Andrew Kramer is the latest movie executive to be under investigation for sexual harassment of a subordinate. As more and more men and women come forward with accusations of sexual harassment, the speculation continues to grow. It seems that few executives in the film industry are immune. Andrew Kramer joins the growing list of executives who’ve lost their positions including Harvey Weinstein, executives from Nickelodeon and Amazon Studios and NBC News analyst Mark Haperin.
Here are 5 things you didn’t know about Andrew Kramer.
Who is Andrew Kramer
Andrew Kramer is an attorney who has served as an executive in the film and theater industry for much of his career. Kramer has held high powered positions with The Weinstein Company and Lionsgate. Most recently it was announced that Andrew Kramer was stepping down as COO of Lionsgate due to restructuring within the company. Due to company acquisitions executive Joe Drake has returned to Lionsgate as co-president with Patrick Wachsberger. Drake left Lionsgate to launch the company Good Universe in 2012 and Lionsgate has bought Good Universe. According to Lionsgate the restructuring is the only reason that Andrew Kramer left the company, but there is heavy speculation that it is not a coincidence as evidence of sexual harassment allegations have been leveled against Kramer.
The Weinstein Company
Andrew Kramer is a seasoned executive and worked for The Weinstein Company for seven years. His position at TWC was President of Business and Legal Affairs and general Council. While at The Weinstein Company Andrew Kramer worked on projects including “Django Unchained” and “Project Runway”. You’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard about the allegations leveled against former co-founder and owner of The Harvey Weinstein Company in the past month.
Lionsgate
Andrew Kramer was hired in the International Division of Lionsgate in April 2013. When Kramer was brought in as the Chief Operating Officer of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group and was charged with expanding the company’s international theatrical business. Lionsgate is one of the largest film companies in the United States and Canada and was the seventh highest grossing company in North America in 2015. During Andrew Kramer’s tenure at Liongate the company managed major Hollywood hit films including “The Hunger Games” franchise and 6 time Oscar winner “La La Land”.
Alleged sexual harassment
Andrew Kramer allegedly sexually harassed a woman who worked for Lionsgate at the Berlin International Film Festival last February. A senior Lionsgate executive witnessed an incident during the Festival that he thought was in inappropriate interaction between Kramer and a female assistant who works for Lionsgate. The assistant asked to be reassigned and her request was granted. An investigation was launched and inconclusive. Kramer has not commented on the issue and it is not clear that his resignation from Lionsgate was due to the incident or to the restructuring the company was going through this year.
Andrew Kramer’s future
What will become of Andrew Kramer’s career? Lionsgate is sticking to its story that Andrew Kramer was only let go as COO of the company because of major restructuring of Lionsgate. It is true that in recent years, the company has been growing and acquiring other companies, so it is not inconceivable that Kramer was just caught up in the crossfire. However, the timing is significant due to the growing number of accusations of sexual harassment against actors, directors, news analysts, film executives and others of high stature who may have taken advantage of subordinate men and women over decades. Perhaps Andrew Kramer is one of the few executives whose career could still rebound.
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