Pick a Day

Music History Events: Movies

May 18, 2012 Rihanna makes her big-screen acting debut playing a naval weapons specialist in the action/sci-fi movie Battleship. It earns her a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress.

October 14, 2011 The remake of Footloose opens in US theaters. The new film is energetic and sexy and earns better critical acclaim than its forebear. Starring Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough, the film also resurrects the title-theme song with a cover by Blake Shelton.

October 5, 2011 The Martin Scorsese documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World premieres on HBO. Ringo Starr says in the film: "He had the bag of love-beads personality and the bag of anger."

July 18, 2011 The romantic comedy Friends With Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, premieres in New York City. The soundtrack includes the Semisonic tune "Closing Time," which Timberlake sings in the movie.

October 1, 2010 Justin Timberlake portrays Napster co-founder Sean Parker in the Oscar-nominated film The Social Network, which depicts the founding of Facebook.

November 6, 2009 The Lee Daniels film Precious, starring Gabourey Sidibe as an abused teen, debuts in the US. It features supporting roles by Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz (the movie inspires his song "Push"), and the soundtrack spawns the single "I Can See In Color" by Mary J. Blige.

July 16, 2009 At the Latitude Festival, held every year in Henham Park in Suffolk, England, Noah and the Whale debut their feature-length film The First Days of Spring. The film accompanies their new record of the same name due out in August. Written and directed by lead singer Charlie Fink, the film stars model Daisy Lowe, the daughter of fashion designer Pearl Lowe and Gavin Rossdale, lead singer for the alt-rock band Bush.

March 21, 2009 The movie Northern Lights, starring LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, debuts on Lifetime as rumors of the stars' extramarital affair are swirling in the press. They end up divorcing their spouses and marrying each other.

September 30, 2008 Disney releases Nightmare Revisited, a cover album of songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The new album commemorates the fifteenth anniversary of the film's original 1993 release and features new arrangements by KoRn, Amy Lee of Evanescence, and Marilyn Manson.

December 21, 2007 Tim Burton's film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opens in US theaters. Johnny Depp stars as the Demon Barber himself, and manages to earn the respect of critics for his singing performance on the film's soundtrack.

December 1, 2005 Rocky Horror Picture Show is entered into the National Film Registry.

December 29, 2004 Beyond the Sea, a musical about the life of Bobby Darin, debuts in US theaters. Darin superfan Kevin Spacey - who co-wrote, directed, and starred in the film - does his own singing. 45-year-old Spacey is a little old to be playing Darin, who was only 37 when he died.

January 21, 2004 The warts-and-all Metallica documentary Some Kind of Monster makes its debut at the Sundance Film Festival.More

January 9, 2004 Miley Cyrus makes her movie debut in Tim Burton's Big Fish, playing 8-year-old Ruthie. She's credited as "Destiny Cyrus."

December 19, 2003 Tori Amos makes her film debut in the Julia Roberts movie Mona Lisa Smile. In her cameo as a '50s big band singer at a wedding reception, she sings the standards "You Belong To Me" and "Murder, He Says," which also appear on the movie's soundtrack.

December 9, 2003 After the runaway success of the bluegrass soundtrack for O Brother Where Art Thou?, producer T Bone Burnett helms another Appalachian-inspired album for the Civil War movie Cold Mountain. Alison Krauss sings the Sting-written "You Will Be My Ain True Love" and "The Scarlet Tide," both of which are nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

June 14, 2002 Moby's "Extreme Ways" plays during the end credits of the action thriller The Bourne Identity. The 18 track goes on to close out every installment in the long-running franchise.

January 12, 2002 Saturday Night Live skewers the uproar over the rumor that 'N Sync will be appearing in the latest installment of the Star Wars franchise, Attack of the Clones. The skit features an over-the-top cameo by the boy band, including Jimmy Fallon as Justin Timberlake, singing their hit "Bye Bye Bye" and a Star Wars-themed ballad about being a "Jedi knight in these Jedi days."

December 21, 2001 The movie How High opens in theaters. The film stars Method Man and Redman as stoners who get into Harvard.

October 26, 2001 The science fiction film Donnie Darko, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled teen who suffers from hallucinations, premieres in US theaters. The movie features Gary Jules' haunting cover of Tears For Fears' 1982 song "Mad World."More

September 21, 2001 The film Glitter, starring Mariah Carey as a singer looking to make it big, is released in theaters. Carey earns a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress; her appearances in Precious (2009) and The Butler (2013) get much better receptions.

September 7, 2001 The movie Rock Star, starring Mark Wahlberg as the lead singer of a tribute band who ends up joining his favorite group, hits theaters. A number of musicians have roles in the film, including Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind and Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe, whose song "Colorful" Wahlberg lip-synchs at the end of the film.

June 1, 2001 The movie Moulin Rouge!, directed by Baz Luhrmann, opens in theaters. There's lots of music in the film, including covers of "Nature Boy" by David Bowie, "Diamond Dogs" by Beck, and "Lady Marmalade" by Missy Elliott, Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink, which goes to #1 in America. Kylie Minogue makes an appearance as the Green Fairy.

May 18, 2001 The movie Shrek is released, reviving the songs "Hallelujah" (sung on the soundtrack by Rufus Wainwright) and "I'm a Believer" (performed by Smash Mouth in the rave-up at the end of the film).

November 17, 2000 Nickelodeon releases the film Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, an event significant in the music world because its soundtrack includes "Who Let The Dogs Out" by Baha Men. The song becomes a worldwide hit, charting in the Top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. It even becomes the unofficial anthem for New Year's Eve parties going into 2001.

September 11, 2000 Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow release a cover of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'" as a duet. The single reaches #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a week and also appears in the 2000 film Duets, which stars the pair.

September 9, 2000 Duets, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis, is released at the Toronto Film Festival. The film is a critical and box-office flop, but Paltrow and Lewis's duet cover of "Cruisin'" reaches #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

August 4, 2000 Coyote Ugly, about an aspiring singer-songwriter (Piper Perabo) who takes a job at a bawdy bar, opens in theaters. LeAnn Rimes, who appears in the film, anchors the soundtrack with four new songs, including the theme, "Can't Fight The Moonlight." It's one of the best-selling soundtracks of the '00s.More

November 12, 1999 Kevin Smith's fantasy comedy Dogma premieres, featuring Alanis Morissette as God. She also performs the song "Still" for the movie's soundtrack.

March 31, 1999 The Matrix opens in theaters with a soundtrack featuring Marilyn Manson, Ministry, The Prodigy and Rob Zombie. It establishes industrial music as the sound of simulation theory.