Maximillian Michael Brooks (born May 22, 1972) is an American actor and author. He is the son of comedy filmmaker Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft. Much of Brooks's writing focuses on zombie stories. He is a senior fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, New York.
Early life
Brooks, born May 22, 1972, is the son of actress Anne Bancroft and director, producer, writer, and actor Mel Brooks. His father is Jewish. Brooks is dyslexic, and recalled that during the time in which he was growing up: Brooks attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. He studied at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history. He also attended graduate school, studying film at American University in Washington, D.C.
Career
Writing
From 2001 to 2003, Brooks was a member of the writing team at ''Saturday Night Live''. In 2006, Brooks wrote ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'', which deals with the war between the human race and zombies. Paramount Pictures acquired the movie rights, and Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainment, produced the film. In the October 2006 issue of ''Fangoria Magazine'', Brooks stated that he would not be writing the screenplay for the motion picture, as he felt he was not an accomplished enough screenwriter to "do it right" (J. Michael Straczynski wrote the first version of the screenplay). Brooks wrote the introduction for the hardcover collected edition of Dynamite Entertainment's zombie miniseries ''Raise the Dead'', released in 2007.
In 2010, Brooks wrote the IDW comic book mini-series ''G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds''.
In 2012, he published ''Closure, Limited and Other Zombie Tales'', featuring the story of that name from ''The New Dead'', along with three other short stories set in the ''World War Z'' universe.
In 2014, Broadway Books published ''The Harlem Hellfighters'', a graphic novel which portrays a fictionalized account of the entirely African American 369th Infantry Regiment's experiences in World War I, written by Brooks and illustrated by Caanan White. Sony Pictures has purchased the rights to create a film of the novel, with Caleeb Pinkett and James Lassiter producing on behalf of Overbrook Entertainment.
He wrote the story for the 2016 film ''The Great Wall'', starring Matt Damon.
In 2016, Brooks was invited to MineCon 2016 and announced that he was working on a new novel based on ''Minecraft''.
In August 2019, Brooks' announced a new book, entitled ''Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre'', about the cryptid Bigfoot. It was released on June 16, 2020.
Acting and voice-over work
Brooks has a number of other creative credits. As an actor, he has been seen in ''Roseanne'', ''To Be or Not to Be'', ''Pacific Blue'', and ''7th Heaven''. He also has a career voicing animation; his voice has been featured in the animated shows ''Batman Beyond'', ''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'', ''Justice League'' and ''All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series''. During the start of the 3rd season of ''Lost Tapes'', he was cast as himself in the zombie episode, telling the audience about how zombies come to be. He also appeared on Spike TV series ''Deadliest Warrior'', in which he represented the zombie team in the "Vampires vs. Zombies" episode, as one of the Zombie experts along with Matt Mogk, the Founder of the Zombie Research Society.
Personal life
Brooks has been married to playwright Michelle Kholos since 2003. They have one son, Henry Michael Brooks (born March 2005), and live in Venice, California. In October 2020, Brooks and his son appeared in a short video featuring Mel Brooks making his first political video at age 94 to endorse Joe Biden for president.
Filmography
Bibliography
Prose
* ''The Zombie Survival Guide'' (2003) * ''World War Z'' (2006) * ''Closure, Limited and Other Zombie Tales'' (2011) * ''Minecraft: The Island'' (2018) * ''Devolution'' (2020) * ''Minecraft: The Mountain'' (March 2, 2021)
Comics
* ''The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks'' (2009) * ''G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds'' (2010) * ''The Harlem Hellfighters'' (2014) * ''The Extinction Parade'' (2014) * ''A More Perfect Union'' (2016) * ''Germ Warfare: A Very Graphic History'' (2019)
References
External links
* * * Interview
Max Brooks discusses "The Harlem Hellfighters," World War I and his own life on the 7th Avenue Project radio show
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Max Category:1972 births Category:American comics writers Category:American humorists Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:American male writers Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:American television writers Category:American University alumni Category:Crossroads School alumni Category:Living people Category:Male actors from New York City Category:American male television writers Category:Pitzer College alumni Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners Category:Screenwriters from California Category:Screenwriters from New York (state) Category:Dyslexic writers
Early life
Brooks, born May 22, 1972, is the son of actress Anne Bancroft and director, producer, writer, and actor Mel Brooks. His father is Jewish. Brooks is dyslexic, and recalled that during the time in which he was growing up: Brooks attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. He studied at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history. He also attended graduate school, studying film at American University in Washington, D.C.
Career
Writing
From 2001 to 2003, Brooks was a member of the writing team at ''Saturday Night Live''. In 2006, Brooks wrote ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'', which deals with the war between the human race and zombies. Paramount Pictures acquired the movie rights, and Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainment, produced the film. In the October 2006 issue of ''Fangoria Magazine'', Brooks stated that he would not be writing the screenplay for the motion picture, as he felt he was not an accomplished enough screenwriter to "do it right" (J. Michael Straczynski wrote the first version of the screenplay). Brooks wrote the introduction for the hardcover collected edition of Dynamite Entertainment's zombie miniseries ''Raise the Dead'', released in 2007.
In 2010, Brooks wrote the IDW comic book mini-series ''G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds''.
In 2012, he published ''Closure, Limited and Other Zombie Tales'', featuring the story of that name from ''The New Dead'', along with three other short stories set in the ''World War Z'' universe.
In 2014, Broadway Books published ''The Harlem Hellfighters'', a graphic novel which portrays a fictionalized account of the entirely African American 369th Infantry Regiment's experiences in World War I, written by Brooks and illustrated by Caanan White. Sony Pictures has purchased the rights to create a film of the novel, with Caleeb Pinkett and James Lassiter producing on behalf of Overbrook Entertainment.
He wrote the story for the 2016 film ''The Great Wall'', starring Matt Damon.
In 2016, Brooks was invited to MineCon 2016 and announced that he was working on a new novel based on ''Minecraft''.
In August 2019, Brooks' announced a new book, entitled ''Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre'', about the cryptid Bigfoot. It was released on June 16, 2020.
Acting and voice-over work
Brooks has a number of other creative credits. As an actor, he has been seen in ''Roseanne'', ''To Be or Not to Be'', ''Pacific Blue'', and ''7th Heaven''. He also has a career voicing animation; his voice has been featured in the animated shows ''Batman Beyond'', ''Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'', ''Justice League'' and ''All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series''. During the start of the 3rd season of ''Lost Tapes'', he was cast as himself in the zombie episode, telling the audience about how zombies come to be. He also appeared on Spike TV series ''Deadliest Warrior'', in which he represented the zombie team in the "Vampires vs. Zombies" episode, as one of the Zombie experts along with Matt Mogk, the Founder of the Zombie Research Society.
Personal life
Brooks has been married to playwright Michelle Kholos since 2003. They have one son, Henry Michael Brooks (born March 2005), and live in Venice, California. In October 2020, Brooks and his son appeared in a short video featuring Mel Brooks making his first political video at age 94 to endorse Joe Biden for president.
Filmography
Bibliography
Prose
* ''The Zombie Survival Guide'' (2003) * ''World War Z'' (2006) * ''Closure, Limited and Other Zombie Tales'' (2011) * ''Minecraft: The Island'' (2018) * ''Devolution'' (2020) * ''Minecraft: The Mountain'' (March 2, 2021)
Comics
* ''The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks'' (2009) * ''G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds'' (2010) * ''The Harlem Hellfighters'' (2014) * ''The Extinction Parade'' (2014) * ''A More Perfect Union'' (2016) * ''Germ Warfare: A Very Graphic History'' (2019)
References
External links
* * * Interview
Max Brooks discusses "The Harlem Hellfighters," World War I and his own life on the 7th Avenue Project radio show
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Max Category:1972 births Category:American comics writers Category:American humorists Category:American male television actors Category:American male voice actors Category:American male writers Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:American television writers Category:American University alumni Category:Crossroads School alumni Category:Living people Category:Male actors from New York City Category:American male television writers Category:Pitzer College alumni Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners Category:Screenwriters from California Category:Screenwriters from New York (state) Category:Dyslexic writers