From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wayne Kramer (born 1965) is a South African screenwriter, film producer, storyboard artist and film director. Kramer has written and directed films such as The Cooler, Crossing Over, Blazeland and Running Scared. He also wrote the screenplay for the film Mindhunters, but the final script was heavily rewritten by others and bore little resemblance to Kramer's original work. He was also one of the filmmakers interviewed for the Kirby Dick documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated, in which he discusses the apparent absurdity of the fact The Cooler was given an NC-17 certificate by the MPAA simply due to a few seconds long shot of its lead actress' pubic hair. In 2007, Kramer directed Crossing Over, a Traffic-like ensemble drama about immigration in Los Angeles that incorporated the storyline from Kramer's 1995 short film of the same name. Kramer's first feature The Cooler was selected for competition in the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Kramer was nominated for a 2004 Golden Satellite Award and a 2004 Edgar Allan Poe Award (along with Frank Hannah) for his screenplay to The Cooler, which also received a 2003 Special Mention For Excellence in Filmmaking from the National Board of Review. Description above from the Wikipedia article Wayne Kramer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Johannesburg-Kew, South Africa
- Writer, director and producer, also actor
- 7 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
What are Wayne Kramer's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 5
Grounded 4 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1
Casual 2 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 2
A split, not a type: Resolved 3 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Wayne Kramer's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Wayne Kramer's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
9 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Algren(2014)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Pawn Shop Chronicles(2013)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Crossing Over(2009)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Running Scared(2006)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Mindhunters(2004)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
The Cooler(2003)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all filmsMy One and Only (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Honest Liar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 9 titles, 7 of them dated from 2003 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Mindhunters (2004)
Highest rated
I Am Paul Walker (2018)
Most popular right now
Mindhunters (2004)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Wayne Kramer's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 77th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 73rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 7 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 37/100 and the plot and story 38/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Wayne Kramer's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Wayne Kramer work with?
People who share at least 2 of Wayne Kramer's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; James Whitaker shares the most, 4.
Actors
- Paul WalkerShared titles: I Am Paul Walker (2018), Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013), Running Scared (2006)See all 3 shared titles with Paul Walker
- Maria BelloShared titles: This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006), The Cooler (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Maria Bello
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- James WhitakerShared titles: Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013), Crossing Over (2009), Running Scared (2006), The Cooler (2003)See all 4 shared titles with James Whitaker
- Arthur CoburnShared titles: Crossing Over (2009), Running Scared (2006), The Cooler (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Arthur Coburn
- Mark IshamShared titles: Crossing Over (2009), Running Scared (2006), The Cooler (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Mark Isham
Producers
- Matt LuberShared titles: I Am Paul Walker (2018), Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013), Running Scared (2006)See all 3 shared titles with Matt Luber
- Bob WeinsteinShared titles: Crossing Over (2009), Mindhunters (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Bob Weinstein
- Harvey WeinsteinShared titles: Crossing Over (2009), Mindhunters (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Harvey Weinstein
- Michael A. PierceShared titles: Running Scared (2006), The Cooler (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Michael A. Pierce