Tom Brook

Tom Brook (born 16 June 1953) is a New York-based journalist working primarily for BBC News. He is mainly seen on BBC World News, and also the BBC News Channel.[1] He is the main presenter of its flagship cinema programme Talking Movies. He has presented every episode of the show since it was first broadcast in February 1999.

For the American journalist, see Tom Vanden Brook.
Tom Brook
Tom Brook in 2013
Born (1953-06-16) 16 June 1953
London, United Kingdom
Alma materCambridge University
OccupationNews reporter
Years active1976 – present

Early life

Brook was born in Ladbroke Grove in London, but went to primary school in Hertfordshire. He completed his secondary education at William Ellis School in north London before going on to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in Economics in 1975. Brook's parents were Caspar Brook, the first director of the Consumers’ Association in Britain, and Dinah, a former education correspondent of The Observer.

Broadcasting career

Brook joined the BBC in April 1976 as a news trainee and, after working attachments in Belfast, Birmingham, and Manchester, he was appointed as a producer on Radio 4's Today programme in 1978.[2] In January 1980, he was posted to the BBC's office in New York as a news and current affairs producer. On 8 December 1980 he was the first British journalist to report live from outside the Dakota Apartment building on New York's Upper West Side the night of John Lennon's death.[3]

Since 1985, he has reported on the US film industry for the BBC. From 1985 to 1998, Brook was BBC One's US correspondent for the top-rated Film series presented by Barry Norman.[4] In 1999, he began presenting and producing the cinema news programme Talking Movies for the BBC, which, as of 2020 has surpassed 500 episodes. He has an international following among movie fans and key figures in the global film industry.

The programme covers cinema news from around the world, as well as delivering reviews of the latest films and exclusive interviews with top Hollywood and international talent. The longevity of the series has also allowed Brook to report from some of the world's top film festivals, including Cannes,[5] Sundance,[6] Toronto[7] and London.[8]

In 2019[9] the programme marked a significant milestone with its twentieth anniversary on the air. Special anniversary editions of the show were recorded in front of a live audience in New York and Mumbai in which Sir Kenneth Branagh[10] and Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan[11] were guests of honour.

He has also covered the Academy Awards for BBC News every year since 1985, frequently reporting live from the red carpet.[12]

Brook has interviewed some of the most celebrated names in international cinema including such Twentieth Century greats as James Cagney[13] and Bette Davis.[14] He has also interviewed some of America's most influential personalities from CBS veteran anchorman Walter Cronkite on his last day of presenting at the network as well as former President's Carter and Ford. More recently, some of the big names he has interviewed include Adam Driver,[15] Cynthia Erivo,[16] Dev Patel,[17] Renee Zellweger[18] and Barry Jenkins,[19]

Over the years, Brook has also contributed to numerous additional BBC programmes and outlets, including Breakfast, Correspondent, Front Row, The Late Show, The Six O'Clock News, BBC America, BBC News Channel, Hard Talk Extra, and Today on BBC Radio 4.

He has been a frequent online contributor. In 2013 he started writing The Reel World column for BBC Culture on new developments on the big screen.[20]

Personal life

Tom Brook holds both UK and US passports. He has lived in New York for more than four decades. His home is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He is married to Samuel Wahl MD, Chair, Department of Pathology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York who has been his partner since January 1990.

References
  1. "BBC News Channel - Talking Movies". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  2. "BBC World News - Talking Movies - About Tom Brook". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  3. "Tom Brook's 1980 Radio Report on Lennon's Death". BBC America. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  4. Blauvelt, Christian (2019-01-16). "Why Aren't You Watching TV's Last Serious Show About Movies?". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  5. "BBC World News - Talking Movies, Cannes". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  6. "BBC World News - Talking Movies, Sundance". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  7. "BBC World News - Talking Movies, Toronto International Film Festival 2018". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  8. "BBC News Channel - Talking Movies, London Film Festival Special". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  9. "BBC News Channel - Talking Movies, Twentieth Anniversary". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  10. "BBC News Channel - Talking Movies, Kenneth Branagh - Part One". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  11. "BBC World News - Talking Movies, Shah Rukh Khan Interview Special, Shah Rukh Khan talks success and having two left feet". BBC. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  12. "The power of the 'red carpet moment'". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  13. "PM - James Cagney". BBC Archive. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  14. "Archive: Bette Davis on favourite lines". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  15. "Adam Driver on his role in The Report". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  16. "Cynthia Erivo on her role as Harriet Tubman". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  17. Brook, Tom. "WATCH: 'Marigold Hotel' Star Dev Patel on Taking Indian Roles". BBC America. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  18. "Zellweger on playing Judy Garland". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  19. "Film: If Beale Street Could Talk reviewed". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  20. "The Reel World". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
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