James L. Brooks Selected for Norman Lear Award by Producers Guild
The Producers Guild of America has selected longtime television and film producer James L. Brooks as the recipient of the 2017 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television.
The award will be presented to Brooks at the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Jan. 28 at the Beverly Hilton hotel.
Brooks has won 22 Emmys and is a three-time Academy Award winner. He was the creative force behind “The Simpsons,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Taxi.” His most current project is “The Edge of Seventeen,” starring Hailee Steinfeld with a release this month.
Producers Guild Awards Chairs Donald De Line and Amy Pascal said, “For decades, Jim Brooks has brought memorable characters, big laughs and above all, a profound sense of humanity into our homes. Jim is a producer whose work has influenced multiple generations of storytellers, so it’s an incredible privilege to be able to honor him with our Guild’s Norman Lear Achievement Award.”
Shonda Rhimes was the 2016 recipient of the PGA’s Norman Lear Award. Previous honorees include Mark Gordon, Chuck Lorre, J.J. Abrams, Dick Wolf, Jerry Bruckheimer, Lorne Michaels, David L. Wolper, Aaron Spelling, Steven Bochco, David E. Kelley, Mark Burnett, and Norman Lear, himself.
Brooks produced television hits including “Rhoda,” Mary Tyler Moore spinoff “Lou Grant,” “Room 222,” “The Tracy Ullman Show,” The Critic,” “Phenom” and “What About Joan,” He is an executive producer on “The Simpsons” which debuted on Fox in 1989 and recently made television history with a two-season renewal that will make it the longest running scripted television show of all time.
Brooks began working in film in 1979 when he wrote the screenplay for “Starting Over,” which he co-produced with Alan J. Pakula. In 1983, Brooks wrote, produced, and directed “Terms of Endearment,” for which he earned three Academy Awards. In 1987, he wrote, produced, and directed “Broadcast News,” which won the New York Dramas Critics Award for best picture and best screenplay.
In 1997, Brooks co-wrote, produced, and directed “As Good As It Gets,” which won acting Oscars for Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.
Brook’s feature film credits also include “Say Anything,” “War of the Roses,” “Bottle Rocket,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Spanglish” and “The Simpsons Movie.”
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