It's just not summer without a Sharknado movie. Luckily, the low-budget disaster movie-turned-cultural phenomenon is getting ready to swim back to Syfy on July 22 for its third coming, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
Oh hell yes! Ian Ziering and Tara Reid will be back for this third installment of the franchise as newly-back-together exes Fin and April — this time to save the East Coast, or rather "Feast Coast," from being completely torn a part by Sharknadoes. Sharknado 3 promises to bring even more beloved landmarks (the White House, Universal Studios), more celebrities (David Hasselhoff, Bo Derek, Ann Coulter) and, of course, more sharks flailing around in twisters.
If you don't understand what all of the fuss over the Sharknado movies is about, you're probably taking them too seriously. It's about watching Ziering and company do whatever it takes with whatever object is lying around to save their current city from complete and total destruction by a whirling cascade of bloodthirsty sharks. Oh, and all of the over-the-top performances and camp are good too. That's just about all there is to it.
Though it may not seem like it, a lot of work goes into making the Sharknado movies a reality. Okay, some work. No one knows that better than Thunder Levin, the writer of all three Sharknado films. And yes, that is his real name.
T-Lounge recently spoke with Levin over the phone to get all details on Sharknado 3, from the challenges of writing the film to its most hilarious celebrity cameo to why this franchise might just save the world. Seriously.
It just started raining here in New York, so I feel like the universe must have known that I was speaking to you today.
Yeah, keep your eye on the skies.
Exactly. So just to start off, what can we expect from Sharknado 3?
Let’s see. Three times the sharks, three times the 'nadoes and 100 percent more Hoff.
What is going to be different about this movie compared with the first two films?
Well, it’s got a bigger scope. Each of the first two films took place in one city, and this is basically the entire East Coast. It starts in Washington, D.C., in Florida in Orlando and points beyond even that. So it’s definitely a bigger film. They do a lot of traveling. It’s really kind of like several different movies in one, because the opening is kind of a White House Down/Die Hard kind of action film, and then it becomes a road trip movie, and then it becomes a disaster film at Universal Studios, and then it becomes yet something else again. It’s really sort of expanding the horizons of the franchise.
Do you have a survival strategy for how you would personally survive during a Sharknado?
Yeah, I’d find Ian Ziering and his chainsaw and just stay close to him.
Has working on these movies made you more or less afraid of sharks?
Neither. To be honest, these movies are so unrealistic. I’ve talked to some scientists about this, and theoretically, it would be possible. In all honestly, I’m more concerned about a giant earthquake. I’m more concerned about a global pandemic or a terrorist getting a nuclear weapon. Those are the disasters I’m prepared for.
I’m not really concerned about the sharks. I’ve swum with sharks. I’ve snorkeled with sharks. I think now since I’ve made these movies, there might be a sense that I should stay away from them just out of sort of a karma thing, because they know I’m responsible for the deaths of millions of sharks [Laughs]. But no, seriously, I’m not any more afraid of sharks than I was before.
Do you think the Sharknado movies have made other people more afraid of sharks?
Well, I would hope so. After all, before it was just a matter of if you’re afraid of sharks, stay out of the water. We’ve eliminated that as a safety mechanism, so I would hope people are running in terror.
Right, nowhere is safe.
Nowhere is safe.
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