HOLLYWOOD -- As every movie studio knows, the industry is cyclical -- one year you're up, the next you're down.

But it's no fun having two down years back-to-back.

Just ask Universal Studios, which, after a lacklustre 2008, came marching into '09 with a roster that smelled like box office gold.

After all, they had the latest comedies from Sacha Baron Cohen, Ferrell and Sandler, not to mention a fresh Depp and even some throwback cult horror from Spider-Man director Sam Raimi.

Alas, Bruno, Land of the Lost, Funny People and Drag Me to Hell all proved to be underperforming disappointments.

And although Public Enemies fared better (grossing $97 million in North America), it was nevertheless on the low end of expectations for a Depp vehicle.

Still, it was an improvement over Duplicity (pairing Julia Roberts and Clive Owen), State of Play (Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren), Love Happens (Jennifer Aniston) and the particularly anemic, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.

Even the studio's current release, the alien abduction thriller The Fourth Kind, is quickly looking a lot more like Paranormal Activity's much poorer cousin.

That just leaves Universal with a pair of respectable 2009 hits -- the $155 million-grossing Fast & Furious relaunch and the $96 million-grossing ensemble comedy, Couples Retreat.

Realizing it was time for desperate measures, last month the studio fired its co-chairmen and promoted a new production team.

Universal brass is still counting on closing out the year on a high note, courtesy of It's Complicated, a romantic ensemble comedy featuring Meryl Streep and soon-to-be Oscar co-hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

And they're looking to the new year with optimism riding on movies like The Wolfman (despite the constantly changing release date) starring Benicio del Toro, and Green Zone, an Iraq War thriller re-teaming Matt Damon with his Bourne director Paul Greengrass.

Hmmm ... it's probably a good thing they're working a Fast & Furious 5.

Showing some restraint

Justin Timberlake got one, J. Lo got one, and, so far this week, Nicole Richie and Ryan Seacrest got one.

One what, you ask? A Swarovski crystal-laden digital gaming putter, perhaps?

Actually, the latest must-have topping every celeb's acquisition list would appear to be ... a restraining order.

So far this month, Lopez was granted a temporary one against ex-husband Ojani Noa, preventing him from distributing 11-hours of intimate home video footage; while Timberlake had a permanent one issued against an overzealous fan who has repeatedly attempted to enter his home.

American Idol host Seacrest has been also granted a permanent one against a male stalker who's currently doing time; while Richie got her hands on one barring a pair of paparazzi from getting too close to her or her kids.

An R.O. is getting to be as ubiquitous as those old celeb-driven American Express ads -- as in "Don't leave home without it."