The Mighty Macs (2009/2011)

THE MIGHTY MACS is based on the incredible true story of the 1971-72 Immaculata College team that started in obscurity but became the original Cinderella story in women's basketball. This team of trailblazers went from barely making that inaugural tournament to the first dynasty in their game. And Cathy Rush, the woman that was ahead of her time, became immortalized when she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Long Synopsis

It's 1971. Cathy Rush is a woman ahead of her time ... and she's about to embark on an adventure for the ages. A new era is dawning in the country and in collegiate athletics, where a national champion will be crowned for the first time in women's basketball.

In the lead up to this historical season, major universities are preparing their game plans to win that first title. Meanwhile a tiny all-women's Catholic college in Philadelphia has a more modest goal: find a coach before the season begins. Providentially, Cathy Rush is about to find Immaculata College.

Recently married, Cathy is dealing with the aftermath of a truncated playing career. While cultural norms would have her staying at home and starting a family, she's willing to do the hard work necessary to help her new team reach their goals--or perhaps she's just trying to achieve her unfulfilled dreams through them.

From the beginning, her challenges are as imposing as the big-school teams Immaculata will face on the court. Cathy learns there is no gymnasium on campus, she receives little support from the school's Mother Superior, and the school is in dire financial straits. To top it off, she may not even have enough players to field a team!

While it appears the Macs don't have a prayer, all hope is not lost. With the help of Sister Sunday, a spunky assistant coach, and the support of a booster club of elderly nuns, Coach Rush creates a new game plan that just might bring the team--and the school--together.

Will this pioneer disrupt cultural norms and spur her rag-tag team to unexpected heights? Or will her hard-driving ways create a wedge between the coach and everyone around her? One thing's for certain: there's never been anyone like Cathy Rush and Immaculata will never be the same!

Director's Statement

If you examine the history of inspirational sports movies, you will conclude that the most successful films in this genre typically use sport as a metaphor. Miracle wasn't just about hockey, it was about the Cold War and the impending fall of Communism. Remember the Titans wasn't just about football, it was about race relations. Similarly, The Mighty Macs isn't just about basketball, it's about the equality of dreams and how a young coach would not only unite a team but also change a generation of young women. So how was the film version of the Mighty Macs born?

In the early 2000's, I was business partners with Gavin O'Connor. He was a friend and a teammate on two Ivy League Championship football teams at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2001, we wrote and produced a TV pilot for the WB Network called "Murphy's Dozen." It was based loosely on my upbringing in suburban Philadelphia and what it was like growing up as one of 12 kids. We shot the pilot, but we were not greenlit for a TV series. We lost out to Smallville. It was disheartening, but prepared me for the sobering reality of dealing with Hollywood. In 2003, Gavin was hired to Direct the movie Miracle for Disney. It was a great opportunity for me to examine the entire process of making a major studio film. After the movie was released, the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an article about our partnership and the success of his film. A few days later, I received an email from Marie Moughan, Director of Marketing and Communications at Immaculata University. She introduced herself and simply asked if I thought the story of "The Mighty Macs" was worthy of a feature film. Ironically, three years earlier I had clipped an article I read about the team and added it to my "development file" AKA - things I will get to later. Was I familiar with the story of the Mighty Macs -- absolutely! As you may already know, the gym at Immaculata University burned down in the early 70's. So the team would travel from parish to parish looking for an open gym. When I was 10 years old, I was fortunate enough to watch them practice in my grade school gym at St. Anastasia in Newtown Square, Pa. I remember seeing Cathy Rush for the first time -- the swagger, the style, the charisma. The team was incredibly gifted and cohesive. I was very impressed.

As a Screenwriter, I needed to go through an evaluation process to determine "what is the film about?" I know the story, but is it worthy of a feature film? I was looking for several elements -- compelling plot, great lead character, depth of supporting characters, obstacles faced, the impact the head coach had on her players, the social affects of the story, and most importantly -- how does it end?

When I say, "how does it end?" The obvious answer is "they win!" But quite frankly, I was more interested in what happened to these girls/this team after their playing days were over. More specifically, "what was the immortality of Cathy Rush's influence?" I was happy to discover that the impact the coach had on her players allowed them to succeed beyond their playing days. Cathy Rush was someone who taught, inspired, mentored, and affirmed. Some of her players went on to be doctors, lawyers and teachers. Several went on to coach basketball in college and in the WNBA -- namely, Theresa Grentz (Illinois), Rene Portland (Penn State) and Marianne Stanley (Old Dominion and the WNBA).

It would take several months of due diligence to give me comfort that we had a solid foundation to build on. Finally, I asked Marie Moughan to arrange for a meeting with Cathy Rush at Kildare's Pub in King of Prussia, Pa. My lunch date with Cathy was not great. She told me she had been down this road before and it always ended with disappointment. In 1979, Cathy was contacted by several production companies and writers about making a TV movie, and no one ever delivered on their promises. In fact, Lindsey Wagner was rumored to be one of the potential stars. So, I could understand why, after all these years, she would be so guarded. The most difficult part of being a "Producer" is the speculation and uncertainty of pursuing a project, developing the project, and then having it fall it apart for various business reasons. It would take a few more meetings with Cathy to get her to agree to cooperate. Once she did, it would require other legal approvals from Immaculata University and the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

At this stage, I was informed by the University and the IHM Sisters that they would not grant me the rights until they read the script. I was disappointed but understood their position. The last thing they wanted was a "Hollywood Producer/Outsider" who would tell the story in a way that was inconsistent with their teachings. Nevertheless, I was prepared to spend the next 18 months writing the screenplay with no promise that it would ever get approved. Why? Because I am a product of the IHM teachers. The IHM Sisters taught me in grade school, and in high school at Cardinal O'Hara. Aside from my parents, the foundation of my faith can be attributed to three Sisters -- Sister Maria Loyola, Sister Miriam Carmel, and Sister Pat Spingler. I was so grateful for their influence, I sent my three sons to one of the few remaining schools where they teach -- St Aloysius Academy. So, I wasn't an outsider.

Emerson once wrote, "Every man I meet is my superior in some way." I am a big believer in surrounding myself with experienced people. One of my dear friends is Anthony Gargano. Most people know him as "the Cuz" and the host of his own Sports Radio Show in Philadelphia on 94WIP. He was also a journalist for the New York Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and the Associated Press. When it was time to dig further into the story of the Mighty Macs, I asked Anthony to help me interview Cathy and the members of the original team. I knew I could trust him to be my reporter. I wanted him to dig deeper than the historical accounts of the story. There were some basic questions I provided him but I also wanted him to "peel the onion."

Over the next few months, he would interview Cathy, several of the players and some of the Mighty Macs nuns. We would listen to the interviews, take notes, then lay out index cards with different subjects -- themes, characters, character arcs, historical backdrop, "Cathy-isms," movie moments, etc. Almost one year after meeting with Cathy, we finally had a blue print for the movie. During one final meeting with Cathy, I laid out my vision for the film and how I would stitch this tapestry together. At last, Cathy trusted us and had comfort that we were committed to the project and she would option her Life Rights to us.

Being a screenwriter is a lot like creating the Sunday crossword puzzle. Start with a theme, fill in the longest clues first (the plot), and build around it. The story of the Mighty Macs is told from Cathy Rush's point of view. Before I typed the first word for the screenplay, I taped the theme to the top of my computer "the equality of dreams." The zeitgeist of the early 70's was one of traditional roles for husband and wife. In 1970, the median age of married women was 23. On paper, Cathy Rush was a statistic. In her heart, she was a woman with a dream. She was haunted by two events in her past. The first event was when her high school cancelled the girls basketball season her senior year. Not only was it unfair, it was discriminatory. And the second event was when she was cut by her college coach in her junior year at West Chester State University in Pennsylvania. Her freshman and sophomore year, she was the star. But, the personalities of Coach and Player weren't working, so she was cut. Cathy clearly had some unfinished business to resolve before she wanted to start a family.

Cathy married Ed Rush when she was 22. Ed was two years older and already started his career as a referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Ed was an alpha male who grew up playing football, basketball and baseball.

As I was writing the screenplay, I would always have visions of who could play the lead. After completing the script, my first goal was to find an actress to play Cathy Rush. In my opinion, the real Cathy Rush was the "total package" -- sassy, strong, charismatic, attractive, stylish, and a natural leader. She was a woman ahead of her time.

I was very familiar with Carla Gugino's body of work -- Spy Kids, Night at the Museum, Sin City, etc. However, it was her work on a short-lived TV series I remembered most, Karen Sisco. This is where I saw her swagger. At the time I was casting, Carla was starring opposite Blythe Danner in a Tennessee Williams play in New York. Her role in the play was very different that the Head Coach of an all-girls Catholic college in 1972, but her fiery commitment to the character was what I was looking for. Once I found the Coach, I could build the rest of the team.

At this point, I felt like the General Manager of a sports franchise. I asked Carla to recommend other talent for the lead roles. She recommended Marley Shelton and Ellen Burstyn. We cast both. For the Ed Rush role, I was looking for a "man's man." In 1972, the relationship between husband and wife was much more traditional than it is today. I thought David Boreanaz was the perfect fit. Carla agreed.

When it came to casting for the seven girls on the team, I would not allow any of the actresses to read for roles until I saw them play basketball. My philosophy was simple - if the audience couldn't buy-in to their athletic talent, they would never buy-in to the story. We auditioned over 500 girls in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. Our biggest challenge was finding "athletes" who looked like they played in the 70's. The athletic build of the modern day female athlete is much different today than it was 40 years ago. For all of the girls cast as team players, The Mighty Macs would be their feature debut.

For supporting roles, I was very committed to casting local talent. As a native Philadelphian, I was very familiar with the richness of talent in the area. Personally, I am not afraid to take risks, so I like giving local actors an opportunity to shine. As I look at the finished film, I am very proud of the performances from top to bottom.

THE MIGHTY MACS stars Carla Gugino as Cathy Rush; David Boreanaz as her husband, NBA referee Ed Rush; Marley Shelton as the young Assistant Coach, Sister Sunday; and Academy Award, Emmy Award and Tony Award winner Ellen Burstyn as Mother St. John. The film was written, directed, and produced by Tim Chambers. The film's executive producers are Pat Croce, the former president of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, and Vince Curran, a successful real estate entreprenuer and former basketball star at Penn. Curran and Chambers are founders and partners of Quaker Media.

-- Tim Chambers