CALL FOR PAPERS
“Show Me the Money!”: The Economics of Sports on Film
An area of multiple panels for the 2013 Film & History Conference on 
Making Movie$: The Figure of Money On and Off the Screen
November 20-24, 2013
Madison Concourse Hotel (Madison, WI)
www.filmandhistory.org/The2013FilmHistoryConference.php
DEADLINE for abstracts: July 1, 2013

AREA: “Show Me the Money!”: The Economics of Sports on Film

Sports films—tales of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat—speak to audiences of underdogs and everyday heroes, pain and loss, personal bests and national identities. Not simply focused on athletic competition, they deliver adventure, romance, and historical drama, as well, moving across genres to include dramas such as The Blind Side, Seabiscuit, Remember the Titans, and Million Dollar Baby, and comedies such as The Longest Yard (2005), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory, and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Each of these films has crossed the $100 million domestic standard for blockbusters.  42, on the career of baseball great Jackie Robinson, is already one of the top grossing films of the year. From basketball to bobsledding, the production, distribution, and consumption of sports films is not only a significant component of our cinematic culture, but of our cinematic economy, as well.

This area, which will be composed of multiple panels, seeks papers that explore the economies of sports films, on- and off-screen. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

•	Gambling in baseball films: Eight Men Out, The Natural
•	“Rags to riches” sports films: Rocky series, Secretariat, The Blind Side
•	Corrupt management in sports film: Slap Shot, Major League, Masaki Kobayashi’s I Will Buy You, Bingo Long’s Travelling All-Stars and Motor Kings
•	The money men (agents, owners, etc.) in sports film: Jerry Maguire, Grand Prix, Any Given Sunday, Seabiscuit
•	Disney sports films: Remember the Titans, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Miracle, Invincible, The Rookie
•	Struggle and reward in sports biopics: 42, Follow the Sun, Ali
•	Sports films and the “American Dream:” Field of Dreams, Heart Like a Wheel, The Babe, The Best of Times
•	ESPN and the economics of sports television 

Proposals for complete panels (three of four related presentations) are also welcome, but they must include an abstract and contact information, including an email address, for each presenter.  For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (filmandhistory.org).

Contact Info:
Zachary Ingle, Area Chair
“Show Me the Money!”: The Economics of Sports on Film
Department of Film and Media Studies 
University of Kansas
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