The following is an overview of events in 1980 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.
Gloria is a 1980 American neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by John Cassavetes. It tells the story of a gangster's former girlfriend who goes on the run with a young boy who is being hunted by the mob for information he may or may not have. It stars Gena Rowlands, Julie Carmen, Buck Henry, and John Adames.
James Brolin is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin and the husband of Barbra Streisand.
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. A son of actor James Brolin, he gained fame in his youth for his role in the adventure film The Goonies (1985). After years of decline, Brolin had a resurgence with his starring role in the crime film No Country for Old Men (2007). Brolin received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying Dan White in the biopic Milk (2008).
Obsession is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Brian De Palma, starring Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold, and John Lithgow. The screenplay was written by Paul Schrader, from a story by De Palma and Schrader. Bernard Herrmann provided the film's soundtrack before his death in 1975. The story is about a prominent New Orleans businessman who is haunted by guilt following the death of his wife and daughter during a kidnapping-rescue attempt gone wrong. Years later, he meets and falls in love with a young woman who is the exact look-alike of his long dead wife.
Nightwatch is a 1997 American horror thriller film directed by Ole Bornedal and starring Ewan McGregor, Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin and Nick Nolte. It was written by Bornedal and Steven Soderbergh. It is a remake of the 1994 Danish film of the same name, which was also directed by Bornedal.
Alpha Dog is a 2006 American crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes. It is based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Emile Hirsch, Christopher Marquette, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, and Bruce Willis.
Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo is a British actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in such films as Metro (1997), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001), Boycott (2001), Away We Go (2009), Sparkle (2012), Alex Cross (2012), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), Selma (2014), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), It Comes at Night (2017), Alien: Covenant (2017), and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).
An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster is a 1999 American animated adventure film directed and produced by Larry Latham. It is the second direct-to-video follow-up to An American Tail as well as the fourth and final film of the series. The film premiered on December 9, 1999, in Germany, and was released on July 25, 2000, in the United States and Canada. While the actors retain their voices for the original characters, this film introduces new characters and voices of Susan Boyd, Robert Hays, John Garry, Candi Milo, John Mariano, Jeff Bennett, and Joe Lala, completely omitting the previous film’s characters. Universal Cartoon Studios discontinued the franchise while moving on to work on sequels based on The Land Before Time during the 21st century. Thomas Dekker received a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice-Over for Fievel.
The Amityville Horror is a 1979 American supernatural horror film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, and starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger. The film follows a young couple who purchase a home haunted by combative supernatural forces. It is based on Jay Anson's 1977 book of the same name, which documented the alleged paranormal experiences of the Lutz family who briefly resided in the Amityville, New York home where Ronald DeFeo Jr. committed the mass murder of his family in 1974. It is the first entry in the long-running Amityville Horror film series, and was remade in 2005.
Julie is a 1956 American thriller starring Doris Day, Louis Jourdan, Barry Sullivan, and Frank Lovejoy. Produced by Day's own Arwin Productions, it is one of the earliest recognized stalker films. Both written and directed by Andrew L. Stone, the picture received two Academy Award nominations, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Song.
Julie Carmen is an American actress, dancer and a licensed psychotherapist. She came to prominence onscreen in the 1980s and 1990s, for her roles in John Cassavetes’ Gloria (1980), Robert Redford’s The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) and John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1995).
Joel Joshua Goldberg, known professionally as Cliff Gorman, was an American actor. He won an Obie Award in 1968 for the stage presentation of The Boys in the Band, and went on to reprise his role in the 1970 film version.
King of the Jungle is a 2000 American drama film starring John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Michael Rapaport, Marisa Tomei, Rosario Dawson, Julie Carmen, Justin Pierce and Cliff Gorman. It was written and directed by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld.
W. is a 2008 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of George W. Bush. Directed by Oliver Stone and written by Stanley Weiser, it stars Josh Brolin as Bush. The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott Glenn, and Richard Dreyfuss. Filming began on May 12, 2008, in Louisiana, and the film was released on October 17, 2008.
Jolly Rover is a 2D graphic adventure game developed by Australian studio Brawsome. The game was released in early 2010 for the PC, distributed digitally.
Snatched is a 2017 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Levine and written by Katie Dippold. The film stars Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn, with Joan Cusack, Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes, and Christopher Meloni in supporting roles, and follows a mother and daughter who are abducted while on vacation in South America.
Robert Halmi (Sr.) was a Hungarian-born producer of movies and mini-series for television.
Wayne David Hays is a fictional character in the third season of the anthology crime drama television series True Detective on HBO. The character was created by series creator Nic Pizzolatto and is portrayed by Mahershala Ali. Hays was originally slated to be portrayed by a white actor while Ali was ready to play a supporting role.
Outer Range is an American science fiction neo-Western television series created by Brian Watkins. It features an ensemble cast that includes Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Tom Pelphrey, Tamara Podemski and Lewis Pullman.
