Episode 261 Step into the world of entertainment and entrepreneurship with Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated producer Cindy Cowan. In this inspiring episode, Cindy shares the lessons she’s learned from building an extraordinary career in the film industry and offers practical advice for women who are ready to pursue their biggest ambitions. From overcoming challenges in a competitive industry to developing confidence, resilience, and a strong entrepreneurial mindset, Cindy reveals what it truly takes to build a lasting career and create new opportunities. Whether you’re launching a business, growing your personal brand, or looking for motivation to take your next step, this conversation is filled with actionable insights and empowering stories. Tune in for an inspiring discussion on leadership, perseverance, and the power of believing in yourself as you create your own path to success. Guest Cindy Cowan is an Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated producer who co-founded Initial Entertainment Group (IEG) with Graham King in 1995. It became the leading film production and foreign sales company. From 1995 till its sale to Splendid Films in 2000, IEG had many successes including: an Emmy nomination for Rent-A-Kid, starring Leslie Nielson; Emmy, Golden Globe and People’s Choice nominations for If These Walls Could Talk, starring Cher, Sissy Spacek, Anne Heche and Demi Moore; and won a United Nations Award for Savior, starring Dennis Quaid. IEG also saw success with its production of Traffic, starring Michael Douglas and Benicio Del Toro; the film won Oscars for directing, adapted screenplay, editing, and best supporting actor. Additional projects produced by Ms. Cowan while at IEG include Very Bad Things, starring Cameron Diaz and Christian Slater; and the Robert Altman-directed Dr. T & the Women, starring Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Kate Hudson and Liv Tyler. Since forming her new production company, Cindy Cowan Entertainment, Cowan has produced Scorched, starring Woody Harrelson and Alicia Silverstone, executive produced Fifty Dead Men Walking, starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess; she also produced Red Lights starring Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, and Elizabeth Olsen. Directed by RodrigoCortes, Red Lights was the opening night premiere at Sundance, January 2012, and was the highest selling film at that festival. The trailer for thefilm was a viral sensation on release, earning over 34 million views (in comparison, box office smash “The Avengers” has 20 million). Recent credits include a southern crime thriller, Arkansas, starring Vince Vaughn and Liam Hemsworth as well as the Emmy-winning documentary called Miracle on 42nd Street featuring Alicia Keys. Cindy Cowan Entertainment will be undertaking more productions for television, including a historical drama called Ellis Island, a scripted series about immigration during the 1910’s with interest from Spike Lee (Malcolm X, Inside Man, Old Boy) to direct and Executive Produce. In 2019, Cowan co-founded the Omni-Cultural TV Fest alongside Kiki Melendez, which is the only TV festival backed by NATPE. When Cowan isn’t hard at work, she sits on the boards of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free instruments and lessons to underserved public schools,World Woman Foundation,which is a global community of women leaders committed to scale and accelerate the impact of one million women and girls by 2030 within long-term investments to expand skills, connections, capacity, and visibility . and Children Mending Hearts, a dynamic arts-based enrichment education program that helps empower disadvantaged youth, building empathy and global citizenry. Host Olyasha Novozhylova @notbasicblonde_ NotBasicBlonde Podcast @nbbpodcast
