Quirky movie captures Seattle's monorail battle - and more
SEATTLE - A movie is being made right now in Seattle that highlights a quirky part of our city's history.
The film, "Grassroots," tells the story of one of the Emerald City's most memorable political dramas - the battle to expand the monorail.
Now cameras are rolling recreating Seattle, 10 years ago, when the monorail battle was just beginning.
The film follows the unlikely campaign by Grant Cogswell to win a seat on the Seattle City Council and extend the monorail.
Cogswell's battle cry was that the original monorail was meant to be "the foundation for a much larger system and the time has come to build that larger system."
Actor Joel David Moore, who appeared in the the blockbuster "Avatar," plays the part of Cogswell.
"It's a fascinating story about he and his campaign manager, Phil Campbell, and their journey into politics," Moore says.
Jason Biggs from "American Pie" plays the campaign manager.
"It's about Seattle, and it's about the monorail - it's about getting it extended, and it's about sort of taking down the big bureaucracy of city politics," Biggs says.
Camera crews already have been shooting all over Seattle recreating our city around the turn of the 21st century.
"When 9/11 happened - so in a way this time period was kind of a coming of age for America," Biggs says.
At the time Cogswell was known for his dramatic campaigning - and Moore says he spent a lot of time with the local man he's bringing to the big screen.
"He came here for the shoot, and we had hours and hours of conversation - and it's fun because I get to bring a lot of my characteristics to it, because he's not a public figure," says Moore.
And now the story of the fight for a bigger monorail is about to be relived in theaters everywhere. There's no word yet on a release date yet.
The film, "Grassroots," tells the story of one of the Emerald City's most memorable political dramas - the battle to expand the monorail.
Now cameras are rolling recreating Seattle, 10 years ago, when the monorail battle was just beginning.
The film follows the unlikely campaign by Grant Cogswell to win a seat on the Seattle City Council and extend the monorail.
Cogswell's battle cry was that the original monorail was meant to be "the foundation for a much larger system and the time has come to build that larger system."
Actor Joel David Moore, who appeared in the the blockbuster "Avatar," plays the part of Cogswell.
"It's a fascinating story about he and his campaign manager, Phil Campbell, and their journey into politics," Moore says.
Jason Biggs from "American Pie" plays the campaign manager.
"It's about Seattle, and it's about the monorail - it's about getting it extended, and it's about sort of taking down the big bureaucracy of city politics," Biggs says.
Camera crews already have been shooting all over Seattle recreating our city around the turn of the 21st century.
"When 9/11 happened - so in a way this time period was kind of a coming of age for America," Biggs says.
At the time Cogswell was known for his dramatic campaigning - and Moore says he spent a lot of time with the local man he's bringing to the big screen.
"He came here for the shoot, and we had hours and hours of conversation - and it's fun because I get to bring a lot of my characteristics to it, because he's not a public figure," says Moore.
And now the story of the fight for a bigger monorail is about to be relived in theaters everywhere. There's no word yet on a release date yet.