Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic strip each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The comics are accompanied by regular updates on the site's blog.
Showgirls is a 1995 erotic drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven, from a script written by Joe Eszterhas, starring Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, and Gina Ravera.
Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on the 1973 non-fiction book of the same name. Directed by Penny Marshall, it was written for the screen by Steven Zaillian, who based his screenplay on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir of the same name. It tells the story of neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer, based on Sacks, who discovers the beneficial effects of the drug L-DOPA in 1969. He administers it to catatonic patients who survived the 1919–1930 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. Leonard Lowe and the rest of the patients are awakened after decades, and have to deal with a new life in a new time. Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Stormare and Max von Sydow also star in the cast. Awakenings was produced by Walter Parkes and Lawrence Lasker, who first encountered Sacks's book as undergraduates at Yale, and optioned it a few years later. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning $108.7 million on a $29 million budget, and was nominated for three Academy Awards.
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.
Solange Piaget Knowles is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Knowles expressed an interest in music from an early age and had temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, which featured her older sister Beyoncé Knowles among its members, before signing with her father Mathew Knowles' Music World Entertainment label. At 16, Knowles released her first studio album Solo Star (2002). She also appeared in the films Johnson Family Vacation (2004), and Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006).
Vegas is an American crime drama television series starring Robert Urich that aired on ABC from September 20, 1978, to June 3, 1981, with the pilot episode airing April 25, 1978. Vegas was produced by Aaron Spelling and was created by Michael Mann. The series was filmed in its entirety on location in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tenitra Michelle Williams is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling female groups of all time with over 100 million records, of which more than 60 million copies sold with the trio lineup that included Williams. During her time in the group she earned several accolades including a Grammy Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise from a screenplay written by Ernest Lehman, and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, and Eleanor Parker. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Lindsay and Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp and is set in Salzburg, Austria. It is a fictional retelling of her experiences as governess to seven children, her eventual marriage with their father Captain Georg von Trapp, and their escape during the Anschluss in 1938.
Mela Lee is an American voice actress based in Los Angeles who voices characters on a number of animated series, films, television shows and video games. She is best known as the voice of Jade in Mortal Kombat 11. In anime, she voices lead characters Rin Tosaka, in Fate/stay night as well as Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works and the film trilogy Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel; Yuki Cross in Vampire Knight; Shinku the fifth Rozen Maiden doll in Rozen Maiden; and Erica Karisawa in the Durarara!! series, which was broadcast on Adult Swim. In animation, she is the voice of Tikki in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, which airs on Disney Channel, Disney+ and Netflix, and Kikimora in The Owl House. In video games, she voices Lifeline in Apex Legends, Rena Ryūgū in Higurashi When They Cry, Rachel Alucard in the BlazBlue series, Tiki in the Fire Emblem series and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Sharon Kreuger and Scarlet in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel series.
Shea Kerry is an American writer and producer. He played the role of Steve in the thriller Dark Honeymoon (2008), starring Academy Award nominee Roy Scheider, Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts, Steve Wilder, and Daryl Hannah.
Chanelle Jade Hayes is an English television personality, model, singer and businesswoman. She was a student at NEW College, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, studying Spanish, music and English before becoming well known by appearing on the Channel 4 reality series Big Brother in 2007, when she was 19. She currently runs a cake making business in Wakefield, along with performing occasional media work.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 17th Gemini Awards were held on November 4, 2002, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Seán Cullen, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
Count Smokula is a comedic fictional character created and portrayed by Robert "Smokey" Miles. He has made numerous live appearances, roles in movies, TV shows and internet videos.
Rena Riffel is an American actress, singer, dancer, model, writer, producer, and director. She is known for her supporting roles in films such as Showgirls, Striptease, and Mulholland Drive.
The Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards—first presented in 1977 by the now–Los Angeles chapter of the Women in Film organization—were presented to honor women in communications and media. The awards include the Crystal Award, the Lucy Award, the Dorothy Arzner Directors Award, the MaxMara Face of the Future Award, and the Kodak Vision Award.
The 21st Young Artist Awards ceremony, presented by the Young Artist Association, honored excellence of young performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and theatre for the year 1999, and took place on March 19, 2000, at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California.
The YoungStar Awards, presented by The Hollywood Reporter, honored young American actors and actresses from ages 6–18 in their work in film, television, stage and music. Winners were chosen via a poll of 3,500 entertainment industry insiders who read The Hollywood Reporter. The awards ceremony was held from 1995 until 2000; there was no ceremony in 1996.
Honey Mahogany is an American activist, politician, drag performer, and singer. She first came to national attention on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, followed by releasing her debut EP Honey Love. She was instrumental in setting up The Transgender District in San Francisco, where she served as the first director. In 2024, Mahogany was appointed director of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives.
Ilaria Stagni is an Italian actress and voice actress.
