Rich Cowan

Rich Cowan
Born	Richard Martin Cowan (1956-02-07) February 7, 1956 Spokane, Washington
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Washington State University (BA, MS)
Occupation	CEO and Co-Founder, North by Northwest Productions Politician
Political party	Democratic
Website	Campaign Website

Rich Cowan (born February 7, 1956) was the 2012 Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington's 5th congressional district. He is also an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He co-founded North by Northwest Productions, a video and film production company based in Spokane, Washington. After starting the company in 1990 with a group of partners, he served as its CEO for 22 years, launching the movie industry in the Inland Northwest and producing more than 40 feature films.

Early life and education

Rich Cowan was born in Spokane, Washington to George and Betty Cowan. His father served in the United States Air Force, and his mother was a school teacher. He attended Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism, cum laude, and a Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition. While in Pullman, Cowan worked as a fire fighter and emergency medical technician, living in the firehouse for six years. Cowan earned his pilot's license in high school and worked as a pilot in Alaska while in college.

Television career

Cowan's career in media began in 1979 at Spokane television station KHQ-TV, the local NBC affiliate, on its PM Magazine show. He eventually became the station's Community Affairs Director. In 1989 Cowan produced the TV documentary about then-Congressman and House Majority Leader Tom Foley, titled "The Gentleman from Washington." Cowan spent a week with Congressman Foley taping the video and gathering interviews with colleagues such as House Minority Leader Robert Michel, Rep. Leon Panetta and Senator Dan Evans. Cowan won two Emmy awards from the Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences while with KHQ.

North by Northwest Productions

Cowan co-founded the video and film production company North by Northwest Productions in 1990. The company originally specialized in commercial and industrial video production, but quickly began expanding its business. The company now contains five separate divisions as well as a studio in Boise, Idaho. In 1995, North by Northwest produced its first feature-length film. Following on that success, the company produced its first breakout movie, "The Basket," in 1999. Cowan directed, produced, and co-wrote the feature which won several awards, including Best of the Fest Family/Children from the Breckenridge Festival of Film, Directors Gold Medal Award from the International Family Film Festival, and Best Family Movie of the Year from the Movie Guide Awards. He has since been involved with over 40 additional feature film projects, including producer credits on Lies and illusions, Norman, and Camilla Dickinson.

Political career

In February 2012, Cowan announced his candidacy for Washington State's 5th Congressional District. In May, he received the official nomination of the Washington State Democratic Party to run for that seat. He ran against incumbent U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican. McMorris Rodgers had been serving as the U.S. Representative for the 5th District since 2005. In the primary, Cowan received 35.65% of the vote, enough to beat out two other primary contenders and face McMorris Rodgers in the general election. Cowan lost in the general, receiving 38.08% of the vote to McMorris Rodgers' 61.92%.

In 2014, Cowan ran against incumbent state senator Michael Baumgartner for Washington's 6th Legislative District senate seat. In the primary, Cowan received 42.69% of the primary vote and moved on to face Baumgartner in the general election. Cowan lost in the general, receiving roughly 43% of the vote to Baumgartner's 57%.

Filmography

Rich Cowan has been involved in over 40 feature film products.

Year	Film	Producer	Director	Writer	Other	Notes
1994	Hard Vice				Yes	Editor
1996	Navajo Blues	Yes			Yes	Supervising Producer, North by Northwest; Unit Production Manager
1997	Laws of Deception				Yes	Editor
1998	Matter of Trust				Yes	Editor
	Mel	Yes			Yes	Executive Producer, Post-Production Supervisor
1999	The Basket	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Editor
2000	The Giving Tree				Yes	Unit Production Manager; Production Coordinator
2001	Jazz Seen: The Life and Times of William Claxton	Yes				Executive Producer
2002	Whacked!	Yes
2003	The Big Empty	Yes				Line Producer
	Hangman's Curse	Yes
2004	The Making of the Passion of the Christ	Yes		Yes
	The Spider Wrangler: The Spiders of Hangman's Curse	Yes
	Frank Peretti: From Page to Screen	Yes
	Shadow of Fear		Yes
2005	Mozart and the Whale	Yes				Executive in Charge of Production
	The Cutter	Yes				Executive in Charge of Production
2006	The Choke	Yes				Producer, Executive Producer
	End Game	Yes				Executive in Charge of Production
	Home of the Brave	Yes				Production Executive
2007	Frank	Yes				Executive Producer
	A Thousand Years of Good Prayers	Yes				First Assistant Director
	The Family Holiday	Yes
2008	Dog Gone	Yes				Co-Producer
2009	Give 'Em Hell, Malone	Yes			Yes	Executive Producer, Unit Production Manager
	Lies & Illusions	Yes
	Falling Up	Yes				Executive Producer
	Wrong Turn at Tahoe	Yes			Yes	Unit Production Manager
2010	Norman	Yes
	Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!!	Yes
	Late Autumn	Yes				Executive Producer
	The Ward	Yes			Yes	Executive Producer, Unit Production Manager
	The Big Bang	Yes			Yes	Executive Producer, Unit Production Manager
2011	Thunderballs	Yes
	The Hit List	Yes			Yes	Actor (Uncredited)
	The River Murders	Yes	Yes
2012	Camilla Dickinson	Yes				Executive Producer
	Knights of Badassdom	Yes				Executive Producer

External links

• Official Campaign Website
• Cowan throws hat in ring for Congress Spokesman Review, Feb 11, 2012
• Rich Cowan at the Internet Movie Database