Wayne Kramer (born 26 May 1965) is a South African-American filmmaker and storyboard artist. Kramer has written and directed films such as the 2003 film The Cooler, which garnered an Oscar nomination for its star Alec Baldwin, as well as two Golden Globe nominations for Baldwin and Maria Bello. He also adapted his 1995 short film “Crossing Over” into a feature-length version which starred Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd and Jim Sturgess, and was released by the Weinstein Company in 2009. 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.

Career

Kramer first began directing with the 1992 film Blazeland, which was never completed. Kramer has since commented that the process was “an absolute nightmare from beginning to end” and that he has no plans to finish or release the film. His first official release, The Cooler, was selected for competition in the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Later the same year The Cooler received a 2003 “Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking” from the National Board of Review. A year later in 2004, Kramer was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award and an Edgar Allan Poe Award for the film’s screenplay.

In 2006, Kramer directed the fast-paced crime thriller, Running Scared for New Line Cinema. The film starred Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga, and Chazz Palminteri. Although Running Scared didn’t do all that well at the box office, it has gone on to become a hugely profitable DVD title for New Line/Warner Bros. and has achieved significant cult status in the few years since its release.

In 2006, Kramer was one of several 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.

Kramer directed Pawn Shop Chronicles, which was released on 12 July 2013. The film starred Vincent D’Onofrio, Chi McBride, Paul Walker, Kevin Rankin, Matt Dillon, Elijah Wood, and Brendan Fraser.

Filmography

• Blazeland (1992)
• Crossing Over (1996) – short film
• The Cooler (2003)
• Mindhunters (2005) – story and screenplay
• Running Scared (2006)
• Crossing Over (2009)
• Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013)