Ian Ziering, star of Syfy’s phenomenally popular “Sharknado” movies, admits it: Back in 2013, while filming the first one, he had serious doubts about the crazy nature-goes-nuts premise.
Killer twisters filled with flying sharks? That’s about as goofy as a cheapie “B” movie plot gets.
But most of all, Ziering was turned off by the title.
“I couldn’t believe they were going to call it ‘Sharknado,'” the former Beverly Hills 90210 star says. “When I first heard it, I was scared. I thought it was horrible.”
Isn’t it funny how success changes everything? “Now I never get tired of saying that word,” Ziering says. “Sharknado, Sharknado, Sharknado!”
As in “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!”
The latest installment — but trust us, it’s not the last — airs on Syfy.
In it, Ziering’s chain-saw-wielding Fin Shepard, still reeling after shark storms in Los Angeles (the first movie) and New York (the second), must save Washington, D.C., Orlando and the rest of the Eastern seaboard from the jaws of an even bigger disaster.
It’s a far-out adventure that delivers an outlandish, blood-soaked plot, hilariously cheesy special effects (sharks in space!) and dozens of blink-or-you’ll-miss-them-getting-eaten celebrity cameos.
The stakes are so high in this one that, to paraphrase the immortal words of Roy Scheider, Fin’s gonna need a bigger chain saw.
Which isn’t to say this is a good movie. It is deliberately and unapologetically bad. But like the first two, which set ratings records for Syfy and inspired millions of smart-aleck viewer tweets, it’s stuffed to the gills with guilty-pleasure fun.
“It’s the kind of movie where everyone is in on the joke except for the actors, who are playing it straight, no matter how silly everything gets,” Ziering says.
Joining Fin, Tara Reid’s April (who’s pregnant with a little Fin) and Cassie Scerbo’s Nova are April’s mom (played by Bo Derek) and Fin’s astronaut dad (David Hasselhoff).
“Working with the Hoff was awesome,” Ziering says. “I’m such a fan. I watched this guy on Knight Rider. His first day on the set, I kind of geeked out a bit.
