# Talk:James L. Brooks

WikiProject Biography Assessment Drive
The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article. -- Yamara 04:11, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

While in Washington DC today (June 17, 2009) we stumbled into a movie filming location. Several people on the crew told us that the movie being shot was How would you know? They also mentioned that it was the third day shooting, out of a planned 82 days. They stated that it was a James L Brooks movie and that the title would likely change. In fact the name of the movie was blocked out of the legal warning signs indicating that we might be unintentional extras. (You could still make out the title under the sticker they used to cover it up, and the bottom of the sign said "How would you know? Productions"
The scene was being filmed on the sidewalk on the Pennsylvania Ave side of the Canadian Embassy.
Since there is no page for this film yet, I am leaving this note here. Do with it as you wish.
Boufa (talk) 02:21, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

This review is transcluded from Talk:James L. Brooks/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
I am so sorry for the delay in the review. I put my name down a while ago to review the article and completely forgot until now. Overall, it's a great article and I only have a few queries and minor issues to raise.

In the lead, mention the release years of Say Anything... and Bottle Rocket so the reader gets an idea of where these slot into the rest of his career.
His parents, Dorothy and Edward Brooks were both Jewish salespeople (his mother sold children's clothes, his father furniture) - there should be a comma after his parents' names and a semi-colon instead of a comma after "clothes".
to together with MTM Productions create a series for his wife Mary Tyler Moore - kind of clunky; maybe switch the word order to "to create a series together with MTV Productions". Also unclear whose wife Mary Tyler Moore is.
which generated it high ratings - makes better sense as just "which generated high ratings".
NBC picked it up, but the ratings remained low and dropped it after one season - "it was dropped after one season".
it won three straight Outstanding Comedy Series Emmys - "three consecutive", maybe?
Give some kind of time frame for Brooks' work on The Associates, just for clarity.
He channelled this ambivalence into Broadcast News - personally, I don't see the need to wikilink ambivalence here.
Again, in the last paragraph of "Film", give years for Say Anything..., Jerry Maguire and Bottle Rocket.
Ref #15 leads to a legit but blank page on the Fox Flash site.
Ref #26 seems to be missing attribution to The New York Times.
I'll place the nomination on hold, so you have a week to make changes or address any queries. Good luck :) —97198 (talk) 10:49, 5 October 2009 (UTC)
All done. Thanks very much. Gran2 16:17, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Well done. All the changes look good, so I'll go ahead and pass the article. —97198 (talk) 14:11, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Heard by 20 million across America, Rush Limbaugh spent a lot of time talking about how Director Brooks predicted our times. You can read it later via www.RushLimbaugh.com -- FYI, Charles Edwin Shipp (talk) 18:41, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

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Added archive http://www.webcitation.org/5wWgU0Yh9?url=http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php to http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php
Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090606093846/http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/06/jack-nicholson.html to http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/06/jack-nicholson.html
Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090114021108/http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dvd_review.asp?ID=296 to http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dvd_review.asp?ID=296
Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130323034746/http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html to http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html
Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090104132905/http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_12524.html to http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_12524.html
Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20091231114213/http://newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/James_L_Brooks.php to http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/James_L_Brooks.php
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I work as a paid consultant for WhiteHatWiki, which was hired by James Brooks to propose updates to this page. I will abide by WP: PAID and WP: COI. This is a WP:GA article and I am especially careful here to improve the page in accordance with Wikipedia best practices. 
1. In the “Career” section, “Television” subsection, please remove the second sentence that reads “He held it for two and a half years.”
Reason: A video interview is a primary source, not acceptable under WP:PRIMARY. I could not find a secondary source to verify this. 
2. In the “Career” section, “Film” subsection, replace the second sentence in the second paragraph about “Terms of Endearment” 
Change from:
It cost $8.5 million and took four years to film.
Change to:
It took Brooks four years to convince a studio to finance the film, which cost $8.5 million.
Reason: I’d like to correct the information that it took four years to film Terms of Endearment, when instead, it took four years to convince a studio to finance the film. The actual filming was only 6 weeks. [1]  I also replaced the Venice magazine citation (which is a Q&A, so WP: Primary)  with a much more credible New York Times article.
3. In the “Career” section, “Film” subsection about “Broadcast News,” in the fourth paragraph, please replace the second-to-last sentence 
Change from:
Brooks was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for Broadcast News.
Change to:
Released on December 18, 1987, Broadcast News - which Brooks wrote, directed, and produced - received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for Brooks.
Reason:  I slightly rewrote the sentence to add the film’s release date, and clarify that Brooks wrote, directed, and produced Broadcast News. The section already mentions that he wrote it, but doesn’t state outright that he also directed and produced the film. Earlier in the section, the article says that Brooks started his research process at the 1984 Republican National Convention, so I added the film’s release date to provide context as to how that date relates to the actual release of the film. I added that the film received seven Oscar nominations because all Academy Awards for a film are typically mentioned in WP:GAs about important film producer/director/writers, such as Darren Aronofksy and Paul Thomas Anderson. 
I replaced the Venice source (which is a Q&A, so WP: Primary) with an article from the Los Angeles Times and an updated Hollywood Reporter article (more credible sources and also WP: Secondary).
4.  In the “Career” section, “Film” subsection, replace the third sentence in the last paragraph
Change from:
Brooks mentored Cameron Crowe was the executive producer of Crowe's directorial debut Say Anything... (1989) and produced his later film Jerry Maguire (1996).
Change to:
Brooks mentored Cameron Crowe and was the executive producer of Crowe's directorial debut Say Anything... (1989), and produced Jerry Maguire (1996), which was nominated for five Oscars and won one.
Reason:  I replaced the  Venice source (which is a Q&A, so WP: Primary) and added sources from the NY Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and The Independent, all of which are online or available through ProQuest. I added the Academy Award nominations and win for Jerry Maguire because Oscar wins are typically mentioned in WP:GAs about film producers, such as Darren Aronofksy and Paul Thomas Anderson.
5.  In the “Career” section, “Return to television” subsection, in the first paragraph, please replace the eighth sentence 
Change from:
The Simpsons garnered critical and commercial acclaim, winning numerous awards and is still producing original content after 30 years.
Change to:
The Simpsons garnered critical and commercial acclaim, winning numerous awards including 37 Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards as of January 2025. The Simpsons was still producing original content 35 years after it debuted in 1990.
Reason:  There is an incorrect statement attributed to ABC News; the ABC News article does not say The Simpsons was producing content for 30 years. I found a more recent source that confirms 35 years since its debut.  I also changed the sentence to specify which accolades The Simpsons had won, specifically prominent awards like the Emmys and Peabodys. Again, it’s typical in other GAs about highly accomplished producers such as those above to include the major awards for projects. In addition, I updated the sentence to read as evergreen, instead of present tense, in keeping with WP:STYLE. 
6.  In the “Career” section, “Return to television” subsection, please replace the first sentence in the last paragraph
Change from:
Brooks co-produced and co-wrote the 2007 feature-length film adaptation of The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie. 
Change to:
Brooks co-produced and co-wrote the 2007 feature-length film adaptation of The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie, which grossed $500 million.
Reason:  The source cited in the article is The Simpsons Movie website, which is considered primary. I swapped it out with an article from Vulture, and added that the movie grossed $500 million because successful movie grosses are typically included in good articles about movie producers and directors. See the same two as above.  
7. In the “Film” section, please replace the last sentence of the 6th paragraph 
Change from:
According to The New York Times, Brooks "was constantly experimenting, constantly reshooting, constantly re-editing" the film, changing its ending five times and allowing the actors to improvise the film's tone.
Change to:
According to The New York Times, Brooks took an improvisational approach to directing the film, and "was constantly experimenting, constantly reshooting, constantly re-editing,” and gave the actors the freedom to explore different tones.
Reason:  I removed the phrase “changing its ending five times” because the statement came from a sole, anonymous studio executive, and even the Times  qualified the statement by attributing it to an anonymous source instead of just saying it was true. It is also contradicted by the LA Times,[2] which reported that Brooks shot the ending twice. Given the conflict between sources, it seems best to just omit the claim. 
I also replaced the phrase “allowing the actors to improvise the film's tone” because the New York Times article cited does not  say the actors “improvised.” It says Mr. Brooks’ style of directing the film was improvisational. Those are two very different things - being given more freedom to explore than was typical on a Brooks’ film (with tone, etc.) is not the same as improvisational acting, which is where an actor creates lines not written in a script. This is a very major difference and historical inaccuracy about an important film - there’s no indication from the source that the actors improvised. 
8.  In the “Career” section, “Film” subsection, please add this sentence to the end of the first paragraph about the film “Starting Over”:
The film received Oscar nominations for lead actress Jill Clayburgh and Candice Bergen, the supporting actress.
Reason: I added the two Oscar nominations because in comparing this article to other WP:GAs (see two above) about important producer/writers, all of a film’s Academy Award nominations are typically mentioned. Since this was Brook’s first film as writer/producer, the fact that it was Academy Award nominated is highly relevant to the onset of his career. 
9.  In the “Personal life” section, the first paragraph, please add to the end of the paragraph an update about Brooks’ most recent marriage: 
As of 2025, Brooks was married to Jennifer Simchowitz.
Reason: I’m adding Brooks’ most recent marriage to make the article current. I provided the Hollywood Reporter as a citation. 
10. In the “Personal life” section, first paragraph, update the first sentence
Change from:
Brooks has been married twice.
Change to:
Brooks has been married three times.
Reason: Corrects and updates the sentence to reflect his current marriage.
Thank you for reviewing. Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 16:48, 18 June 2025 (UTC)

Hey, I have seen this. I'll take a look here later tomorrow or the day after. Meepmeepyeet (talk) 04:32, 25 August 2025 (UTC)
This is incredibly minor, and I could be wrong, but regarding number 5, it seems there may be an issue with tense? Considering it is ongoing it feels odd to me to say it “was” still providing new content 35 years later. Again, I could be totally off base here. Tiakat333 (talk) 23:25, 27 August 2025 (UTC)
Hey there. I see what you mean. How about: "As of 2025, The Simpsons was still producing original content 35 years after it debuted in 1990." ? Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 14:59, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

 Done Since this is quite big please let me know if I've missed anything. Thank you for taking the time to improve upon existing sources, it's something we don't see a whole lot of in the COI queue! Thanks, Encoded  Talk 💬 15:56, 27 September 2025 (UTC)

This is a WP:GA article so I am especially with the following suggested edits. I work as a paid consultant for WhiteHatWiki, which was hired by James Brooks to propose updates to this page.
1. In the infobox, please delete the line for “political party”:
| party              = Democratic
Reason: The information is unsourced and not stated anywhere in the body of the article. I made a reasonable effort to find a source to verify and found none. 
2. In the infobox, please update to include Brooks’ current wife to “Spouses”: 
Change from:

Change to:

Reason: This information is already reflected in the Personal life section. 
3. In the Career section,“Return to television” subsection, please delete the seventh sentence:
According to writer Jon Vitti, Brooks contributed more to the episode "Lisa's Substitute" than to any other in the show's history.
Reason: This is only sourced to DVD commentary based on the personal recollection of Jon Vitti, the sole credited writer of this episode of the Simpsons, who wrote on series from 1989 to 1993. James Brooks has been the executive producer of this series for 35 years, so this writer is not in a position to make a subjective evaluation of what happened behind the scenes during the 31 years they were not there. As this is sourced to a direct participant in the events, without the benefit of an independent author or expert to verify, it is an especially unreliable source. It is also a relatively minor observation given the scope of Brooks’ 50-year career, and under WP:NOTGOSSIP not every small detail of a notable person’s career should be on the page. 
4. In the Personal life section, second paragraph, please delete the second sentence:
Brooks has donated over $175,000 to Democratic Party candidates.
Reason: The source is WP:PRIMARY -  a defunct website with no information past 2009. Per WP:BLPPRIMARY, “Exercise extreme caution in using primary sources... Where primary-source material has been discussed by a reliable secondary source, it may be acceptable to rely on it to augment the secondary source, subject to the restrictions of this policy, no original research, and the other sourcing policies.” I could not find any secondary sources to verify this information.  Additionally, the website cited here - Newsmeat - has been discussed as generally unreliable in the past by editors - though not since 2009, since it is a very old source. [3][4] Claims from a bad primary source unverified by a secondary source regarding a potentially sensitive BLP matter should be excluded. 
5. In the Awards and nominations section, please add as the new fifth sentence of the first paragraph:
Brooks received two lifetime achievement awards from the Writers Guild of America: The Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement in 1998 and the 2018 Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement in film.
Reason: The sentence reflects reporting in prominent media sources about Wikipedia notable awards. 
Thank you. Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 20:22, 19 November 2025 (UTC)