Ciardi

John Ciardi, reviewing it in The New York Times, wrote, “Mr. Wagoner knows how to see both the thing precisely and the thing in relation.”

Mark Ciardi, a longtime Hollywood producer who specializes in sports movies, was one of the main producers on the film.

An illustration from “The Monster Den, or Look ������ Happened at My House — and to It,” by John Ciardi, which the Book Review chose as one of the best illustrated children’s books in 1966.

“He’s almost like a child. He wants to deal with it in his own way,” Mr. Ciardi said.

Film producer Mark Ciardi loves an underdog story, which explains entries in his IMDb registry such as “The Rookie,” “Secretariat” and “Million Dollar Arm.”