---
title: Hit-Movie-Producing Alum Returns for Early Screening of Latest Sports Drama
date: 2024-09-23T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/hit-movie-producing-alum-returns-for-early-screening-of-latest-sports-drama"
section: Articles
---
# Hit-Movie-Producing Alum Returns for Early Screening of Latest Sports Drama

*September 23, 2024* — by [John Tucker](/author/john-tucker)


> Mark Ciardi ’83 Gives Behind-the-Scenes Peek Into ‘The Senior’

*AA The Senior 117 1920x1080 — 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.*

Mark Ciardi '83 is best known for making[ sports underdog films](https://today.umd.edu/motivating-movies-maryland-touch-bb0cd3d5-1a43-42d6-ba56-5a5c8a84fe15) 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.


*Man talks to audience while standing in front of movie screen showing a football player*




**Topics:** [Arts & Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture)


**Tags:** [Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/arts)


**Units:** [Alumni Association](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni-association)