James L. Brooks

James L. Brooks Movies and TV Shows

James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the CBS News broadcasts. He moved to Los Angeles in 1965 to work on David L. Wolper's documentaries. After being laid off he met producer Allan Burns who secured him a job as a writer on the series My Mother the Car. Brooks wrote for several shows before being hired as a story editor on My Friend Tony and later creating the series Room 222. Grant Tinker hired Brooks and Burns at MTM Productions to create The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970. The show, one of the first to feature an independent working woman as its lead character, was critically acclaimed and won Brooks several Primetime Emmy Awards. Brooks and Burns then created two successful spin-offs from Mary Tyler Moore in the shape of Rhoda (a comedy) and Lou Grant (a drama). Brooks left MTM Productions in 1978 to co-create the sitcom Taxi which, despite winning multiple Emmys, suffered from low ratings and was canceled twice. He moved into feature film work when he wrote and co-produced the 1979 film Starting Over. His next project was the critically acclaimed film Terms of Endearment, which he produced, directed and wrote, winning an Academy Award for all three positions. Basing his next film, Broadcast News, on his journalistic experiences the film earned him a further two Academy Award nominations. Although his 1994 work I'll Do Anything was hampered by negative press attention due to the cutting of all of its recorded musical numbers, As Good as It Gets (co-written with Mark Andrus) earned further praise. It was seven years until his next film, which came in the shape of 2004's Spanglish. His sixth film, How Do You Know, was released in 2010. Brooks also produced and mentored Cameron Crowe on Say Anything... (1989) and Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson on Bottle Rocket (1996). Although he did not intend to do so, Brooks returned to television in 1987 as the producer of The Tracey Ullman Show. He hired cartoonist Matt Groening to create a series of shorts for the show, which eventually led to The Simpsons in 1989. The Simpsons won numerous awards and is still running after 20 years. Brooks also co-produced and co-wrote the 2007 film adaptation of the show, The Simpsons Movie. In total, Brooks has received 47 Emmy nominations, winning 20 of them.

Personal info

  • Gender: Male
  • Date of birth: 5/9/1940 (83 years old)
  • Place of birth: North Bergen, New Jersey, USA
Year
Genre
IMDB
TMDB
Available on the following streaming services in the United States
2023

Comedy

Drama

7.3
73%
2022

Animation

Comedy

5.3
64%
2021

Animation

Comedy

5.1
66%
2021

Animation

Comedy

Family

6.1
75%
2021

Animation

Comedy

Family

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

6.1
69%
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2020

Animation

Comedy

Family

6.7
75%
2018

Documentary

8.4
81%
2016

Comedy

Drama

7.3
72%
2016

Documentary

7.3
67%
2015

Comedy

Documentary

6.3
60%
2012

Animation

Drama

Family

7.2
69%
50/50
IMDB 7.6
TMDB 71%
role:
Thanks
2011

Comedy

Drama

7.6
71%
How Do You Know
IMDB 5.4
TMDB 53%
role:
Writer & 2 more
2010

Comedy

Drama

Romance

5.4
53%
The Simpsons Movie
IMDB 7.3
TMDB 70%
role:
Producer & 1 more
2007

Animation

Comedy

Family

7.3
70%
Spanglish
IMDB 6.4
TMDB 60%
role:
Writer & 2 more
2004

Comedy

6.4
60%
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Unfaithful
IMDB 6.7
TMDB 66%
role:
Executive Producer
2002

Thriller

6.7
66%
2001

Comedy

Drama

Romance

6.5
68%
1997

Comedy

Romance

7.7
74%
Jerry Maguire
IMDB 7.3
TMDB 69%
role:
Producer
1996

Comedy

Drama

Romance

7.3
69%
Bottle Rocket
IMDB 6.9
TMDB 68%
role:
Executive Producer
1996

Comedy

Crime

Drama

6.9
68%
The Critic
IMDB 7.9
TMDB 75%
role:
Producer
1994

Animation

Comedy

Drama

7.9
75%
1991

Comedy

7.1
79%
1991

Adventure

Drama

7.0
71%
Say Anything...
IMDB 7.3
TMDB 71%
role:
Executive Producer
1989

Comedy

Drama

Romance

7.3
71%
Big
IMDB 7.3
TMDB 71%
role:
Producer
1988

Comedy

Drama

Family

Romance

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

7.3
71%
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Broadcast News
IMDB 7.3
TMDB 68%
role:
Producer & 2 more
1987

Comedy

Romance

7.3
68%
Terms of Endearment
IMDB 7.4
TMDB 71%
role:
Producer & 2 more
1983

Comedy

Drama

7.4
71%

FAQs

Some movies or TV shows available in the United States starring or involving James L. Brooks are, for example, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., Welcome to the Club and The Simpsons in Plusaversary.
The streaming services with the largest selection are iTunes, Prime Video and Google Play.
The best Anystream ratings are The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (8.3), The Critic (7.7) and As Good as It Gets (7.6).
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