In 1985, Brokaw made his debut as an executive producer on "Trouble in Mind", a crime drama directed by Alan Rudolph. He assumed the executive suite at Island Pictures the same year and during his tenure, the company released some high caliber films like "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985) and "Mona Lisa" (1986). With entertainment lawyer Michael Eliasberg, Brokaw formed Avenue Entertainment in May 1987. He has continued to oversee and/or produce a variety of film and television productions, including such acclaimed titles as "Drugstore Cowboy" (1989), the Oscar-nominated Best Picture "The Player" (1992), directed by Robert Altman, "Short Cuts" (1993), also directed by Altman, "Restoration" (1995), "Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing" (HBO, 1997) and the Emmy-winning adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize play "Wit" (HBO, 2001).