Brian Michael Levant (born August 6, 1952) is an American television and film director, writer and producer.
Levant was born in Highland Park, Illinois. He 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, Jingle All the Way, Snow Dogs and Are We There Yet?.
Levant's work is generally disliked by film critics. In response to the criticism, Levant responded, "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 off a Friday night. I can't tell you how many times I've seen that."
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Title | Year | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Problem Child 2 | 1991 | Yes | Directorial debut | ||
| Beethoven | 1992 | Yes | |||
| The Flintstones | 1994 | Yes | |||
| Jingle All the Way | 1996 | Yes | |||
| Leave It to Beaver | 1997 | Yes | |||
| The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas | 2000 | Yes | |||
| Snow Dogs | 2002 | Yes | |||
| Are We There Yet? | 2005 | Yes | |||
| Beethoven's Big Break | 2008 | Story | Direct-to-video | ||
| The Spy Next Door | 2010 | Yes | |||
| A Christmas Story 2 | 2012 | Yes | Yes | Direct-to-video | |
| Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure | 2014 | Yes | Yes | Direct-to-video | |
| Max 2: White House Hero | 2017 | Yes | Limited released | ||
| Police Academy | TBA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Announced |
Television[]
Television film and unsold pilot[]
| Title | Year | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poochinski | 1990 | Executive | Yes | Unsold pilot | |
| Problem Child 3: Junior in Love | 1995 | Executive | |||
| The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space | 1995 | Executive | Story | ||
| Metropolitan Hospital | 1997 | Yes | Executive | Creator | Unsold pilot |
| Father Can't Cope | 2000 | Yes | Executive | Yes | Unsold pilot |
| Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins | 2009 | Yes | Yes | ||
| Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster | 2010 | Yes | Yes | ||
| The Game of Love | 2016 | Executive | Yes |
Television series[]
| Title | Year | Director | Producer | Writer | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Days | 1976–84 | Supervising | Yes | Writer (15 ep.) / Supervising producer (44 ep.) | ||
| The Jeffersons | 1977 | Story | Ep.: "Jefferson Airplane" | |||
| Please Stand By | 1978 | Yes | 1 ep. | |||
| Brothers and Sisters | 1979 | Yes | 2 ep. | |||
| The Bad News Bears | 1979–80 | Yes | Yes | Writer (2 ep.) / Producer (12 ep.) | ||
| Mork & Mindy | 1981–82 | Yes | Yes | Writer (2 ep.) / Producer (22 ep,) | ||
| The New Leave It to Beaver | 1983–89 | Yes | Executive | Yes | Developer | 102 ep. / Director (21 ep.) / Writer (19 ep.) |
| Married... with Children | 1987 | Yes | Episode: "The Poker Game" | |||
| Charles in Charge | 1988–89 | Yes | 2 episodes | |||
| My Secret Identity | 1988–91 | Co-Executive | Yes | Yes | 72 ep. / Writer and co-executive producer (Ep. "Pilot") | |
| Babes | 1990 | Executive | 2 ep. | |||
| Grounded for Life | 2001 | Yes | Ep.: "Eddie's Dead" |