The USC School of Dramatic Arts, Outside the Box [Office], and Angel Studios,
invite you and a guest to attend
 

A Special Sneak Preview Screening of

THE SENIOR

Directed by Rod Lurie
Written by Robert Eisele
Produced by Mark Ciardi, p.g.a, Campbell McInnes, p.g.a,
Justin Baldoni, Andrew Calof, and Manu Gargi

Followed by a Q&A with Michael Chiklis, Rod Lurie, and Mark Ciardi
Moderated by Dr. Emily Roxworthy, PhD, Dean of the USC School of Dramatic Arts

7:00 P.M. on Thursday, September 11th, 2025

The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108
George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex
900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007

FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. RSVP REQUIRED.
RSVPs ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE.

FOOD AND DRINKS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED IN THE AUDITORIUM.
 

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

In Theaters September 19th, 2025
 

About The Senior

At 59, Mike Flynt might be too old to play college football—but not too old to settle unfinished business. Nearly forty years after leaving his team, he returns to his alma mater to face the moment that changed everything. Bruised, doubted, and nearly broken, he fights for one last game—not for glory, but for the teammates he lost, the family he fractured, and the ending he still believes is possible.

Provided courtesy of Angel Studios. Rated PG. Running time: 99 minutes.

https://www.angel.com/tickets/senior

About the Guest

MICHAEL CHIKLIS (Actor - "Mike Flynt")

Michael Chiklis is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor best known for his role in the acclaimed drama series, THE SHIELD.

Known as one of the pioneers of cable television, Michael played the lead role of Detective Vic Mackey in the critically acclaimed series, THE SHIELD, for FX. Paving the way for grounded and more authentic television viewing, both Chiklis and the show won multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Awards and received over 61 nominations and 13 wins in its 7-season run.

Most recently, Michael Chiklis both starred in and directed episodes of the second season of Howard Gordon’s ACCUSED. He also took on the same dual role in the first season—starring in the series premiere and directing a separate episode later in the season.

In 2023, Chiklis starred in the MGM+/Amazon series HOTEL COCAINE from creator Chris Brancato. Chiklis’ additional television credits include most notably THE COMMISH, NO ORDINARY FAMILY, VEGAS, GOTHAM, HBO’S WINNING TIME and the critically acclaimed AMERICAN HORROR STORY. He also starred as Ben Clemens in the Paramount+ series, COYOTE, in which he also produced. Up next, he will appear in THE SENIOR, an independent feature directed by Rod Lurie and produced by Mark Ciardi, based on the inspiring true story of 59-year-old Mike Flynt, who returned to college to play football during his final year.

Demonstrating exceptional range, Chiklis is also known for his role as The Thing/Ben Grimm in the Fantastic Four franchise. His additional film credits include Don’t Look Up, Eagle Eye, The Three Stooges, and Wired.

As he continues his work in front of the camera, Chiklis is also expanding his career behind it, with several directing projects currently in development and production.

ROD LURIE (Director)

Rod Lurie is the director of the upcoming films “The Senior” starring Michael Chiklis and Mary Stuart Masterson, and “Lucky Strike” starring Scott Eastwood, Aunjanue Ellis- Taylor, and Colin Hanks. “Lucky Strike” reunites Eastwood with Lurie after he starred alongside Caleb Landry Jones and Orlando Bloom in Lurie’s prior film, “The Outpost,” the critically-acclaimed retelling of the Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan, based on CNN chief correspondent Jake Tapper’s bestselling nonfiction book of the same name.

Lurie is also known for writing and directing the widely-praised Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominated political thriller “The Contender,” starring Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Gary Oldman and Christian Slater. The film was also honored by the Broadcast Film Critics with the first-ever Alan J. Pakula Award.

Subsequently, he wrote and directed, among others, the films “Straw Dogs,” a remake of the 1971 classic starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, and Alexander Skarsgard, “Nothing But the Truth,” starring Kate Beckinsale, Alan Alda, and Matt Dillon, “Resurrecting the Champ,” starring Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett, and directed “The Last Castle,” which starred Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, and Mark Ruffalo.

In television, Lurie created and executive-produced “Line of Fire,” a one-hour FBI drama for ABC, and “Commander In Chief,” which was nominated for the Best Drama Series Golden Globe, and for which Geena Davis won the Best Actress Golden Globe for her depiction of the first female President of the United States.

Lurie made his film writing and directing debut in 1998 with the dramatic short “Four Second Delay,” which won the Best Short Film award at the Atlanta Film Festival and the Crested Butte Reel Fest. The film also won the Prix du Jury at the Festival of American Cinema in Deauville, France. Lurie followed in 2000 with his first feature film, “Deterrence,” a drama about America coming to the brink of nuclear war, starring Kevin Pollak and Timothy Hutton. Before he segued to filmmaking, Lurie graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1984 and went on to serve for four years as a Combat Arms officer in the U.S. Army. After the military, Lurie first enjoyed success as a film critic and entertainment reporter, breaking into journalism as a reporter for the New York Daily News, and was also a film critic and interviewer for Channel 12 in Fairfield, Connecticut. There, he was a frequent contributor to such magazines as Premiere, Movieline and Entertainment Weekly.

After moving to Los Angeles, Lurie worked as a film critic, investigative reporter and contributing editor to Los Angeles Magazine from 1990-1995.

As an investigative reporter in the entertainment industry, Lurie’s discovery of unethical and illegal practices of tabloid newspapers gained him national exposure on programs such as “60 Minutes” and “Nightline.”

He spent the next four years as the film critic for 790 AM KABC Radio in Los Angeles, where his top-rated movie review show entertained Southern California moviegoers every Saturday from 1995 to 1999. His on-air guests included: Tom Hanks, James Woods, Billy Bob Thornton, Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Landau, James Cameron and Mel Gibson. In addition, Lurie authored the book Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, published by Pantheon in 1995.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the bestselling novelist Kyra Davis.

DR. EMILY ROXWORTHY, PhD, Dean of Dramatic Arts (Moderator)

Emily Roxworthy is a scholar-artist with degrees in theatre arts, literature, and performance studies from Cornell University (MA) and Northwestern University (BS and PhD). She was formerly on the Theatre & Dance faculty of the University of California, San Diego, where she also served as Associate Vice Chancellor of Faculty Diversity & Equity, Provost of Earl Warren College, and Associate Dean of the Graduate Division. Her research and creative interests include roleplay training, intercultural theatre, digital media, and performance in higher education.

Dr. Roxworthy is the founder and artistic director of Workplace Interactive Theatre (WIT), a theatre company that emerged from a 2014 University of California Office of the President’s commission to create diversity training for all chairs and deans on the ten UC campuses using documentary theatre-based improvisational workshops. She is also the creator of an educational video game prototype that was twice funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH); based on her historical research, Drama in the Delta recreates life in one of the Japanese American internment camps from World War II using digital roleplay technology.

Dr. Roxworthy’s first book, The Spectacle of Japanese American Trauma: Racial Performativity in World War II, was published by the University of Hawaii Press in 2008 and received the Barnard Hewitt Award Honorable Mention from the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR). Her second book, The Theatrical Professoriate: Contemporary Higher Education and Its Academic Dramas, was published by Routledge in 2020. Her scholarly articles have received research awards from ASTR and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) and she was the recipient of a 2012 Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award and a 2015 Inclusive Excellence Award from UC San Diego.

About Outside the Box [Office]

Outside the Box [Office] is a weekly showcase for upcoming releases highlighting world cinema, documentary and independent film titles. The series draws from around the globe to present movies that may challenge, inspire or simply entertain.

To view the calendar of screenings, click here

To SUBSCRIBE to our MAILING LIST for upcoming free screenings and events, e-mail the word "Subscribe" to: aago@cinema.usc.edu
 

Check-In & Reservations

This program is open to all eligible individuals. The USC School of Cinematic Arts operates all of its programs and activities consistent with the University’s Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.

This screening is free of charge and open to the public. A reservation confirmation will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 6:30 P.M.

All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.

Accessibility Needs

Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to attend this event may contact Alessandro Ago, Assistant Dean, Programming and Special Events, at aago@cinema.usc.edu or 213-740-2330. It is requested that individuals requiring accommodations or auxiliary aids such as sign language interpreters and alternative format materials notify us at least seven days prior to the event. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations in an effective and timely manner.

Parking

On-campus parking at the University of Southern California is limited. We recommend buying a day pass for the Royal Street Structure, located at the intersection of Royal Street and W. Jefferson Blvd. Parking passes are $20/car. For more information about parking at USC, please visit USC Transportation Website:

https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/daily-and-hourly-parking/
https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/about-us/entrance-hours/

Contact Information

Name: Alessandro Ago
Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu