The department of Cinema, Television and Media Studies of IULM
University (Milan, Italy) is pleased to announce its Call for Papers for
a book on film remakes that will be published in mid-2005.

Provisionally titled "Ready Made. Film Remakes in Postmodern Times",
this interdisciplinary critical anthology will explore a range of topics
regarding the aesthetic, cultural, and social significance of remakes of
thriller, horror, and science fiction movies released after 1960. The
volume will be edited by and Matteo Bittanti and Rocco Moccagatta, both
film critics and researchers at the Libera Università di Lingue e
Comunicazione, Milan, Italy.

The editors are looking for original contributions from a variety of
fields, including cinema studies, media studies, visual studies,
cultural studies, semiotics, and sociology. Papers are sought that take
new and innovative approaches to examine film remakes as texts, as
cultural artefacts, and as social practices.

DESCRIPTION

Although mainstream critics usually condemn movie remakes as signs of
Hollywood's collective lack of imagination, academics have fully
understood the importance of remakes in cinema as the quintessential
postmodern form of production. While remakes have existed since the
birth of cinema, today they play an increasing role in the development
of film genres, especially thriller, science fiction and horror. In the
last few years, remakes have become pervasive and the trend will
continue in 2005-2006, with announced remakes of such film as 39 Steps,
Chaos, King Kong, The Eye, Dark Water, Scanners, The Fly, The Fog,
Assault on Precint 13 and many more.

In order to study this multifaceted phenomenon, we are inviting
submission for a book provisionally titled "Ready Made. Film Remakes in
Postmodern Times" that will be published in Italy in Summer 2005. The
purpose of the book is to offer a variety of historical, commercial,
theoretical, and cultural perspectives on remakes of thrillers, sci-fi
and horror movies produced between 1960 and 1980.

We are also planning an international conference on film remake to be
held at IULM University in 2005.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The editors seek submissions that will investigate either a specific
case (i.e. a film remake) or a broader trend/phenomenon.

a) Possible trends that might be taken in consideration for an analysis
may include (but are not limited to):

American remakes of Japanese Horror Movies (ex. The Ring (2002), Gore
Verbinski; The Grudge (2004), Takashi Shimizu)

"Updated Movies" (ex. E.T. (2002), Steven Spielberg; THX1138 (2004),
George Lucas)

Straight-to-video remakes (ex. How to Make a Monster (2001), George
Huang; Teenage Caveman (2002), Larry Clark)

b) Possible films that might be taken in consideration for an analysis
may include (but are not limited to):

Insomnia (2002), Christopher Nolan
Dawn of the Dead (2004), Zack Snyder,
The Stepford Wives (2004), Frank Oz,
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) Marcus Nispel
Planet of the Apes (2001), Tim Burton
Psycho (1998), Gus Van Sant
Rollerball (2002), John McTiernan
Solaris (2002), Steven Soderbergh
The Grudge (2004), Takashi Shimizu
The Last Man (2002), Harry Ralston
The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Jonathan Demme
The Ring (2002), Gore Verbinski
The Time Machine (2002), Simon Wells
The Toolbox Murders (2003), Tobe Hooper
Thir13en Ghosts (2001), Steve Beck
Vanilla Sky (2002), Cameron Crowe
Willard (2003) Glen Morgan

One last note. We are limiting our investigation to three film genres:
thrillers, science fiction, and horror. Therefore, movies like the
Coen's remake of The Ladykillers will not be taken into consideration.
Also excluded are cinematic remakes of TV series.

HOW TO SUBMIT

For consideration, please submit a 500 - 1000 word abstract no later
than January 31, 2005 to Matteo Bittanti at mbittanti_at_libero.it. A
one-page curriculum vitae or short biography will also be appreciated.

The selected authors will be notified by February 21, 2005 and asked to
submit a complete draft of their papers no later than March 30, 2005.

Manuscripts should be 2,500 - 6,000 words, double-spaced. MLA citations
are required. All textual contributions must be written in English or
Italian. The submission should be fully referenced and may contain
endnotes. All contributions will be promptly reviewed. Contributors will
be kept up to date on the status of their contributions via regular
email correspondence. Please submit your proposals and papers
electronically as a rich text format document.

DEADLINES

31 January 2005: Proposal submissions
21 February 2005: Notification of acceptance
30 March 2005: Paper submissions

Please don't hesitate to contact me with further questions at
mbittanti_at_libero.it.

Thank you for your attention.

Matteo Bittanti
Department of Cinema, Television and Media Studies
Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione (IULM)
Milano - Italy

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Received on Fri Dec 10 2004 - 14:46:39 EST