Brian Levant

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{{Infobox person

| name = Brian Levant

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name = Brian Michael Levant

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|8|6}}

| birth_place = Highland Park, Illinois, United States

| occupation = {{hlist|Film director|television director|film producer|television producer|screenwriter}}

| years_active = 1976–present

| spouse = Alison Logan

| children = 3

}}

Brian Michael Levant (born August 6, 1952) is an American filmmaker.{{cite news|title=Brian Levant|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/99457/Brian-Levant/filmography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307064833/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/99457/Brian-Levant/filmography|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 7, 2016|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2016}}

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, The Flintstones and its 2000 prequel The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Jingle All the Way, Snow Dogs and Are We There Yet?.

Though his work is generally disliked by film critics,{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2010-01-15-1001140572-story.html|title='Spy Next Door' reflects on its director |last=Liebenson|first=Donald|date=January 15, 2010|publisher=Chicago Tribune|access-date=September 30, 2019}} 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."

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.{{cite web|website=Animation Magazine|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2022/09/brian-levant-and-the-beautiful-madness-of-collecting-toys-and-memorabilia/|first=Ramin|last=Zahed|date=September 30, 2022|accessdate=December 17, 2022|title=Brian Levant and the Beautiful Madness of Collecting Toon Toys & Memorabilia}}

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=

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Director

!Producer

!Writer

2008

|Beethoven's Big Break

|{{no}}

|{{yes|Story}}

2012

|A Christmas Story 2

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

2014

|Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

= Television =

TV movies

class="wikitable"
Year !Title !Director !Producer !Writer
rowspan=2\|1995 \|Problem Child 3: Junior in Love \|{{no}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|{{no}}
The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space \|{{no}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|{{yes\|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}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|{{yes}}

class="wikitable"

Year

!Title

!Director

!Producer

!Writer

rowspan=2|1995

|Problem Child 3: Junior in Love

|{{no}}

|{{yes|Executive}}

|{{no}}

The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space

|{{no}}

|{{yes|Executive}}

|{{yes|Story}}

2009

|Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

2010

|Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

2016

|The Game of Love

|{{no}}

|{{yes|Executive}}

|{{yes}}

TV series

class="wikitable"
Year !Title !Director !Producer !Writer !Creator !Notes
1976–84 \|Happy Days \|{{no}} \|{{yes\|Supervising}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Writer (14 episodes) / Producer (44 episodes)
1977 \|The Jeffersons \|{{no}} \|{{no}} \|{{yes\|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}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|{{yes}} \|{{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}} \|{{yes\|Co-Executive}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|72 episodes / Writer (Episode: "Pilot")
1990 \|Poochinski \|{{no}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Unsold pilot
1990-91 \|Babes \|{{no}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|{{no}} \|{{no}} \|22 episodes
1997 \|Metropolitan Hospital \|{{yes}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|Unsold pilot
2000 \|Father Can't Cope \|{{yes}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Unsold pilot
2001 \|Grounded for Life \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|{{no}} \|{{no}} \|Episode: "Eddie's Dead"

class="wikitable"

Year

!Title

!Director

!Producer

!Writer

!Creator

!Notes

1976–84

|Happy Days

|{{no}}

|{{yes|Supervising}}