Cindy Cowan
Encyclopedia
Cindy Cowan is an American film producer
and songwriter
.
Cowan graduated from Tulane University
and attended graduate courses toward a master's degree in Psychology at Harvard. Her producing career began as a producer and writer for a CBS News
affiliate in Miami, Florida.
In 1995, Cowan co-founded Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) with Graham King
. During her tenure as president, IEG had successes that included: an Emmy nomination for Rent-A-Kid
starring Leslie Neilson; Emmy, Golden Globe and People's Choice nominations for If These Walls Could Talk
; a United Nations
Award for Savior
starring Dennis Quaid
; and Oscar winning Traffic
starring Michael Douglas
. Additional projects produced by Cowan included Very Bad Things
and Robert Altman
's Dr. T & the Women
.
In 1999, Cowan sold her two-thirds stake in IEG to Splendid Films and started Cindy Cowan Entertainment where she produced Scorched, and Fifty Dead Men Walking
.
As a songwriter and lyricist, Cowan has written songs for film and TV; an album title track for Engelbert Humperdinck
, a chart topping hit This Love is Forever for R&B artist Howard Hewett
, and several songs for Pamala Stanley
.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Cowan graduated from Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
and attended graduate courses toward a master's degree in Psychology at Harvard. Her producing career began as a producer and writer for a CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
affiliate in Miami, Florida.
In 1995, Cowan co-founded Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) with Graham King
Graham King
Graham King, OBE is a British film producer. He is also President and CEO of Initial Entertainment Group. He is best known for his Academy Award winning 2006 crime thriller film The Departed, which was awarded the Best Picture Oscar at the 79th Academy Awards.King was appointed Officer of the...
. During her tenure as president, IEG had successes that included: an Emmy nomination for Rent-A-Kid
Rent-a-Kid
Rent-a-Kid is a 1995 American comedy film. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, and Matt McCoy.-Plot:Cliff Haber runs an orphanage, and decides to go on a vacation. He has his father, Harry Haber, run the orphanage while he is away...
starring Leslie Neilson; Emmy, Golden Globe and People's Choice nominations for If These Walls Could Talk
If These Walls Could Talk
If These Walls Could Talk is a 1996 made for television movie, broadcast on HBO. It follows the plights of three different women and their experiences with abortion. Each of the three stories takes place in the same house, 22 years each: 1952, 1974, and 1996. All three segments were co-written by...
; a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Award for Savior
Savior (film)
Savior is a 1998 war film starring Dennis Quaid, Stellan Skarsgård, Nastassja Kinski, and Nataša Ninković. It is about an American mercenary escorting a Serbian woman and her newborn child to a United Nations safe zone during the Bosnian War and Bosnian Genocide.- Plot :Joshua Rose , a State...
starring Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
; and Oscar winning Traffic
Traffic (2000 film)
Traffic is a 2000 American crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker. Their stories are edited together throughout the film, although some of the...
starring Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
. Additional projects produced by Cowan included Very Bad Things
Very Bad Things
Very Bad Things is a 1998 black comedy directed by Peter Berg, based on the book by Gene Brewer. It stars Jon Favreau, Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Leland Orser.-Plot:...
and Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
's Dr. T & the Women
Dr. T & the Women
Dr. T & the Women is a 2000 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Altman. It stars Richard Gere as wealthy gynecologist Dr. Sullivan Travis and Helen Hunt, Farrah Fawcett, Laura Dern, Shelley Long, Tara Reid, Kate Hudson and Liv Tyler as the various "women" that encompass his everyday...
.
In 1999, Cowan sold her two-thirds stake in IEG to Splendid Films and started Cindy Cowan Entertainment where she produced Scorched, and Fifty Dead Men Walking
Fifty Dead Men Walking
Fifty Dead Men Walking is a 2008 English-language crime thriller film written and directed by Kari Skogland. It is a loose adaptation of Martin McGartland's 1997 autobiography of the same name...
.
As a songwriter and lyricist, Cowan has written songs for film and TV; an album title track for Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
, a chart topping hit This Love is Forever for R&B artist Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett is an American R&B and gospel singer and former lead vocalist of the R&B group Shalamar.Raised in Akron, Ohio, Hewett moved to Los Angeles. He would eventually meet Soul Train dancer and future first wife Rainey Riley-Cunningham, then a secretary of the show's creator and original...
, and several songs for Pamala Stanley
Pamala Stanley
Pamala Stanley is a Disco, Hi-NRG, Club/Dance and Dance-pop singer from Norfolk, Virginia, United States. She scored many dance chart and dance radio hits from the late 1970s to the late 1980s...
.