------------------------------------------------ PLEASE POST AND DISTRIBUTE ** this message has been update! please read on! ** The University of Arizona Extended University presents POINT BLANK: TOUGH GUY FILM & CULTURE A National Conference Tucson, Arizona May 18-20, 2000 http://conferences.arizona.edu/PointBlank CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION The "tough guy" persona in film is one that has crossed genre and generation, leaving a heretofore underappreciated trail of characters, personalities, and films in its wake. Edward G. Robinson's middle-class patriarch, the bulldog attack of Lee Marvin, Ida Lupino's street-smart slap, the hang-dog down and out determination of Warren Oates ... what role will these characters serve as the history of film plays out? The University of Arizona Extended University presents Point Blank: Tough Guy Film & Culture, a national film conference for academics and the general public, May 18-20, 2000 in Tucson, Arizona. The focus of the conference will be films dealing in such "tough guy" imagery, examining themes of violence, masculinity, and class in cinema. Areas of interest include the "tough guy" role in genre-filmmaking, the B-film, relationships between hard-boiled fiction and "tough guy" film, women as "tough guys", the "tough guy"'s influence in foreign popular culture, an appreciation of the role of the character actor in "tough guy" cinema, and more. The conference will feature a dynamic blend of academic discourse and unabashed cinephilia, scholarly discussions and screenings, bringing together some of the creators of the genre with the scholars and public who appreciate them. Individuals of key interest include (but are in no means limited to) Robert Mitchum, Donald Siegel, Robert Ryan, Samuel Fuller, David Goodis, Joan Crawford, Dan Duryea, Fred Williamson, Paul Schrader, Anthony Mann, Ken Takakura, Ann Sheridan, Ben Johnson, John Ford, Jean Luc Godard, Patricia Highsmith, Budd Boetticher, Phil Karlson, Jean-Pierre Melville, Delmer Daves, Jim Thompson, Gregg Araki, Robert Siodmak, Kinji Fukasaku, Brian Keith, John Cassavetes and the hundreds of other important players too often relegated to secondary or diminished billing. CALL FOR PAPERS The conference will feature papers, poster sessions, and panel discussions. Abstracts are being accepted, with a target length of 250-500 words and a deadline of January 15, 1999. Remit abstracts to Noah Lopez via e-mail at [log in to unmask], or by fax at 520-621-3269. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABSTRACT DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO ACCOMMODATE A LATE MAILING!! Themes and topics for exploration will include but are by no means limited to: The Role of the Character Actor Tough Women in a Tough World Masculinity in Gay Cinema Tough Guys and the Border Japanese Cowboys and French Gangsters Issues of Race in Tough Guy Film The Tough Guy in Literature and Pulp Fiction The Tough Guy in Genre Film SPECIAL GUESTS Confirmed speakers include Donald Westlake, Monte Hellman, Alex Cox, Michael Nevins, Tom Thurman, Lawrence Tierney and Rudy Wurlitzer. KEYNOTE PRESENTATION Dana Polan, University of Southern California For more information, please see our website at http://conferences.arizona.edu/PointBlank, or e-mail Noah Lopez at [log in to unmask] ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu