| Type | Film, Television Production |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | Los Angeles, CA US (April 30, 1993) |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Larry Levinson,President |
| Products | Motion pictures |
Larry Levinson is an American director, screenwriter, actor, producer and the president of Larry Levinson Productions .
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The production company LLP [1] was founded by Larry Levinson in 1993 and in that same year produced its first feature-length television movie Rio Diablo, thereafter producing between two and ten TV Movies a year. Notable productions include Rough Riders, a TV mini-series based on future President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt's early life adventures with the 2nd cavalry brigade at San juan hill, and the well liked Streets of Laredo. The miniseries Rough Riders was nominated for the lone star film and television awards for best TV actor Tom Berenger best TV Mini-series and best screen play. It also won an Emmy Award for outstanding sound editing in 1998. The miniseries Streets of Laredo was nominated for six separate awards, winning four of these including an emmy for an outstanding individual achievement in casting for a miniseries. It also won an ASC award for outstanding achievement in cinematography a lone star film and television award for best supporting actress Sonia Braga and a bronze wrangler for best television feature film. Streets of Laredo and Rough Riders where produced by LLP for NBC and TNT both major networks, both productions had large budgets an long shooting schedules where the accent was firmly on quality.
Since then, the production company has produced more than 181 television movies, feature films, television series and mini series.[2]
Larry Levinson' began his career as a screen writer on the television series Laverne & Shirley in 1982, and later in 1985, working for Cannon Entertainment, he wrote the Chuck Norris war picture Missing in Action 2.
The company was incorporated in 1993 in the state of California and has been in business for 18 years.
The company has forged a long term business relationship with Hallmark Channel,[3] a family major cable television network. Deadly Pandemic, a mini series, accounted for 8 hours of programming time but mini-series[4] are now considered on a par with TV series in terms of cost per hour. Love Comes Softly and it nine sequels: Love's Enduring Promise (2004), Love's Long Journey (2005), Love's Abiding Joy (2006), Love's Unending Legacy (2007), Love's Unfolding Dream (2007), Love Takes Wing (April 4, 2009), and Love Finds a Home (April 11, 2009), as well as two prequels, Love Begins, Love's Everlasting Courage (both 2011), and Love's Christmas Journey were all produced by LLP and perfectly illustrate the company's philosophy of using established authors works adapted for television.Love Comes Softly is a 2003 Christian drama television movie set in the 19th century, based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It originally aired on Hallmark Channel in 2003. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr., and stars Katherine Heigl as a young woman named Marty Claridge. The Love Comes Softly series has been a ratings winner for Hallmark and continues to spark sequels as well as prequels. LLP will produce the next installment.
LLP has a family oriented focus: this is a business policy that has served it well epescially in middle America where the Hallmark Entertainmant network, to whom it supplies most of its productions and where it has it's highest viewing figues. Other clientelle include: Hearst Entertainment, USA channel,TNT, NBC Television, CBS Television and ABC Television, as LLP seeks to broaden its business base.
Larry Levinson productions has a chequered history with the major theatrical unions while agreements have been reached with SAG and the DGA no such agreements exist with either the WGA or IATSE. A number of LLP productions have been the target of strike actions in particular the 2009 production Mega Storm[5] a Mini-series for NBC Television.The craft unions have accused LLP of working 16 hour+ days paying less than the national minimum wage and discriminating against its members. Further accusations involing intimidation practices by LLP staff members were made when these staff members where observed videotaping picketing IATSE members on the 2009 strike of the production Mega Storm.[6] Members of IATSE have been refused employment at LLP for trying to organise productions i.e. attempting to unionise productions. Numerous disputes have taken place in 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2009 strikes were organised on LLP productions over low pay long hours and dangerous working conditions. IATSE members have taken industrial action on at least 5 LLP productions in the last 3 years although many of its members still choose to work on the non-union productions for a fraction of their union's hourly wage.
Head Office Larry Levinson Productions 500 South Sepulveda Blvd Suite 610, Los Angeles, CA 90049