Editing Brian Levant

{{short description|American filmmaker (born 1952)}}

{{multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=January 2011}}
{{More footnotes|date=January 2011}}
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{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.<ref name=NYT>{{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}}</ref>

==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 (film)|Beethoven]]'',<ref name=NYT/> ''[[The Flintstones (film)|The Flintstones]]'' and its 2000 prequel ''[[The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas]]'', ''[[Jingle All the Way]]'', ''[[Snow Dogs]]'' and ''[[Are We There Yet? (film)|Are We There Yet?]]''.<ref name=NYT/>

Though his work is generally disliked by film critics,<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref> 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 Friends|Garfield Goose]]'' and ''[[The Three Stooges]]'' on [[WGN-TV|WGN]]...To read those reviews is an act of self-flagellation, but reviews be damned when you're at [[Blockbuster LLC|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."<ref name=":0" />

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''.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Feature film===
'''Director'''
* ''[[Problem Child 2]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Beethoven (film)|Beethoven]]'' (1992)
* ''[[The Flintstones (film)|The Flintstones]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Jingle All the Way]]'' (1996)
* ''[[The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Snow Dogs]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Are We There Yet? (film)|Are We There Yet?]]'' (2005)
* ''[[The Spy Next Door]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Max 2: White House Hero]]'' (2017)

'''Writer'''
* ''[[Leave It to Beaver (film)|Leave It to Beaver]]'' (1997)

===Direct-to-video===
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Director
!Producer
!Writer
|-
|2008
|''[[Beethoven's Big Break]]''
|{{no}}
|{{no}}
|{{yes|Story}}
|-
|2012
|''[[A Christmas Story 2]]''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|-
|2014
|''[[Sophia Grace & Rosie]]'s Royal Adventure''
|{{yes}}
|{{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}}
|}

'''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 (1979 TV series)|''Brothers and Sisters'']]
|{{no}}
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|{{no}}
|2 episodes
|-
|1979–80
|''[[The Bad News Bears (TV series)|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 (TV series)|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"
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0505152}}
* {{tcmdb name|id=112707|name=Brian Levant}}

{{Brian Levant}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levant, Brian}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Film producers from Illinois]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:American male television writers]]
[[Category:Television producers from Illinois]]
[[Category:American television writers]]
[[Category:Film directors from Illinois]]
[[Category:Highland Park High School (Illinois) alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Highland Park, Illinois]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Illinois]]
[[Category:American comedy film directors]]


{{US-film-director-1950s-stub}}