Michael A. Levine

Michael A. Levine is a retired partner of the law firm of Goodmans LLP, Toronto. He concentrated his work on the legal aspects of the entertainment industry, primarily the financing, production and distribution of theatre, film, television, books and multimedia. He is a graduate in Honours Political Science and Economics, and Law from the University of Toronto, worked for the Government of Canada in East Africa and then returned to join the law firm of Rosenfeld, Schwartz, in which firm he became Managing Partner in November 1973 and remained until that firm merged with Goodmans’ predecessor in May, 1982.

Mr. Levine has acted for a number of film, television and live theatre producers, writers, directors, personalities in many media fields, distributors, including many of the U.S. majors and mini-majors, television networks, trade associations, Canadian chartered banks, trust companies and private financiers in the interim and equity financing of film, as well as private foundations, authors, literary agents, book retailers, art galleries. He has guest-lectured in the entertainment field at the University of Toronto Law School, Osgoode Hall Law School, the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, The American Bar Association, UCLA, the Los Angeles Bar Association, Cinetex, Cannes Film Festival, The Banff Television Festival, The Canadian Institute, Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, Toronto Metropolitan University and has participated in the entertainment law training of the Practising Law Institute.

Mr. Levine was a founding Director of The Canadian Film Centre and is a former Director of TV Ontario, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, Access Alberta, the Festival of Festivals, the Young Naturalist Foundation, the Royal Ontario Museum, MZTV Museum (Moses Znaimer), CANFAR, a member of the Advisory Committee of The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, a Director of Roy Thomson Hall/Massey Hall (2005-2014) and the Empire Club of Canada. He was a former Chairman of the Festival Trade Forum and Co-Chairman of a fundraising Campaign for Gzowski College/Trent University and was the United Way Toronto Entertainment and Tourism Chairman 2000.

Mr. Levine is currently Chairman of WCA (Westwood Creative Artists Ltd.), Chairperson of Bravo!FACT, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Trudeau Centre for the Study of Peace and Conflict (University of Toronto), a Director of the National Screen Institute (2005-), a Trustee of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, an advisor to the LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture Series under the aegis of John Ralston Saul, Chairman of Holy Blossom Temple Plaut Humanitarian Award Committee, Director of Groundling (Graham Abbey), a member of the Board of the Segal Centre (2015-), Distinguished Visiting Professor and member of the Advisory Council of the School of Creative Industries at Toronto Metropolitan University, former Executive Vice- Chairman and current consultant to Historica Canada, and a former member of OCAD Presidential Advisory Council (Ontario College of Art & Design term ending in 2016).

Mr. Levine, through Generic Productions Inc., has acted as Executive Producer of:
“The Terry Fox Story” (first made for HBO film)
“The Land That Devours Ships” (Dr. Joseph P. MacInnis)
“The Struggle for Democracy” (Patrick Watson);
“True Alchemy” (Gigi Pritzker)
“The Search for Santa” (Robert Scully)
“Making It Abroad” (Adrienne Clarkson)
“The End of the War” (Sir Martin Gilbert)
“The Danger Tree” (David Macfarlane/John McGreevy)
“Just A Minute” for The CRB Foundation Heritage Project
“A Soldier’s Peace”, (Major-General Lewis MacKenzie)
“Hollywoodism” (Associated Producers) based on Neal Gabler’s “An Empire of Their Own: How
The Jews Invented Hollywood”
“Canadian Revolution” – Peter C. Newman (John McGreevy);
“The Girl in the Photograph” – The Kim Phuc Story (Shelley Saywell)
“Canadians: Biographies of a Nation” (History Television/Historica)
“Empire of the Bay” (John McGreevy);
“The Age of Dorian” (Cherry Pie Productions Inc./Bravo!)
“Sir Wilfrid Laurier” (Bruce Yaccato/History Television)
“Titans” (Paperny Films)
“Mordecai Richler: A Celebration” (live and CBC Network)
"Samuel Bak: Painter of Questions" (Christa Singer Productions)
"The Human Kazoo" (Fabrizio Filippo and Adam Till)
"Camp Hollywood" (David Hirsh/Stephen Markle)
“St. Urbain’s Horseman” – Mordecai Richler (Galafilm Inc.)
”The Trouble with Islam” – Irshad Manji (90th Parallel)
“Extraordinary Canadians” (OMNI/CBC/PMA Productions)
“The Heritage Project” for The Historica Foundation
“Republic of Doyle”, Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
“Sir John A Macdonald” by Richard Gwyn (“The Rivals”)/Indian Grove Productions for CBC
“An Unlikely Obsession: The True Story of Churchill & the Jews”, Barry Avrich
“Shaun Majumder: Every Word is Absolutely True” – Feature length documentary
“Majumder Manor” – Television Series on W, Seasons 1 and 2
“Deadweight” – with Jordan Walker
“The Book of Negroes” – Conquering Lion Productions (CSA Award)
“La Rêve de Champlain” – with TFO
“Frontier” – Seasons 1 and 2 with Take the Shot Productions/Bell/Netflix
“Caught” – with Take the Shot Productions
“21 Thunder” – with PMA Productions
“The Little Prince” (Guillaume Cote) – with The National Ballet of Canada and documentary –
90th Parallel/Fairplay/Slalom

With Stratford Festival:
“Caesar & Cleopatra” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Barry Avrich with Chris Plummer – 2008
“The Tempest” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Barry Avrich and Christopher Plummer – 2010
“King Lear” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival & Barry Avrich – 2014
(CSA Award – Best Performing Arts Program)
“King John” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival & Barry Avrich – 2014
“Antony & Cleopatra” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival & Barry Avrich – 2014
“Hamlet” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival & Barry Avrich – 2015
“The Taming of the Shrew” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival & Barry Avrich – 2015
(CSA Award – Best Performing Arts Program)
(CSA Award –  Best Actor in a leading role in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series, Ben
Carlson)
“The Adventures of Pericles” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival & Barry Avrich – 2015
“Macbeth” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival & Barry Avrich – 2016
“Love’s Labour’s Lost” – Stratford Shakespeare Festival & Barry Avrich – 2015
Michael has also acted as Associate Producer of “CityLights” starring Brian Linehan for 17 years.
In progress:
Executive Producer – 90th Parallel – Various Productions
Executive Producer – Prospero Pictures – “Son of a Smaller Hero”
(Mordecai Richler/Allan Scott and Charles Officer)
Executive Producer – Conquering Lion – Lawrence Hill – “The Illegal”
Executive Producer – Karolyn Smardz Frost – “Steal Away Home”
Executive Producer with TFO/Bell – “Legacy: The French Canadian Contribution to North
America” – 90 th Parallel/Fairplay/Slalom
Executive Producer – Robert Cooper/PMA Productions – “Port Royal”
Executive Producer – Shanna Albert/Malcolm McRury – “Rum Runners” – E1/Discovery
Executive Producer – White Pine Productions – Robbie Robertson
Executive Producer – Irene Lillienheim/Abbey Neidik – “The First to Stand” – TVO