Thunder Levin
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Thunder Levin | |
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| Born | Thunder Levin New York City, U.S. |
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| Known for | Sharknado |
Thunder Levin is an American screenwriter and director, most famous for writing the first four Sharknado films.[1][2] Levin's work was largely responsible for the resurgence of sharksploitation films.[3]
Background
Levin was born and raised in New York City. His father Michael was an award-winning journalist, while his mother Glenis was an immigrant from Liverpool, England.
Levin graduated from Hunter College High School, and received his BFA in Film from NYU.[4]
Early career
Levin moved to Los Angeles at the age of 23. In the late 1980s he worked as a still photographer on three movies for the legendary film producer Roger Corman.[1]
Levin's feature-film directorial debut was the 2008 horror comedy Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood![5][6] starring C. Thomas Howell.[5][7] Levin subsequently wrote and directed multiple films for production company The Asylum,[8] including the 2012 science-fiction action film American Warships and the 2013 sci-fi film AE: Apocalypse Earth.
Sharknado
In 2013, Levin wrote the made-for-television disaster film Sharknado, about a tornado of shark-infested seawater. The film's debut on SyFy attracted nearly 1.37 million viewers and generated nearly 5,000 tweets a minute at its peak.[9] In 2014 Levin penned a sequel, Sharknado 2: The Second One, which pulled in 3.9 million viewers.[10] Levin subsequently wrote two more sequels, 2015's Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! and 2016's Sharknado: The 4th Awakens. Sharknado became a pop culture phenomenon, ultimately spawning five sequels, a video game, a book, a one-shot comic book, a documentary, and a mockumentary.
Levin insists there is a scientific basis for the "sharknado" phenomenon.[11]
Filmography
- Zombie Tidal Wave (2019 - story by)[12]
- The Last Sharknado: It's About Time (2018 - based on characters created by, "Bar Patron")[10]
- Megalodon (2018 - story by)
- Geo-Disaster (2017 - director, written by)
- Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017 - based on characters created by)
- Creature Features (2017 TV series - self)
- Mind Blown (2016 - written by)
- Sharknado: The 4th Awakens (2016 - written by)
- Sharknado: Feeding Frenzy (2015 documentary - self)
- Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015 - written by, "Mr. Benchley from The Post")
- Infolist Pre Comic-Con Bash (2015 documentary short - self)
- Weekends with Alex Witt (2014 TV series - self)
- Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014 - written by)
- Sharknado (2013 - written by)
- From the Sea (2013 - screenplay)
- AE: Apocalypse Earth (2013 - director, written by)
- American Warships (2012 - director, writer)
- 200 M.P.H. (2011 - written by)
- Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood! (2008 - director, written by, executive producer)
- Venice Beach Sketches (2002 - editor)
- Soulmates (1992 - director)
- Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (1989 - still photographer)
- Stripped to Kill II: Live Girls (1989 - still photographer)
- Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988 - still photographer)
- Hydrosub: 2021 (1987 video game - "Crewman", off-line assistant/production associate)
- The Rescue of Pops Ghostly (1987 video game - off-line assistant/production associate)
References
- ^ a b Wiser, Curt (December 3, 2019). "Interview With Sharknado Writer Thunder Levin". OC Movie Reviews.
- ^ Bradley, Bill (July 22, 2015). "7 Glaring 'Sharknado' Plot Holes Are Finally Explained". HuffPost.
- ^ Hill, Kent (November 20, 2016). "Thunder Levin: An Interview by Kent Hill". Podcasting Them Softly.
- ^ "Chatting With Sherri Welcomes Producer/Director/Writer; Thunder Levin!". BlogTalkRadio. September 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ a b Dendle, Peter (2012). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2: 2000-2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 133–134. ISBN 978-0-7864-6163-9.
- ^ Suebsaeng, Asawin (July 11, 2013). "Can a "Sharknado" Really Happen?". Mother Jones. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ "Mutant Vampire Zombies From the Hood!". Variety. July 7, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ Salt, Paul (July 9, 2019). "Thunder Levin Interview: Sharknado Writer Talks The Asylum, Science and Why He's Never Made a Mockbuster". Screen Mayhem. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ Banks, Paul M. (August 6, 2017). "Sharknado Writer, Field Museum Scientist Gave Fascinating Insights into Film". The Bank. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ a b France, Lisa Respers (March 29, 2018). "'Sharknado' set to end with No. 6". CNN.
- ^ Newitz, Annalee; Bricken, Rob (July 11, 2013). "We asked the writer of Sharknado some very serious questions". Gizmodo. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ "Zombie Tidal Wave". SyFy.