Alice Brooks

Alice Brooks is an American cinematographer best known for her work on feature films, particularly the film adaptations of the stage musicals Wicked, Tick, Tick ... Boom! (2021), and In the Heights (2021).

Early life 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. As a child, she acted in various national television commercial spots and was in a recurring skit on Late Night With David Letterman. Brooks graduated USC School of Cinematic Arts magna cum laude in 2001.

Career Her work includes In the Heights, the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway production directed by Jon M. Chu, which received widespread critical acclaim for its cinematography; and Tick, Tick... Boom!, Miranda's directorial debut starring Andrew Garfield and produced by Ron Howard, based on the stage show by Jonathan Larson.

Brooks collaborates with Chu frequently; prior to In The Heights, the two worked together on The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers in 2011, Jem and the Holograms in 2015 and Home Before Dark, Apple TV+'s 2020 crime-drama series. She worked again with Chu on the two-part film adaptation of Stephen Schwartz's Broadway musical Wicked for Universal Pictures. The first part was released in November 2024, with the second part scheduled for release in November 2025.

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. Her work has been featured on the cover of ICG Magazine Brooks also worked on 2021's Queen Bees, director Michael Lembeck's comedy-drama starring Ellen Burstyn, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, and James Caan.

Accolades 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. 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.

Personal life She has been married to Samuel Spencer since September 8, 2012.

Filmography

Film

Feature film Year Title Director Notes2006 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 JamesIsaak James 2010 American Flyer Mark L. Christensen 2011 Lucid Possession Toni Dove2015 Sweethearts of the Gridiron Chip Hale Apparition Quinn Saunders Jem and the Holograms Jon M. Chu2016 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 Botko2018 Alex & Me Eric Champnella Emma Tim KashaniKent Nicholson2021 In the Heights Jon M. Chu Queen Bees Michael Lembeck Tick, Tick... Boom! Lin-Manuel Miranda Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Cinematography 2024 WickedJon M. ChuShot back-to-back 2025 Wicked: For Good 2027 Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-VerseBob PersichettiJustin K. ThompsonAnimated film

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 XLisa Cortés With Nausheen Dadabhoy and Jendra Jarnagin

Television Year Title Director Notes 2010 Wainy Days David Wain Episode "Donna" 2010–2011 The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers Jon M. ChuScott SpeerRyan LandelsCharles OliverChristopher Scott 21 episodes 2012 S2udio City Christopher ScottHerselfJamal Sims 15 episodes 2013 Tainted Love Avi Youabian All 6 episodes 2015 The Kennedy Files 4 episodes2017 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within the CartelAvi Youabian TV short The Walking Dead: Red Machete 6 episodes 2020 Home Before Dark Jon M. ChuKat Candler 4 episodes