Exclusive: Why a Film About Ted Kennedy’s Crime Has Finally Been Made

One of the latest big releases out of Hollywood is a drama focusing on one of the darkest and most controversial periods in the life of the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

In the summer of 1969, Kennedy was involved in a car accident that led to the death of a young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne, a 28-year-old campaign strategist who had worked for his late brother Robert. She was riding with him in the front seat of the car he was driving after they left a dance together, and she was trapped inside the submerged car after it plunged off a bridge into a channel. Kennedy escaped and swam free onto the shore — but Kopechne perished.

Kennedy — who was 37 at the time and married — left the scene of the accident. He didn’t report the tragedy for many hours, and thus began one of the biggest political scandals in American history.

In the end, Kennedy was given a two-month suspended sentence. He continued to serve in the U.S. Senate (he’d been elected two years before Chappaquiddick) as a reliable liberal until his death in 2009.

To this day, many people believe Kennedy walked away from a serious crime with little more than a slap on the wrist because of two things: his last name and his leftist politics.

The mainstream media basically ignored the grisly story for decades — and some pretended it never happened — but lo and behold, it’s now received the big-screen treatment.

Jason Clarke (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “Terminator Genisys”) has taken on the lead role of Kennedy, and the cast is rounded out with familiar names like Kate Mara, Clancy Brown, Olivia Thirlby, Ed Helms and Bruce Dern.

LifeZette had the opportunity to talk with “Chappaquiddick” producer Mark Ciardi — who was born in New Jersey but now works in Los Angeles — about the project and how exactly it came to fruition at a time that Hollywood is arguably more protective of leftist politics and politicians than ever before.

After over a decade of producing such hit films as “The Rookie” and “Invincible” for Disney, Ciardi went off on his own to make independent films through his company, Apex Entertainment, three years ago.

A friend, Chris Fenton, brought him the script for “Chappaquiddick,” which was written by Andrew Logan and Taylor Allen.

Ciardi recalls Fenton — a producer on the film — telling him about the script: “I have no idea how [this] town is going to respond to it.”

Ciardi had the same concerns about trying to sell a movie that hardly painted Ted Kennedy in a good light, in a town that had long lionized the man. Still, Ciardi was convinced the script was good enough to cut through any political hang-ups.

Related: ‘Chappaquiddick’ Looks to Expose Ted Kennedy’s Crime

“What we knew is we had a great script,” Ciardi told LifeZette. “We didn’t want to make it some right-wing movie. We wanted to be down the middle, tell the facts, and not lean any way.”

Many people responded positively to the script, and the finished film is already earning raves from both right- and left-leaning outlets.

“It read like a thriller,” Ciardi said about the script.

The complex character of Ted Kennedy turned out to be a much-coveted role for many — but Australian actor Jason Clarke won out in the end.

“Jason was one of the first people to meet [with us] and we were blown away,” revealed Ciardi. “There was a fearlessness about Jason.”

Ciardi believes it may have been Clarke’s Australian background that helped him tackle the story in a more objective way than many American actors ever could.

To ensure they were as accurate as possible about what actually happened, Ciardi said the filmmakers talked to the scuba diver who recovered the body of Mary Jo Kopechne all those years ago. Though the details were difficult to listen to, it was a necessary part of the process for Ciardi and all others involved.

“Mary Jo Kopechne is finally a real person [in this story],” said Ciardi.

“Our contention is that she was probably alive in that car for a period of time and it’s sad because he [Kennedy] went past a house 75 yards away with the light on,” said Ciardi about the events of that fateful 1969 night. “I think at that point it was about self-preservation [for him].”

In the larger biography of Ted Kennedy, Mary Jo Kopechne’s name is too often forgotten — so the filmmakers screened the movie for some of the Kopechne family.

“They really appreciated the fact that Mary Jo is finally a real person [in this story],” said Ciardi.

“Chappquiddick” is in theaters now.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette on April 6 and has been updated. 

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.