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Patrick Creadon

Patrick Creadon

Director, writer, actor and cinematographer, also producer · Born May 1, 1967 (59) · Chicago, Illinois, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Patrick Creadon (born May 1, 1967) is an American documentary filmmaker, best known for the documentary film Wordplay. A profile of New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz, Wordplay premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and became the second-highest grossing documentary of that year. His second film, I.O.U.S.A., an examination of America's debt problem which forecast the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was later named one of film critic Roger Ebert's Top 5 documentaries of the year. Since 2006, Creadon is one of only three filmmakers to release multiple films that were ranked within the Top 100 highest-grossing documentaries of all time. The other two filmmakers are Michael Moore (Sicko, Capitalism: A Love Story) and Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud, and Waiting for 'Superman' ). Description above from the Wikipedia article Patrick Creadon, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 1, 1967 (59)
From
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Works as
Director, writer, actor and cinematographer, also producer
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 29% in 30 days

What are Patrick Creadon's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
42%
Self
21%
Ideas
14%
Bonds
9%
Morality
9%
Power
4%
Community5 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 8 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 8 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 8 · Charged 1 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 8 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 8 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
6
Hopeful
5
Warm
4
Joyful
3
Thrilling
2
Other
5

How their films linger

Feel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet4
  • Ambiguous2
  • Cyclical1

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 Patrick Creadon's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Patrick Creadon'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

17 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.

  • The King of Color(2025)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Loyola Project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director

  • Hesburgh(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story(2019)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Behind the Curve(2018)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Catholics vs. Convicts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director · as Narrator (voice)

  • Ocean Stories: Wyland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director · Writer

  • All Work All Play: The Pursuit of eSports Glory Live (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • If You Build It(2013)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Superheroes(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • 30 for 30(2009)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows

  • Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants(2009)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • I.O.U.S.A. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Writer

  • Wordplay(2006)

    Director · Cinematographer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit(1999)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • Hijacking Hollywood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Stand In

  • Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn(1982)

    as Tom Sawyer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 16 titles from 1982 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Wordplay (2006)

$3.2M worldwide

Highest rated

Wordplay (2006)

Midcredits 91st

Most popular right now

Behind the Curve (2018)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 16: 1 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting13 of 16: 7 only directing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score90thWriting5 of 16: 0 only writing, 5 with another roleProducing1 of 16: 1 only producing, 0 with another roleCinematography2 of 16: 0 only cinematography, 2 with another roleOther crew1 of 16: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

16 titles, 6 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

1980s1 · acting1990s2 · crew2000s4 · crew2010s7 · 1 acting · 7 crew2020s2 · crew

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 Patrick Creadon's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

44thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director

Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story (2019)

85th percentile spread · 20% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

30 for 30 (2009)

Midcredits 96th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 62/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

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.

Who does Patrick Creadon work with?

People who share at least 2 of Patrick Creadon's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Christine O'Malley shares the most, 8.

Writers

Composers and editors

Producers