Interview with the Writer of Sharknado

July 11th, 2013

Three posts in two days about Sharknado? Is this ultra-crappy SyFy monster movie really worth that much attention?

Yes. Yes it is.

But more importantly, this interview with the writer of Sharknado is all kinds of awesome.

Especially this:

“As anyone would expect, the tornadoes suck up thousands of sharks. This all just seems like common sense to me.”

And this:

“If you were a shark and you found yourself flying through the air, wouldn’t you keep biting? I think you’d be pretty pissed about being plucked out of your nice familiar ocean where you’re king of the predators, and you’d probably take it out on whoever got in your way. Honestly, I don’t understand why people are so perplexed by this concept. The logic is undeniable.”

Try to work “the logic is undeniable” into your next conversation.

Oh, the writer, Thunder Levin (his real name) is also responsible for Atlantic Rim. Really, the dogged dedication behind their work has to elevate the crew at The Asylum from “shameless Z-grade movie ripoff artists” to “Sublime ongoing performance art project”…

Inside The Asylum

July 11th, 2013

It takes a very special kind of company to make a film like Sharknado. And The Asylum is that company.

Some tidbits:

“At Syfy, Lando follows a strict formula for its movies of the week: an eight-act plot structure, laced with kills every seven minutes, plus a plot recap disguised as dialogue an hour into the feature to brief viewers who are just tuning in.”

On its blog, the company instructs fans to add its titles to their Netflix queues to gin up the perception of “public demand” for the movie, and they couldn’t care less whether that demand translates into actual viewings. “This isn’t about trying to get you to watch our movie,” they wrote. “This is about gaming the system. This is about taking a stand. Against math.”

Sharknado Premieres Tomorrow (Plus: Longer Trailer)

July 10th, 2013

Alas, lacking cable, I won’t be able to watch it in all its glory. But I do hope the ratings top the final episode of American Idol.

Here’s a longer trailer:

It really does look like everything I long for in a movie called Sharknado.

Interesting Book and History Auction

July 9th, 2013

Including that super rare Abraham Lincoln set that I mentioned before. Plus letters from George Washington, etc.

Lot’s of interesting stuff (though very little even remotely SF), but I’m about to go to sleep, so can’t do more than mention it in passing…

A Richard Matheson TV Obscurity

July 8th, 2013

Here’s a science fiction TV show episode, “Young Couples Only,” I’ve never heard of, based on a Richard Matheson story, and starring…Peter Lorre!

One reason I haven’t heard of it was that it was part of the Studio 57 anthology series, which aired on The DuMont Television Network, the ill-fated network that folded before I was born.

Like almost everything else in the world, it’s on YouTube:

Shoegazer Sunday: School of Seven Bells’ “My Cabal”

July 7th, 2013

School of Seven Bells are a band from New York City named after the mythical pickpocket school. They started out as a trio and are now down to a duo. “My Cabal” was evidently their first single, and is a pleasant, dreampop-y sort of number.

A Random Assortment of Crap

July 5th, 2013

Next week: Real posts!

But for a lazy Friday night, you get this instead.

  • A tiny trailer for Sharknado is out.
  • Fireworks show blows up real good in Simi Valley:

  • Dwight Howard is evidently joining the Houston Rockets.
  • Missing My Prize Fight Debut

    July 3rd, 2013

    I had a dream the other night where I was late for my boxing debut.

    The boxing arena seemed to be on the edge of a large shopping mall, and I had to ask directions to find it. I heard my name announced as the next fighter as I was entering the building, but I couldn’t seem to find my way down to what was presumably the ring (which I never came in sight of). It was less like Spinal Tap being lost backstage than the building being larger, older and more Gothic than I expected. At one point I saw some sort of rickety, extensible cherry picker/dunking stool/extending bridge contraption, which looked like it might deposit me over a wall where I needed to go, but looked too dangerous to try. Also, I noticed I wasn’t wearing shoes, which I was pretty sure was a breach of boxing rules.

    I woke up before I ever got to the ring.

    Shoegazer Sunday: Blind Mr. Jones’ “Mesa”

    June 30th, 2013

    Blind Mr. Jones was a UK Shoegazer band from the early 1990s. “Mesa” is from their second and last album, Tatooine. Since they broke up right after it’s release, presumably they were not the shoegaze droids the public was looking for…

    Brief Follow-Up to the “Lori Ruff” Mystery

    June 29th, 2013

    The Seattle Times has various documents up about her life, to see if anyone out there can figure out who she actually was.

    (Previously.)