The Many Manifestations of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Series

Taormina, Sicily

July 10-12, 2023

Sponsored by the University of Arkansas and Società cooperativa Taormina immagine

Celebrating over 50 years of fandom, join us and commemorate Francis Ford Coppola’s series- The Godfather (March 15, 1972), The Godfather Part II (December 20, 1974), and The Godfather Part III (December 25, 1990) in Taormina, Sicily, July 10-12, 2023 at the Hotel Diodoro.

The Godfather trilogy has had quite the afterlife. It has been referenced in several films and TV shows. However, it also has served as the basis of several video games (The Godfather, 2006; The Godfather II, 2009); a few board games (Monopoly: The Godfather Edition, 2012); a series of novels not written by Puzo (Mark Winegardner’s The Godfather Returns, 2004); various alternate cuts and assemblages of the movie/series (The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, December 4, 2020); a whole host of references in music, especially hip hop, including videos and album covers; memes; marketing ploys; and now this new series on the making of the movie. 

In imagining new ways of understanding the conversations about the past, present, and future of The Godfather series and its many manifestations, this conference seeks individual abstracts or panel proposals on any topic revolving around the films, from influence to adaption, from novels written by Winegardner and Falco to board and video games.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

●      Themes about the films and/or novel:

o   “New Hollywood” cinema and the complex negotiations between the auteur and the studio system (Coppola and Paramount Pictures)

o   The films and influence of independent production companies in the “New Hollywood” era, such as Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope

o   The rise and/or draw of narratives about difficult men, women, other

o   Gender: masculinity and femininity

o   Alternate cuts and assemblages of the movie/series (The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, 2020)

●      A series about the making of The Offer (2022)

●      A series of novels not written by Puzo (Mark Winegardner’s The Godfather Returns, 2004 and The Godfather’s Revenge, 2006; Ed Falco’s The Family Corleone, 2012)

●      Several video games (The Godfather, 2006; The Godfather II, 2009)

●      Board games (Monopoly: The Godfather Edition, 2012)

Interested participants should send a 250-word abstract or 500-word panel proposal (three related presentations) and a short CV including contact information, affiliation, and email address(es) to Ryan Calabretta-Sajder (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville) and Alan J. Gravano (Rocky Mountain University) at Google Form by Saturday, March 11, 2023.

Nota bene: The conference will be hosted at the Hotel Diodoro. A block of hotel rooms will be available at a discounted rate. On July 12, the conference is organizing a half-day trip with three visits to places where Coppola filmed scenes from The Godfather, concluding with a lunch at an agritourism (price and exact details TBA).

Paper Proposals: https://forms.gle/zfQvprFjo3LSxHmJ6

Completed Sessions/Round Tables: https://forms.gle/HeAvamwFxExkSpHJ6