Hope everyone has a great time tonight and a fantastic year ahead.

See you in 2010!

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The year started with Terminator promo and press tours. The show returned with the last nine episodes in the Friday slot in mid-February.

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming Winter’s Bone in Missouri. The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in late January. If anyone plans on going, the Sundance screening schedule is here.

The Last House on the Left opened on March 13. The reviews ranged from excellent to free branding campaign and the film made it to several lists of best horrors of the year. In October, it won a Reaper Award for Best Theatrical Release in 2009.

Toward the end of the month, Garret played his fifth character on T:SCC, the Skynet virus from the future. Previous four were George Laszlo, Cromartie, the Beastwizard and John Henry.

In late March, the first pictures from Burning Bright appeared online. Burning Bright was later renamed to Ravenous and it still awaits theatrical release. In November, it was screened at the AFM. The first reviews were pretty positive.

In early April, Water Pills had its U.S. premiere at the Florida Film Festival. Jasmine Jessica Anthony walked away with a grand jury award for best performance.

Also in April, two series finales aired two days apart. Garret snuffed the TV crew and gave Damian Lewis his final headache in Life on April 8. Life season two was released on DVD on August 25.

The Terminator finale aired on April 10. Despite cancellation, the show made it to #8 on the list of  the Top 10 Most Pirated Shows in 2009. Last year, it was the only new show among the top 10, at #4.

In the meantime, Garret joined Delroy Lindo and Roslyn Ruff in Things of Dry Hours, a play by Naomi Wallace about communists in 1930s Alabama. Rehearsals started on April 21.

The first trailer for The Road hit the web on May 15.

On May 18, Fox announced that they would not be picking up Terminator for a third season. Even though there has been talk of a possible TV/DVD movie, Terminator rights are currently up for grabs and in limbo until February 2010.

On May 20, Garret appeared in the season finale of Criminal Minds.

Two days later, Things of Dry Hours went into previews at the New York Theatre Workshop. The show premiered on June 8 and ran through June 28. Critics liked the cast, but were divided on the writing.

At some point over the spring/summer, Garret was cast in Madeleine Stowe’s Unbound Captives, an independent western epic with Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson. If they get financing in time, the film will go into production in March (at the earliest).

In late July and early August, Garret filmed two TV guest appearances,  on CSI and Lie to Me, and a short film, One Night Only.

The Last House on the Left was released on DVD in mid-August.

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming the season three finale of Burn Notice. The episode will air in March 2010.

The trailer for One Night Only was released on September 2.

On September 3, The Road had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Ten days later, it was screened in Toronto.

Terminator: The Complete Season Two was released on DVD on September 22.

On September 24, the CSI season 10 premiere aired. “Family Affair” is one of the five hours of television nominated for an ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) Award this year.

Speaking of CSI, in a fine display of Terminator fanboyism, the last episode before the break, Better off Dead, had a bunch of people stealing Cromartie’s music and killing each other. Also, a killer described as a Terminator.

On October 13, Oliver Sherman, an independent drama with Molly Parker and Donal Logue, went into production in North Bay. The film will most likely premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2010, but Canadians might get an early screening in the spring.

On October 21st, Garret appeared on Lie to Me.

And two days later, on Law & Order: SVU.

The Road finally saw its U.S. premiere at AFI fest in early November. On Thanksgiving, it got a limited release. Even though the film has been vastly overlooked in the early awards season, the reviews were mostly positive and it scored a few acting nods (Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee) from several critics’ societies (Broadcast Film Critics, Utah Film Critics, St. Louis Film Critics).

On November 13, Garret appeared on White Collar.

And the next day, One Night Only had its premiere in New York.

In November, Garret was cast in two new projects. The comedy pilot Keep Hope Alive, with Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman and Lucas Neff, was filmed earlier this month. If it gets picked up, it will be aired in the 2010/11 season.

The other project, John Sayles’ film Baryo, starts shooting in February in the Philippines. The crew is already there, building the set and preparing for the shoot. You can follow the updates on the new production blog, at johnsaylesbaryo.blogspot.com.

And that about wraps it up. If 2010 is even half as eventful, it will be another excellent year.

THE BAU FACES ONE OF ITS TOUGHEST CASES YET WHEN A PROLIFIC, BORDER-CROSSING SERIAL KILLER LEADS THEM ON A HUNT INTO CANADA, AND AN AGENT’S LIFE IS IN PERIL, ON THE TWO-HOUR, FOURTH SEASON FINALE EVENT OF “CRIMINAL MINDS,” WEDNESDAY, MAY 20

“To Hell…And Back” – The BAU tracks a serial killer who chooses junkies, prostitutes and the homeless off the streets of Detroit as his victims and takes them across the border into Canada, and an agent’s life is in peril, on the two-hour, fourth season finale event of CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, May 20 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

PART ONE WRITTEN BY: Chris Mundy, one of the series’ co-executive producers
PART ONE DIRECTED BY: Charles Haid
PART TWO WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: Series Executive Producer Edward Allen Bernero

SERIES REGULARS:
David Rossi………………………….. Joe Mantegna
Aaron Hotchner………………….. Thomas Gibson
Emily Prentiss……………………… Paget Brewster
Derek Morgan…………………….. Shemar Moore
Dr. Spencer Reid……….. Matthew Gray Gubler
Jennifer Jareau…………………………… A.J. Cook
Penelope Garcia……………… Kirsten Vangsness

GUEST CAST:
William Hightower…………………… Sharif Atkins
Charles Porter……… Christopher Guckenberger
Motel Clerk…………………………… Scott Lincoln
Border Agent #1…………………. Brandon Taylor
Border Agent #2…………………. Gavin McClure
Officer Jeff Bedwell…………………….. John Lacy
Daniel………………………………… Jessie T. Usher
Sheri the Hooker………………….. Erin Anderson
Unsub………………………………………… Paul Rae
Det. Benning…………………………. Rowena King
Maxine Hightower………………. Vernee Watson
Walter Patterson……………………… William Belli
Vicki……………………………….. Krystal Marshall
Kelly……………………………………. Lily Kershaw
Mason Turner……………………. Garret Dillahunt
Burt Lang…………………. Benjamin Byron Davis
Constable Cassar………………….. Casey Nelson

And here is the casting sheet for the episode, posted on SpoilerTV back in March:

[WILLIAM HIGHTOWER] 32-38 yrs. African American, recent Iraq War Veteran, prosthetic leg causes him to walk with a limp. (PLEASE submit actual amputees as well!!) Confesses to a series of murders in an effort to get the team to look into the crimes. MAJOR GUEST STAR

[JEFF BEDWELL] 38-42 yrs, Caucasian. Officer in Charge of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) who was trained by Rossi as part of a fellowship done by the BAU. Smart, learned a lot from Rossi, but is headstrong and wants to be in control but is forced to respect the presence of the FBI. GUEST STAR.

[DET. TAY BENNING] FEMALE, 35-40 yrs. African American, Detroit Homicide detective. Overworked, overtired, underpaid. Since the crimes mostly took place in her jurisdiction, she helps the team as much as she can. GUEST STAR.

[EDNA HIGHTOWER] 52-60 yrs. old, African American. William’s mother. Heartbroken at the series of events that have brought them to this point. POSSIBLE GUEST STAR.

[MASON TURNER] 39 yrs old (the age is VERY important – SUBMIT ACCURATELY) Frail/shriveled, he is a QUADRIPLEGIC. The team is very confused when their investigation into multiple murders leads them to this very sick man.sptv050769 MAJOR GUEST STAR!