Sharknado

Sharknado
DVD cover
Directed by	Anthony C. Ferrante
Produced by	David Michael Latt
Written by	Thunder Levin
Starring	Tara Reid Ian Ziering John Heard
Music by	Ramin Kousha
Cinematography	Ben Demaree
Editing by	William Boodell
Distributed by	The Asylum
Release dates	July 11, 2013 (2013-07-11)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$250,000[1]

Sharknado is a 2013 made-for-television disaster B movie about a waterspout that lifts sharks out of the ocean and deposits them in Los Angeles.^[2][3] It first aired on the Syfy channel on July 11, 2013, and stars Cassie Scerbo, Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, and John Heard.^[4] It was also given a one-night only special midnight theatrical screening via Regal Cinemas and NCM Fathom Events, where it took less than $200,000 in the box office across 200 screenings.^[5][6]

Plot

A freak hurricane hits Los Angeles causing man-eating sharks to be scooped up in water spouts and flooding the city with shark-infested seawater. Surfer and bar-owner Fin (Ziering) sets out with his friends Baz (Jaason Simmons) and Nova (Scerbo) to rescue his estranged wife April (Reid) and teenage daughter Claudia (Aubrey Peeples). He succeeds but April's boyfriend is eaten by the sharks. The group meets up with Matt (Chuck Hittinger), the adult son of Fin and April, who is in flying school. They decide to try to stop the threat of the incoming "sharknadoes" by tossing bombs into them from a helicopter.

As Nova prepares to throw one of the bombs, she falls out of the helicopter and directly into a shark's mouth. Matt is heartbroken. Baz is also lost in the storm. After Matt lands on the ground, a flying shark plummets toward the remaining members of the group. Fin jumps into its mouth with a chainsaw and cuts his way out. He emerges carrying an unconscious but miraculously unharmed Nova. Matt is reunited with Nova and Fin gets back together with April.^[7]

Cast

• Ian Ziering as Finley 'Fin' Shepherd
• Tara Reid as April Wexler
• Chuck Hittinger as Matt Shepherd
• Aubrey Peeples as Claudia Shepherd
• John Heard as George
• Cassie Scerbo as Nova Clarke
• Jaason Simmons as Baz
• Diane Chambers as Agnes
• Julie McCullough as Joni Waves
• Robbie Rist as Robbie

Production

Sharknado was directed for film studio The Asylum by Anthony C. Ferrante, whose previous directing credits include the horror film Boo, and written by Thunder Levin, whose previous writing credits include the film Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!.^[2] The film's tagline is "Enough said!"^[8] Sharknado is one of many B-movies commissioned by Syfy.^[9] Robbie Rist said in an interview that he came upon the film's poster at the American Film Market and became enthused about the concept. When his friend Ferrante said that he had been approached to direct the film, Rist insisted that Ferrante take the job. Rist was given a small role in the film and composed the theme.^[10]

Actress Tara Reid said of the film, "It is silly, and there's only a certain amount of barriers you could go into. You can't take it so seriously when it's absolutely the sharks flying in the sky. It's so out there that it's actually really funny." The cast had to imagine the presence of sharks due to a green screen being frequently in use.^[11] Ian Ziering stated that he had serious reservations about the script but was motivated, in part, by the need to earn enough to qualify for Screen Actors Guild health insurance for his family.^[12]

In an interview with Uproxx's Danger Guerrero, Ferrante summarized the film's plot: "There's a flood. And a storm. Don't worry about it."^[13]

Release

Fans promoting Sharknado 2 at the San Diego Comic Con International in 2013

The premiere of the film was watched by 1.37 million viewers, which is slightly below the average audience of 1.5 million viewers for a typical Syfy original film.^[9][14] Despite this, however, the film was a trend on Twitter, including discussion by celebrities such as Damon Lindelof, Wil Wheaton, and Olivia Wilde and also by Cory Monteith, whose last tweet before he died was about the film. Due to an increase in publicity (mostly through Twitter), Syfy repeated Sharknado on Thursday, July 18, 2013, one week after its premiere. The airing was watched by 1.89 million viewers, an increase of 38% over its initial airing.^[15] On July 27, a third airing of Sharknado got 2.1 million viewers, continuing the increase in popularity of the film and setting a record for most watched original film encore in Syfy history.^[16] Sharknado is projected to increase revenue for The Asylum from $5 million in 2009 to $19 million in 2013.^[17]

A representative of the National Weather Service jokingly recommended what to do in case of a sharknado, saying: "As with any waterspout or tornado, the best advice is to be in an interior part of the lowest floor of a sturdy building – and not outside, whether sharks are raining down or not."^[2] Organizations such as the Red Cross of Oklahoma City also used the film as an opportunity to pass on storm safety information^[18] while others incorporated it into their own advertising.^[19]

Regal Cinemas announced that at midnight on August 2, 2013, it would play the film in roughly 200 theaters nationally.^[20] Tickets sold out quickly in New York, Boston, and Seattle, where more showings were added to appease customer demand.^[21] Despite its popularity on Twitter, box office numbers were weak for the midnight showings; estimates were at under $200,000.^[22]

International broadcast

• Australia – Premiere on the The Universal Channel was scheduled for September 9, 2013,^[23] but was fast-tracked to premiere on July 26, 2013, after the film's wide international response.^[24] It rated 54,000 viewers, making it the sixth most watched program for the night (and third most watched non-sport program) on subscription television.^[25]
• United Kingdom – Premiered on the Syfy channel on August 7, 2013.^[26]
• New Zealand – Premiered on free-to-air television channel Prime on September 17, 2013.
• Germany – Premiered on free-to-air Tele 5 television channel on January 10, 2014 as part of their "Worst films of all times" series.

Merchandising

Syfy and The Asylum announced in August 2013 that Sharknado merchandise would be made available, including t-shirts and potentially other products.^[27]

Reception

Sharknado received positive reviews. It currently has an 82% "fresh" score at Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 6.1/10 based on 17 reviews.^[28] The consensus states: "Proudly, shamelessly, and gloriously brainless, Sharknado redefines "so bad it's good" for a new generation." Reviewer Mary McNamara, writing for the Los Angeles Times, mentioned that the plot holes are "the whole point of movies like this" and that they are "fabulous in-home commentary. Often accompanied by the consumption of many alcoholic beverages."^[4] David Hinckley of the New York Daily News said "Sharknado is an hour and a half of your life that you'll never get back. And you won't want to."^[28]

However, Kim Newman of Empire called the film "cynical rubbish, with an attention-getting title and just enough footage of terrible CG sharks in a terrible CG tornado chomping on people to fill out a trailer suitable for attracting YouTube hits."^[29]

Sharknado has become a cult film.^[30]

Sequel

Syfy announced that they have ordered a sequel to premiere in 2014, set in New York City,^[31] and were running a Twitter contest to allow fans to choose the title for the new film.^[32] It was announced on August 8, 2013, that the sequel would be titled Sharknado 2: The Second One and is scheduled to premiere in July 2014.^[33] On January 30, an article reported that stars Ian Zeiring and Tara Reid were confirmed to reprise their roles for the sequel, along with the announcement of principle photography commencing on February 13 in order to make the previously announced Syfy channel premiere date in July.^[34]

See also

• List of killer shark films

References

External links

• Official website
• Sharknado at the Internet Movie Database
• Sharknado at Rotten Tomatoes