Brian Levant

Last updated

Brian Levant
Born
Brian Michael Levant

(1952-08-06) August 6, 1952 (age 71)
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]

Contents

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 , [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

Feature film

Director

Writer

Direct-to-video

YearTitleDirectorProducerWriter
2008 Beethoven's Big Break NoNoStory
2012 A Christmas Story 2 YesYesNo
2014 Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal AdventureYesYesNo

Television

TV movies

YearTitleDirectorProducerWriter
1995 Problem Child 3: Junior in Love NoExecutiveNo
The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space NoExecutiveStory
2009 Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins YesYesNo
2010 Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster YesYesNo
2016The Game of LoveNoExecutiveYes

TV series

YearTitleDirectorProducerWriterCreatorNotes
1976–84 Happy Days NoSupervisingYesNoWriter (14 episodes) / Producer (44 episodes)
1977 The Jeffersons NoNoStoryNoEpisode: "Jefferson Airplane"
1978Please Stand ByNoNoYesNo1 episode
1979 Brothers and Sisters NoNoYesNo2 episodes
1979–80 The Bad News Bears NoYesYesNoWriter (2 episodes) / Producer (12 episodes)
1981–82 Mork & Mindy NoYesYesNoWriter (2 episodes) / Producer (22 episodes)
1983–89 The New Leave It to Beaver YesExecutiveYesDeveloper102 episodes / Director (21 episodes) / Writer (19 episodes)
1987 Married... with Children YesNoNoNoEpisode: "The Poker Game"
1988–89 Charles in Charge YesNoNoNo2 episodes
1988–91 My Secret Identity NoCo-ExecutiveYesYes72 episodes / Writer (Episode: "Pilot")
1990 Poochinski NoExecutiveYesNoUnsold pilot
1990-91 Babes NoExecutiveNoNo22 episodes
1997Metropolitan HospitalYesExecutiveNoYesUnsold pilot
2000Father Can't CopeYesExecutiveYesNoUnsold pilot
2001 Grounded for Life YesNoNoNoEpisode: "Eddie's Dead"

Related Research Articles

<i>The Flintstones</i> American animated sitcom

The Flintstones is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the Rubbles. It was originally broadcast on ABC from September 30, 1960, to April 1, 1966, and was the first animated series with a prime-time slot on television.

<i>The Flintstones</i> (film) 1994 film by Brian Levant

The Flintstones is a 1994 American family comedy film directed by Brian Levant and written by Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein, and Steven E. de Souza based on the 1960–1966 animated television series of the same name. The film stars John Goodman as Fred Flintstone, Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble, Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma Flintstone, and Rosie O'Donnell as Betty Rubble, along with Kyle MacLachlan as Cliff Vandercave, a villainous executive-vice president of Fred's company, Halle Berry as Sharon Stone, his seductive secretary, and Elizabeth Taylor, as Pearl Slaghoople, Wilma's mother. The B-52's performed their version of the cartoon's theme song, playing themselves as the BC-52's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann-Margret</span> Swedish actress, singer, and dancer (born 1941)

Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress and singer credited as Ann-Margret. She has won five Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and six Emmy Awards, winning in 2010 for a guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Flintstone</span> Character from The Flintstones

Fred Flintstone is the main character of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960 to 1966. Fred is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles Flintstone and together the family live in their homely cave in the town of Bedrock. His best friend is his next door neighbor, Barney, who has a wife named Betty.

<i>The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas</i> 2000 comedy film directed by Brian Levant

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 American romantic comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jim Cash, Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, and Jack Epps, Jr., and is the prequel to Levant's The Flintstones (1994), based on the 1960–1966 animated television series of the same name. It is set before the events of both the series and the first film, showing how Fred and Barney meet Wilma and Betty. The title is a play on the Elvis Presley song, Viva Las Vegas, also used as the title of an MGM musical film.

<i>Viva Las Vegas</i> 1964 film by George Sidney

Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American musical film directed by George Sidney, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The film is regarded by fans and film critics as one of Presley's best films, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret.

<i>Jingle All the Way</i> 1996 film by Brian Levant

Jingle All the Way is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and postal worker Myron Larabee (Sinbad), both desperately trying to purchase a Turbo-Man action figure for their respective sons on a last-minute shopping spree on Christmas Eve. The film's title is borrowed from the lyrics of the popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilma Flintstone</span> Fictional character in the animated TV series The Flintstones

Wilma Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones. Wilma is the red-headed woman married to caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, and mother of Pebbles Flintstone. Her best friend is her next door neighbor, Betty Rubble.

Bedrock (<i>The Flintstones</i>) Fictional town in The Flintstones

Bedrock is the fictional town located in prehistory that is home to the characters of the hit animated television series The Flintstones.

Walter Anthony Murphy Jr. is an American composer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for the instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony which topped the charts in 1976 and was featured on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1977. Further classical–disco fusions followed, such as "Flight '76", "Toccata and Funk in 'D' Minor" "Bolero", and "Mostly Mozart", but were not as successful.

<i>Honeymoon in Vegas</i> 1992 film by Andrew Bergman

Honeymoon in Vegas is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman and starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Richard Thomas Correll is an American television actor, director, producer and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Kroyer</span> American animator

William Kroyer is an American director of animation and computer graphics commercials, short films, movie titles, and theatrical films. He and Jerry Rees were the main animators for the CGI sequences in Tron. He is currently the head of the Digital Arts department at Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.

Bruce Lanoil is an American puppeteer who works for The Jim Henson Company and for The Walt Disney Company. He frequently works with puppeteer David Alan Barclay.

Kent Beyda is an American film editor.

The Larami Corporation was a toy company established by David W. Ring in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1959. It produced licensed toys based on movies and television shows. Often low-quality, these were manufactured in Hong Kong and Japan for sale on grocery store toy aisle racks for under a dollar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Henson's Creature Shop</span> Special/visual effects company

Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based out of Burbank, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road to the Multiverse</span> 1st episode of the 8th season of Family Guy

"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009, along with the series premiere of The Cleveland Show. In "Road to the Multiverse", two of the show's main characters, baby genius Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian, both voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, use an "out-of-this-world" remote control to travel through a series of various parallel universes. They eventually end up in a world where dogs rule and humans obey. Brian becomes reluctant to return to his own universe, and he ultimately ends up breaking the remote, much to the dismay of Stewie, who soon seeks a replacement. The "Road to" episodes which have aired throughout various seasons of Family Guy were inspired by the Road to ... comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, though this episode was not originally conceived as a "Road to" show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Barclay (puppeteer)</span> British puppeteer

David Alan Barclay is a British puppeteer who had worked on some projects of The Jim Henson Company. He has been at the cutting edge of animatronic puppetry since 1979. Barclay, who hails from London, is a Master Puppeteer, Animatronic Designer and Supervisor, a CG key frame Animator, and Director and Producer of animatronic and animation projects for film and television.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Brian Levant". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2016. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  2. 1 2 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.