Alice Brooks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | USC School of Cinematic Arts |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | Samuel Spencer (m. 2012) |
| Website | www |
Alice Brooks ASC, is an American director of photography best known for her cinematography work on feature films, particularly the film adaptations of the stage musicals Wicked (2024), Tick, Tick ... Boom! (2021), and In the Heights (2021). [1] [2]
Brooks grew up in Los Angeles and New York, the daughter of Candace Coulston of South Bristol, ME, and Stephen Levi, the late playwright who had numerous plays published by New York publishing company Samuel French. [3] [4] [5] As a child, she acted in various national television commercial spots and was in a recurring skit on Late Night With David Letterman . [6] [7] Brooks graduated USC School of Cinematic Arts magna cum laude in 2001. [8]
Her work includes In the Heights , the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway production directed by Jon M. Chu, [9] [10] which received widespread critical acclaim for its cinematography; [11] and Tick, Tick... Boom! , Miranda's directorial debut starring Andrew Garfield and produced by Ron Howard, based on the stage show by Jonathan Larson. [12]
Brooks collaborates with Chu frequently; prior to In The Heights, the two worked together on The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers in 2011, [13] Jem and the Holograms in 2015 [14] and Home Before Dark , Apple TV+'s 2020 crime-drama series. [15] [16] [17] She will work again with Chu on the two-part film adaptation of Stephan Schwartz's Broadway musical Wicked for Universal Pictures. The first part was released in November 2024. [18]
Her work on The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion from directors Farah X and Lisa Cortés premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and went on to win awards from Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival, Milwaukee Film Festival, Napa Valley Film Festival and the Sidewalk Film Festival. [19] Her work has been featured on the cover of ICG Magazine [20] Brooks also worked on 2021's Queen Bees , director Michael Lembeck's comedy-drama starring Ellen Burstyn, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, and James Caan. [21]
In 2004, Brooks was nominated and awarded WorldFest-Houston's Independent Short Subject-Films & Video - Cinematography - Shorts Platinum Award for her work on Charlie 2.0, Matthew Hsu's comedy short. [22] In 2024, she and gaffer Dave Smith became the first recipients of the SUMOLIGHT Creative Synergy Award at the 2024 Manaki Brothers Film Festival for their work on Wicked. [23]
She has been married to Samuel Spencer since September 8, 2012. [24]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Monday | Heidi Van Lier | |
| Ten 'til Noon | Scott Storm | ||
| You Did What? | Jeff Morris | ||
| Grand Junction | Freddy F. Hakimi | ||
| 2007 | A Light for Greytowers | Robin Saex Garbose | |
| 2008 | Mulligans | Chip Hale | |
| 2009 | Hungry Years | Eva James Isaak James | |
| 2010 | American Flyer | Mark L. Christensen | |
| 2011 | Lucid Possession | Toni Dove | |
| 2015 | Sweethearts of the Gridiron | Chip Hale | |
| Apparition | Quinn Saunders | ||
| Jem and the Holograms | Jon M. Chu | ||
| 2016 | Dance Camp | Bert and Bertie | |
| Girl Flu. | Dorie Barton | ||
| North by El Norte | Mark L. Christensen | ||
| One Fall | Marcus Dean Fuller | ||
| We Love You | Huck Botko | ||
| 2018 | Alex & Me | Eric Champnella | |
| Emma | Tim Kashani Kent Nicholson | ||
| 2021 | In the Heights | Jon M. Chu | |
| Queen Bees | Michael Lembeck | ||
| Tick, Tick... Boom! | Lin-Manuel Miranda | Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Cinematography | |
| 2024 | Wicked | Jon M. Chu | Shot back-to-back |
| 2025 | Wicked: For Good |
Direct-to-video
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Hillz | Saran Barnun |
| 2006 | Bit Parts | Dave Reda |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Design Revolution | Sally Levi | |
| 2019 | The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion | Farah X Lisa Cortés | With Nausheen Dadabhoy and Jendra Jarnagin |
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Wainy Days | David Wain | Episode "Donna" |
| 2010-2011 | The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers | Jon M. Chu Scott Speer Ryan Landels Charles Oliver Christopher Scott | 21 episodes |
| 2012 | S2udio City | Christopher Scott Herself Jamal Sims | 15 episodes |
| 2013 | Tainted Love | Avi Youabian | All 6 episodes |
| 2015 | The Kennedy Files | 4 episodes | |
| 2017 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within the Cartel | Avi Youabian | TV short |
| The Walking Dead: Red Machete | 6 episodes | ||
| 2020 | Home Before Dark | Jon M. Chu Kat Candler | 4 episodes |
The cinematographer or director of photography is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera and light crews working on such projects. They would normally be responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image and for selecting the camera, film stock, lenses, filters, etc. The study and practice of this field are referred to as cinematography.
Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C., is an Italian cinematographer widely recognized as one of the best and most influential in cinema history, for his work on numerous classic films including The Conformist (1970), Apocalypse Now (1979), and The Last Emperor (1987). In the course of over fifty years, he has collaborated with directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Warren Beatty, Woody Allen, and Carlos Saura.
László KovácsASC was a Hungarian-American cinematographer who was influential in the development of American New Wave films in the 1970s, collaborating with directors including Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Rush, Dennis Hopper, Norman Jewison, and Martin Scorsese. Known for his work on Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1970), Kovács was the recipient of numerous awards, including three Lifetime Achievement Awards. He was an active member of the American Society of Cinematographers and was a member of the organization's board of directors.
Vilmos Zsigmond was a Hungarian-American cinematographer. His work in cinematography helped shape the look of American movies in the 1970s, making him one of the leading figures in the American New Wave movement.
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Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. was a German cinematographer. He is known for his work with directors including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols, James L. Brooks, and Wolfgang Petersen. He was a member of both the Academy of Arts, Berlin, and the American Society of Cinematographers.
Jordan Scott Cronenweth, ASC was an American cinematographer based in Los Angeles, California. Considered to be one of the greatest and most influential cinematographers of all time, he is best remembered for his BAFTA Award-winning work on the groundbreaking science fiction film Blade Runner, which is credited as codifying the cyberpunk aesthetic. A contemporary of Conrad Hall, his style consisted of heavily textured, film noir-inspired photography, seen in numerous classic films, including Zandy's Bride, Gable and Lombard, Altered States, and Peggy Sue Got Married.
John Ira BaileyASC was an American cinematographer and film director known for his collaborations with directors Paul Schrader, Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Apted, and Ken Kwapis. In August 2017, Bailey was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was succeeded by casting director David Rubin in August 2019.
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Robin de Jesús is an American film and theater actor of Puerto Rican descent. He has received Tony Award nominations for his roles in In the Heights, La Cage aux Folles, and The Boys in the Band. He is also known for portraying Michael in tick, tick... BOOM!.
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Jonathan Murray Chu is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known as the director of the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and the musical fantasy Wicked (2024), the former being one of the first films by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent. He has also directed the 2021 musical In the Heights.
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Tick, Tick... Boom! is a 2021 American biographical musical film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda in his feature directorial debut. Written by Steven Levenson, who also serves as an executive producer, it is based on the stage musical of the same name by Jonathan Larson, a semi-autobiographical story about Larson writing a musical to enter into the theater industry. The film stars Andrew Garfield as Larson, alongside Robin de Jesús, Alexandra Shipp, Joshua Henry, Judith Light, and Vanessa Hudgens.
Judith Carol Irola was an American cinematographer, film producer, and director. The third woman accepted into the American Society of Cinematographers, she was head of the cinematography department at USC School of Cinematic Arts for 15 years and held the Conrad Hall Chair in Cinematography there. Irola co-founded a National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians branch in San Francisco in 1969, and was a founding member of the short-lived Cine Manifest film collective in 1972.
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