In a movie that's jam-packed with an endless string of so-absurd-it's-awesome moments, it's hard to do anything that truly shocks the audience. Sure, there are gasp-worthy moments of surprise, things so ludicrous, you can't help but laugh because you didn't see them coming.
But pulling off a curveball whammy, a genuine bit of pure stupefaction, takes some real cunning. And not a small amount of stealth.
Such was the case last night during the Syfy premiere of Sharknado 3, when fans of Game of Thrones got a thoroughly unexpected delight. Spoiler alert (for Sharknado, not Game of Thrones).
At one point in Sharknado 3, the flying shark action cuts to a movie theater, where the audience is watching a horror movie involving (what else?) sharks. And since this is Sharknado, no ordinary shark movie would do. The fake film-within-a-film starred a three-headed shark. Just because.
The Game of Thrones shocker came when a sharknado burst through the silver screen (literally) and the theater's first victim turned out to be none other than George R.R. Martin, the writer of the fantasy novels Game of Thrones is based on. And this wasn't a fake GRRM, aka a look-a-like actor. It really was George R.R. Martin himself, making a cameo in the over-the-top shlockfest. (Inexplicably, sitting next to Martin was what appeared to be a woman in a wedding dress. Because there's no such thing as "too crazy" when it comes to Sharknado.) Martin was dispatched quickly and messily, thanks to a big shark bite to the abdomen, followed by a second shark that decapitates him.
Director Anthony C. Ferrante, who's directed all three Sharknado movies, told The Hollywood Reporter that Martin's cameo was his favorite surprise in the movie, and that he wanted to prevent it from being spoiled above all else. Ferrante also took joy at the thought that Martin taking a day off from writing to be in Sharknado 3 would infuriate his fans. Martin is famously slow at writing, and the sixth book in his "A Song of Ice and Fire," The Winds of Winter, has been delayed multiple times. After four years of work, its release date is still undetermined.
All that waiting has turned even the most faithful readers bitter about... well, waiting. Seeing Martin get eaten by a shark was a satisfying sight for readers who've been burned by one missed deadline after another.
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