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1981 Films
The following is an overview of events in 1981 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten films released in 1981 by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * May 16 – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie '' Heaven's Gate'', a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it. * March 30 - The 53rd Academy Awards are postponed due to the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan earlier that day. They are held the following day with a message from the President recorded for the ceremony prior to the assassination attempt. * June 8 - Marvin Davis acquires 20th Century Fox for $720 million. * June 12 – '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is released by Paramount Pictures. It became Paramount's highest-grossing film of all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray began the site on August 7, 1998, making forecasts of the top-10 highest-grossing films in the United States for the following weekend. To compare his forecasts to the actual results, he started posting the weekend grosses and wrote a regular column with box-office analysis. In 1999, he started to post the Friday daily box-office grosses, sourced from Exhibitor Relations, so that they were publicly available online on Saturdays and posted the Sunday weekend estimates on Sundays. Along with the weekend grosses, he was publishing the daily grosses, release schedules, and other charts, such as all-time charts, international box-office charts, genre charts, and actor and director charts. The site gradually expanded to include weekend charts going b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Embassy Pictures
Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution studio responsible for such films as ''The Graduate'', ''The Producers (1967 film), The Producers'', ''The Fog'', ''The Howling (film), The Howling'', ''Escape from New York'', and ''This Is Spinal Tap''. History Founding The company was formed in 1942 by Joseph E. Levine, initially to distribute foreign films in the United States. The company entered film production in 1945, co-producing with Maxwell Finn the documentary ''Gaslight Follies'', a compilation of silent film clips narrated by Ben Grauer. Success Embassy found success in 1956 bringing the Japanese film ''Godzilla (1954 film), Godzilla'' to the American general public (in a re-edited version), acquiring the rights for $12,000 and spending $400,000 promoting it under the title ''Godzilla, King of the Monst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring role at age 8 in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), followed by a role in John Ford's ''The Searchers'' (1956). Wood starred in the musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''Gypsy'' (1962), and received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in ''Splendor in the Grass'' (1961) and ''Love with the Proper Stranger'' (1963). Her career continued with films such as ''Sex and the Single Girl'' (1964), ''Inside Daisy Clover'' (1965), and ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969). During the 1970s, Wood began a hiatus from film and had two daughters: one with her second husband ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avco Embassy
Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution studio responsible for such films as ''The Graduate'', '' The Producers'', ''The Fog'', ''The Howling'', ''Escape from New York'', and ''This Is Spinal Tap''. History Founding The company was formed in 1942 by Joseph E. Levine, initially to distribute foreign films in the United States. The company entered film production in 1945, co-producing with Maxwell Finn the documentary ''Gaslight Follies'', a compilation of silent film clips narrated by Ben Grauer. Success Embassy found success in 1956 bringing the Japanese film ''Godzilla'' to the American general public (in a re-edited version), acquiring the rights for $12,000 and spending $400,000 promoting it under the title ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'', and earning $1 million in theatrical rentals. They then made a $100,000 deal to bring the French- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Perenchio
Andrew Jerrold Perenchio (December 20, 1930 – May 23, 2017) was an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He was at one time the chairman and chief executive officer of Univision. Early life Perenchio was the grandson of Italian immigrants Giovanni Batiste (later John) Perenchio and Madeline D'Adda, who came to the United States in 1896 from the northern Italian village of Pavone. His grandfather established the Fresno Grape Exchange, built a packinghouse that shipped fresh fruits and vegetables to the Great Lakes region, and later founded the Crestview Winery. Perenchio was raised in Fresno until the age of fifteen, when he was sent to Black Foxe Military Institute in Los Angeles for three-and-a-half years, graduating in 1949. That fall he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), attending for five years and completing his B.S. in Business in 1954. He financed his own way through college, first with a series of odd jobs and then by establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Family'' as well as ''Maude (TV series), Maude'', ''Sanford and Son'', ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time,'' ''The Jeffersons'', and ''Good Times''. Lear has continued to actively produce television, including the One Day at a Time (2017 TV series), 2017 remake of ''One Day at a Time'' and the Netflix revival of ''Good Times'' in 2022. Lear has received many awards, including five Emmy Awards, Emmys, the National Medal of Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honors. He is a member of the Television Academy Hall of Fame. Lear is also known for his political activism and funding of Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal and Progressivism in the United States, progressive causes and politicians. In 1980, he founded the advo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinema International Corporation
Cinema International Corporation (CIC) was a film distribution company started by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in the early 1970s to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States – it even operated in Canada before it was considered part of the "domestic" market. During the 1970s, CIC was the "most important agent of overseas distribution" for American films. In 1981, CIC merged with United Artists' international units and became United International Pictures. The formation of CIC, and the profit-sharing arrangement that made it work, has been described as the product of "revolutionary thinking". Overview Paramount Pictures, Paramount's early history with MCA Inc., MCA dates back to the 1950s, when part of its talent pool worked for Paramount Pictures; Alfred Hitchcock was among the best known. In 1958, MCA purchased the Paramount sound feature film library from 1929 to 1949. In 1962, MCA purchased Universal Pictures, Universal Studios. In 1966, Gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United International Pictures
United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists films when MGM was part of the venture and also distributed Disney films in certain territories until 1987. In 2001, MGM left UIP, and signed a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox's overseas arm. The company formerly distributed DreamWorks Pictures releases internationally as well until 2005. Overview Cinema International Corporation (1970–1981) Paramount's early history with MCA dates back to the 1950s, when part of its talent pool worked for Paramount Pictures; Alfred Hitchcock was among the best known. In 1958, MCA purchased the pre-1950 Paramount sound feature film library. In 1962, MCA purchased Universal Studios. In 1966, Gulf+Western purchased Paramount. In a cost-cutting move, in 1970, as a result of Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marvin Davis
Marvin H. Davis (August 31, 1925 – September 25, 2004) was an American industrialist. He made his fortunes as the chair of Davis Petroleum and at one time owned 20th Century Fox, the Pebble Beach Corporation, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the Aspen Skiing Company. Early life and education Marvin Davis was raised in a Jewish family, the son of Jack Davis and Jean Spitzer. He had one younger sister Joan (born 1929). His father came to the United States from London as a teenager in 1917 and later joined the British Navy after reportedly applying for a college scholarship but being denied it because he was Jewish. Jack Davis became a successful fashion buyer for New York department stores. In 1939 he partnered with Ray Ryan, who owned the Ryan Oil Company, and they started the Davis Oil Company. Marvin graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from New York University in 1947. Petroleum business He joined his father in the oil exploration business and was l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attempted Assassination Of Ronald Reagan
On March 30, 1981, President of the United States Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C. as he was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton. Hinckley believed the attack would impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he had developed an erotomanic obsession. Reagan was seriously wounded by a pistol bullet that ricocheted off the side of the presidential limousine and hit him in the left underarm, breaking a rib, puncturing a lung, and causing serious internal bleeding. He was close to death upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital but was stabilized in the emergency room, then underwent emergency exploratory surgery. He recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11. No formal invocation of sections 3 or 4 of the Constitution's 25th amendment (concerning the vice president assuming the president's powers and duties) took place, though Secretary of State Alexander Haig stated that he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
53rd Academy Awards
The 53rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored 1980 in film, films released in 1980 and took place on March 31, 1981, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST / 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, EST. The ceremony was scheduled to take place originally on the previous day but was postponed due to the Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 20 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by American Broadcasting Company, ABC, was produced by Norman Jewison and directed by Marty Pasetta. Comedian and talk show host Johnny Carson hosted the show for the third consecutive time. Two weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on March 15, the Academy Scientific and Technical Award ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
