James L. Brooks reveals what forced him to make 'Ella McCay': 'It just hit me'

James L. Brooks has finally revealed what persuaded him to make Ella McCay after more than a decade-long break.

For those unaware, the 85-year-old American director and film producer has not directed a movie in the last 15 years. His last project was How Do You Know, a comedy romance movie in 2010, which starred Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson, and other top-notch stars.

Sharing his thoughts in an interview with PEOPLE magazine, Brooks said, "I never didn't want to come back. It wasn't like that.”

The three-time Oscar winner, who is tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Jennifer Simchowitz in 2024, added, “In there, I fell in love, got married, and I truly don't have a conscious answer for it other than I had jobs that I loved. Something I really enjoy doing.”

On the professional front, he also produced movies such as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and The Edge of Seventeen.

"And God bless it, there's always The Simpsons," Brooks quipped, reflecting on his long-running animated Fox sitcom, as he has been working on the show as an executive producer since its debut in the late 1980s.

"So I was at work, but it suddenly it hit me — the thing I respect most about everything in movies is writing, and suddenly it just hit me, sort of an identity crisis that I hadn't been writing in a while, and that got me going like a shot went off," the Terms of Endearment director said of his return, referring to Ella McCay.

It is pertinent to mention that Ella McCay hit cinemas across the United States on December 12, 2025.