Brian_Levant
Brian Levant
American filmmaker (born 1952)
Brian Michael Levant (born August 6, 1952) is an American filmmaker.[1]
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Brian Levant | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brian Michael Levant (1952-08-06) August 6, 1952 (age 71) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse | Alison Logan |
| Children | 3 |
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]
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" |
- "Brian Levant". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2016. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
- 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.
- Brian Levant at IMDb
- Brian Levant at the TCM Movie Database
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