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Brian Levant

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Brian Levant
Born
Brian Michael Levant

(1952-08-06) August 6, 1952 (age 72)
Highland Park, Illinois, United States
Occupations
  • Film director
  • television director
  • film producer
  • television producer
  • screenwriter
Years active1976–present
SpouseAlison Logan
Children3

Brian Michael Levant (born August 6, 1952) is an American filmmaker.[1]

Early life and career

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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

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Feature film

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Director

Writer

Direct-to-video

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b c "Brian Levant". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2016. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Liebenson, Donald (January 15, 2010). "'Spy Next Door' reflects on its director". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Zahed, Ramin (September 30, 2022). "Brian Levant and the Beautiful Madness of Collecting Toon Toys & Memorabilia". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
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