Brian Michael Levant (born August 6, 1952) is an American filmmaker.
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, 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.
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 YearTitleDirectorProducerStory2008Beethoven's Big Break2012A Christmas Story 22014Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure
Television TV movies YearTitleDirectorProducerWriter1995Problem Child 3: Junior in LoveThe Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space2009Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins2010Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster2016The Game of Love
TV series YearTitleDirectorProducerWriterCreatorNotes1976–84Happy DaysWriter (14 episodes) / Producer (44 episodes)1977The JeffersonsEpisode: "Jefferson Airplane"1978Please Stand By1 episode1979Brothers and Sisters2 episodes1979–80The Bad News BearsWriter (2 episodes) / Producer (12 episodes)1981–82Mork & MindyWriter (2 episodes) / Producer (22 episodes)1983–89The New Leave It to Beaver102 episodes / Director (21 episodes) / Writer (19 episodes)1987Married... with ChildrenEpisode: "The Poker Game"1988–89Charles in Charge2 episodes1988–91My Secret Identity72 episodes / Writer (Episode: "Pilot")1990PoochinskiUnsold pilot1990-91Babes22 episodes1997Metropolitan HospitalUnsold pilot2000Father Can't CopeUnsold pilot2001Grounded for LifeEpisode: "Eddie's Dead"
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