Hit-Movie-Producing Alum Returns for Early Screening of Latest Sports Drama
Mark Ciardi ’83 Gives Behind-the-Scenes Peek Into ‘The Senior’
By John Tucker
Brenda Kooken '85 poses for a photo with film producer Mark Ciardi ’83 after the Alumni Association hosted an advance screening of his latest movie, “The Senior.” More than 200 people attended the event (below), which included a Q&A with him.
Photos by Preet Mandavia '14
Mark Ciardi '83 is best known for making sports underdog films based on true stories. The former Major League Baseball player debuted in 2002 with “The Rookie,” the story of a former teammate who postpones a teaching career in a quest to play pro ball at age 35. Ciardi followed up with a starting lineup’s worth of feel-good flicks including “Miracle,” “Secretariat” and “Invincible.”
His newest, “The Senior,” which will be released sometime next year, has thematic parallels with “The Rookie” but raises the stakes. It stars Michael Chiklis as Mike Flynt, a 59-year-old grandfather who returns to college to play football after getting kicked off the team three dozen years earlier. A linebacker with anger issues, health concerns and demons from his youth, Flynt wants to prove to himself and others that decades-old dreams can still come true.
A University of Maryland audience of 200-plus was among the first to see it on Friday evening, when the Alumni Association hosted Ciardi for an early screening at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center as part of Family Weekend.
In a Q&A that followed, Ciardi, a trustee with the University of Maryland College Park Foundation and a parent of a current Terp, discussed the film, shared his industry experiences and reminisced about his undergraduate days. Here are five takeaways from the evening.
Ciardi likes underdog movies because he considers himself one.
Following his Terp baseball career, an undersized Ciardi wasn’t selected until the 15th round of the MLB draft and spent his early days riding the bench. “People doubt you, so you use that as fuel,” he recalled. When injuries cut short his aspirations—his final pitching record with the Milwaukee Brewers was 1-1—Ciardi made an improbable turn to the film industry, where he faced long odds again. He used his baseball mentality to ward off fears. Crediting the ultimate cinematic underdog, Rocky, he said, “It’s not about winning. It’s about finishing.”
In a meta moment on set, Chiklis battled through his own physical injury.
In real life, Flynt’s chase to return to the gridiron was unsurprisingly prolonged by injuries. On the final day of shooting the film about him, Chiklis, who is now 61, took method acting to another level. The scene called for Flynt to race across the field, but the actor pulled a muscle. So the crew improvised. “When he’s running down the sideline, we had to push him in a sled,” Ciardi recalled. “He couldn’t even walk.” The producer jokingly said his challenge during filming was keeping Chiklis upright.
Ciardi fell in love with the story after reading a Los Angeles Times article.
Flynt’s comeback story, which occurred in 2007, generated plenty of news coverage (several real-life television clips were woven into the film), and Ciardi learned about it in the Los Angeles Times. He immediately called Sul Ross State University in West Texas, where Flynt was enrolled. After getting the runaround, Ciardi showed up on campus two weeks later. After meeting Flynt, his wife and his 1970 teammates, Ciardi knew he had a movie. It took years to complete, but “it was a fun ride,” he said.
Ciardi hasn’t lost his touch for the tearjerker.
No spoiler alerts here, but “The Senior” is about regrets as much as dreams. Throughout its story arc, Flynt faces obstacles in the form of chronic pain, resentful family members and the psychological effects of an overbearing father. When the film nears its climax, viewers might expect triumph, but what unfolds on the gridiron is unexpected. By the closing credits, the Alumni Center audience had erupted into applause.
Ciardi’s upcoming projects include an adaptation of a John Grisham novel.
While Grisham is known for his legal thrillers, in 2007 he published “Playing for Pizza,” a novel about a washed-up NFL quarterback who, to keep his career alive, signs with a ragtag football team in Parma, Italy, despite knowing little about the culture. Though it’s not a true story, it appealed to Ciardi for obvious reasons. “It’s a book I chased for nine years,” recalled Ciardi, who finally secured the rights. The script is being finalized, with production tentatively scheduled to begin in Italy next spring, Ciardi said. Beyond that, the producer has two more active projects in the works, along with “a million other plates spinning,” he said.
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