Grant Cogswell
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Grant Cogswell (born October 24, 1967) is an eccentric screenwriter, independent film producer journalist, poet and political activist, known mostly to residents of Seattle, Washington.
Cogswell coauthored the Seattle Monorail Initiative, a proposal to build a citywide monorail transit system, which was voted into law in November 1997. The agency created by the law survived four challenges at the ballot; a fifth and final challenge (2005) was successful in defeating the project after questions were raised about the financing of the $1.7 billion plan.
In 2001, Cogswell campaigned for Seattle City Council against incumbent Richard McIver. Though at the outset the chances of success were rated low by the media, Cogswell was recognized as a legitimate challenger, his hopes dashed by the occurrence of the primary election just seven days after the attacks of 9/11.
In 2005, Cogswell's campaign manager in the race, Phil Campbell, published an account of the campaign, Zioncheck for President: A True Story of Idealism and Madness in American Politics, published by Nation Books. Film rights to the book were purchased by producer/director Stephen Gyllenhaal, and production began on his adaptation under the title Grassroots in June 2010. The film stars Joel David Moore as Cogswell, and Jason Biggs as Campbell. The book's original title came from a book-length poem Cogswell was writing at the time of the election, which was an elegy for Seattle congressman Marion Zioncheck who went insane after his political humiliation and committed suicide in 1936.
Cogswell entered the movie business himself in 2005 after writing a feature-length screenplay, Cthulhu, based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Starring Tori Spelling, the film appeared in limited theatrical release in the U.S. in 2008 and is available on DVD.
Cogswell renounced his previously profound attachment to the city of Seattle (he has the city logo tattooed on his left biceps) and relocated to Mexico City in 2006.
[edit] External links
- Grant Cogswell at the Internet Movie Database
- Annie Wagner, Oh, the Horror: The Making of 'Cthulhu' The Stranger, September 15 – September 21, 2005.
- Zioncheck for President on Amazon.com
- Trevor Griffey, A Hero's Haunting: Long-dead Congressman helps writer-activist soldier on, Real Change, May 3, 2001, Interview with Cogswell about Zioncheck
- Josh Feit, Folk Rock, The Stranger, October 18 – October 24, 2001. During Cogswell's city council campaign.
- Walt Crowley, Monorail, Seattle -- A Snapshot History, HistoryLink, originally published July 4, 2000, last updated July 11, 2005.
