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Brian Levant | |
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Born | Brian Michael Levant August 6, 1952 |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1976–present |
Spouse | Alison Logan |
Children | 3 |
Brian Michael Levant (born August 6, 1952) is an American filmmaker.[1]
Early life and career
Born in Highland Park, Illinois to a Jewish family, Levant started his career in 1976 as a writer for the TV series Happy Days. He also wrote for, among other TV shows, The Jeffersons, Mork & Mindy and Still the Beaver.
He is best known for directing the films Beethoven,[1] The Flintstones and its 2000 prequel The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Jingle All the Way, Snow Dogs and Are We There Yet?.[1]
Though his work is generally disliked by film critics,[2] Levant has responded to the criticism with, "I'm making movies for the audience that I was when I was sitting at home watching Garfield Goose and The Three Stooges on WGN...To read those reviews is an act of self-flagellation, but reviews be damned when you're at Blockbuster, and you're seeing family after family grab one of your movies off the shelf on a Friday night. I can't tell you how many times I've seen that."[2]
Levant is a major collector of 20th century toys and pop culture memorabilia. His collection is displayed in a 2022 book, My Life and Toys.[3]
Filmography
Feature film
Director
- Problem Child 2 (1991)
- Beethoven (1992)
- The Flintstones (1994)
- Jingle All the Way (1996)
- The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
- Snow Dogs (2002)
- Are We There Yet? (2005)
- The Spy Next Door (2010)
- Max 2: White House Hero (2017)
Writer
- Leave It to Beaver (1997)
Direct-to-video
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Beethoven's Big Break | No | No | Story |
2012 | A Christmas Story 2 | Yes | Yes | No |
2014 | Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure | Yes | Yes | No |
Television
TV movies
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Problem Child 3: Junior in Love | No | Executive | No |
The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space | No | Executive | Story | |
2009 | Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins | Yes | Yes | No |
2010 | Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster | Yes | Yes | No |
2016 | The Game of Love | No | Executive | Yes |
TV series
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Creator | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976–84 | Happy Days | No | Supervising | Yes | No | Writer (14 episodes) / Producer (44 episodes) |
1977 | The Jeffersons | No | No | Story | No | Episode: "Jefferson Airplane" |
1978 | Please Stand By | No | No | Yes | No | 1 episode |
1979 | Brothers and Sisters | No | No | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
1979–80 | The Bad News Bears | No | Yes | Yes | No | Writer (2 episodes) / Producer (12 episodes) |
1981–82 | Mork & Mindy | No | Yes | Yes | No | Writer (2 episodes) / Producer (22 episodes) |
1983–89 | The New Leave It to Beaver | Yes | Executive | Yes | Developer | 102 episodes / Director (21 episodes) / Writer (19 episodes) |
1987 | Married... with Children | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "The Poker Game" |
1988–89 | Charles in Charge | Yes | No | No | No | 2 episodes |
1988–91 | My Secret Identity | No | Co-Executive | Yes | Yes | 72 episodes / Writer (Episode: "Pilot") |
1990 | Poochinski | No | Executive | Yes | No | Unsold pilot |
1990-91 | Babes | No | Executive | No | No | 22 episodes |
1997 | Metropolitan Hospital | Yes | Executive | No | Yes | Unsold pilot |
2000 | Father Can't Cope | Yes | Executive | Yes | No | Unsold pilot |
2001 | Grounded for Life | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Eddie's Dead" |
References
- ^ a b c "Brian Levant". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2016. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
- ^ a b Liebenson, Donald (January 15, 2010). "'Spy Next Door' reflects on its director". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
- ^ Zahed, Ramin (September 30, 2022). "Brian Levant and the Beautiful Madness of Collecting Toon Toys & Memorabilia". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
External links
- Brian Levant at IMDb
- Brian Levant at the TCM Movie Database
- 1952 births
- Film producers from Illinois
- American male screenwriters
- American television directors
- American male television writers
- Television producers from Illinois
- American television writers
- Film directors from Illinois
- Highland Park High School (Illinois) alumni
- Living people
- People from Highland Park, Illinois
- Screenwriters from Illinois
- American comedy film directors
- American film director, 1950s birth stubs