious witch and making him the last hope for the world against an ancient and dark force.

"Hubble 3D" -- Documentary about the Hubble space telescope and how it's changed the way we view the universe and ourselves.

march 26

"Clash of the Titans" -- Remake of the 1981 movie, this time with Sam Worthington as Perseus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades and Liam Neeson as Zeus.

"How to Train Your Dragon" -- Animated comedy, based on the book by Cressida Cowell, about a Viking teenager who doesn't fit in with the tribe's tradition of dragon slaying. Voice talent includes Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera and others.

APRIL 2

"The Last Song" -- Greg Kinnear and Miley Cyrus star in an adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel about an estranged father spending the summer in a small Southern beach town with his daughter, who would rather be home in New York.

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" -- Jeff Kinney's illustrated novel about Greg Heffley, a wisecracking middle school student, gets the movie treatment.

"Repo Men" -- These guys aren't creeping away with your car but taking back sophisticated and expensive mechanical organs created by a company called The Union. Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Liev Schreiber and RZA star in an adaptation of Eric Garcia's "The Repossession Mambo."

"Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?" -- Perry revisits the eight college friends introduced in 2007's "Why Did I Get Married" in this sequel that counts Janet Jackson, Jill Scott and Cicely Tyson among its cast.

"Furry Vengeance" -- Live-action family comedy, with Brendan Fraser and Brooke Shields, about an ambitious real estate developer facing off against angry animals in his new housing subdivision. A raccoon leads the charge.

APRIL 9

"The Losers" -- Adaptation of the DC Vertigo comic story about a special-forces unit sent into the Bolivian jungle, betrayed and left for dead. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans lead the cast.

"Date Night" -- Tina Fey and Steve Carell are suburbanites whose date nights of dinner and a movie have become routine, until a case of mistaken identity introduces them to corrupt cops, a top mobster and a crazed cabbie.

APRIL 16

"Kick-Ass" -- Matthew Vaughn ("Stardust," "Layer Cake") directs this adventure about a fanboy who decides to become a real-life superhero and crime fighter named Kick-Ass, complete with suit and mask. He inspires a subculture of copycats played by Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

"The Back-up Plan" -- Jennifer Lopez stars in this romcom as a woman who meets her dream guy just as she successfully undergoes artificial insemination. Alex O'Loughlin, late of "Three Rivers," is the man.

"Death at a Funeral" -- American remake of the 2007 British comedy about the passing of a family patriarch and all that goes wrong in its wake. Here, Neil LaBute directs an ensemble that includes Peter Dinklage (back from the original), Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence.

"Piranha 3-D" -- A tremor causes the floor of an Arizona lake to open, unleashing scores of prehistoric piranhas and putting the sheriff, played by Elisabeth Shue, to the test.

APRIL 22

"Oceans" -- Disneynature, which produced "Earth," returns with this look at penguins, great white sharks and other denizens of the deep. Its Thursday release date coincides with Earth Day.

APRIL 23

"Wall Street 2" -- Michael Douglas returns as Gordon Gekko, who emerges from a lengthy prison stint to find himself on the outside of the world he once ruled. To repair a damaged relationship with his daughter, Gekko forms an alliance with her boyfriend (Shia LaBeouf) but cannot stop his manipulating ways.

"MacGruber" -- The "Saturday Night Live" skit has been turned into a feature film with Will Forte as the special op who is summoned when a nuclear warhead is stolen. With Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe and Maya Rudolph.

APRIL 30

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" -- Jackie Earle Haley, an Oscar nominee for his portrayal of a sex offender in "Little Children," steps into Freddy Krueger's sick shoes in this remake of the 1984 horror classic.

ALSO

Oscar-nominated animated and live-action shorts -- Pittsburgh Filmmakers plans to book this popular program in time for Oscar watchers and poll participants. (February)

"A Prophet" -- Jacques Audiard's prize-winning story of a young man, part Arab, part Corsican, who enters prison an illiterate nobody but is a fast learner as he rises through the ranks. (Late March)

"Babies" -- Documentary tracking four babies, from Namibia, Mongolia, Japan and the United States, from birth to first steps. (April)

"The Ghostwriter" -- This is the movie Roman Polanski has been editing while under house arrest in Switzerland. Based on a Robert Harris novel, it stars Pierce Brosnan as a former British prime minister writing his memoirs with the help of a ghostwriter, played by Ewan McGregor. (Spring)

Your cheat sheet

A match made in movie heaven: Tim Burton, "Alice in Wonderland," 3-D and Johnny Depp. Unless this is seriously freaky or frightening (or because it might be both), it should provide further proof about how 3-D is the salvation of the business, especially when Depp is involved.

Geeking out: The meek shall inherit the Earth, but the geeks are inheriting the entertainment universe. The next several months will bring "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," "She's Out of My League," "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and "Kick-Ass."

Hangover with a twist of time: As we learned with "The Wedding Singer," if you want automatic laughs, turn back the clock to the 1980s. Make it accidental, as with "Hot Tub Time Machine," and you can milk laughs from leg warmers, Jheri curls, audiocassettes and a world that has never heard of texting.

Chick flicks: The phrase won't get much of a workout unless you count a couple of romcoms and adaptations of two Nicholas Sparks novels, including "The Last Song" starring Miley Cyrus.

Reinventions: Benicio Del Toro walks on the wild side with "The Wolfman," George A. Romero's "The Crazies" is reborn 37 years after the original, the British "Death at a Funeral" gains an American accent, "Clash of the Titans" is remade with "Avatar" star Sam Worthington, and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" gets a new, noteworthy Freddy Krueger in former child star and Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley.

-- Barbara Vancheri

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