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Earlier this week, SyFy announced there will be a "Sharknado" sequel on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."
The made-for-TV film brought in little more than 1.3 million viewers, but generated a lot of buzz on Twitter, racking in 600,000 tweets upon its debut July 11.
We spoke with writer Thunder Levin — yes, that's his real name — to hear more about the "Sharknado" phenomenon and its impending sequel.
"Being on Twitter during the broadcast reminded me of going to opening night of 'Snakes on a Plane,'" says Levin. "The audience I saw it with, they were shouting out lines and all sorts of comments and they were throwing popcorn at the screen. They were having a great time with it. That's sort of what we were hoping for. That's what happened, but in a virtual sense."
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"It was just overwhelming, surreal, amazing, ridiculous," adds Levin. "Every time I would look down at the computer to type a tweet, I would look back up and there were 200 more that came in."Overall, it is estimated "Sharknado" received 5,000 tweets per minute. "I can't help but wonder if this is an indicator of things to come and if it's a new way to measure the success of a piece of entertainment," he adds.Right now, all we know about "Sharknado 2" is that it's set to take place in Manhattan. Levin suggests SyFy should go all out with an appearance on the big screen for the even bigger sequel. "You put more money into it, and you do it for a theatrical release," says Levin. "And, if we're going to do that, let's go back to the classic action movies like "The Towering Inferno" and 'Airplane!' They have lots of great cameos and kill them off — very quickly — so you don't have to pay much."In a recent Reddit Ask Me Anything, director Anthony C. Ferrante and producer Devin Ward confirmed the original cost near $1 million to make.So, who would star in this production? "I would hope that they would bring back members of the original cast," says Levin. "I was certainly impressed with Ian Ziering. I think he really reinvented himself as an action star." SyFy/"Sharknado"Levin would like to see Ian Ziering surrounded by some big Hollywood cameos in the sequel.We asked Levin if could tap any talent in Hollywood who he would want to see in the follow-up."Who would I love to see? Harrison Ford and George Clooney," says Levin. "You know who I think would be perfect? Steven Spielberg and we could have a shark eat him. You know, 'cause he started all this." Many celebrities were very vocal about "Sharknado," so it may not be so difficult to gain interest in a big-name cameo.Among the SyFy film's enthusiasts is "Lost" co-creator and writer Damon Lindelof who expressed interest in writing the sequel. Levin tells us he briefly heard from Lindelof and asked if he was willing to meet but hasn't heard back since. Currently, SyFy is holding a contest on Twitter asking fans to come up with the title of the next film.Ideas have ranged from Sharkacane to Sharknado takes Manhattan.Levin has a suggestion of his own."I saw a few of them," says Levin. "Because they want it to be in New York, I would go with 'Sharknado 2: Live On Broadway.'"
