Thunder Levin
Born
Thunder Levin

New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • director
Known forSharknado

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

Year Title Role Notes
Zombie Tidal Wave 2019 story by [12]
The Last Sharknado: It's About Time 2018 based on characters created by also appeared as "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 appeared as self TV series
Mind Blown 2016 written by
Sharknado: The 4th Awakens 2016 written by
Sharknado: Feeding Frenzy 2015 appeared as self documentary
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! 2015 written by also appeared as "Mr. Benchley from The Post"
Infolist Pre Comic-Con Bash 2015 appeared as self documentary short
Weekends with Alex Witt 2014 appeared as self TV series
Sharknado 2: The Second One 2014 written by
Sharknado 2013 written by
From the Sea 2013 screenplay by
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 aka Evil Lives 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 off-line assistant / production associate / appeared as "Crewman" video game
The Rescue of Pops Ghostly 1987 off-line assistant / production associate video game

References

  1. 1 2 Wiser, Curt (December 3, 2019). "Interview With Sharknado Writer Thunder Levin". OC Movie Reviews.
  2. ↑ Bradley, Bill (July 22, 2015). "7 Glaring 'Sharknado' Plot Holes Are Finally Explained". HuffPost.
  3. ↑ Hill, Kent (November 20, 2016). "Thunder Levin: An Interview by Kent Hill". Podcasting Them Softly.
  4. ↑ "Chatting With Sherri Welcomes Producer/Director/Writer; Thunder Levin!". BlogTalkRadio. September 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Dendle, Peter (2012). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2: 2000-2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 133–134. ISBN 978-0-7864-6163-9.
  6. ↑ Suebsaeng, Asawin (July 11, 2013). "Can a "Sharknado" Really Happen?". Mother Jones. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Mutant Vampire Zombies From the Hood!". Variety. July 7, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Banks, Paul M. (August 6, 2017). "Sharknado Writer, Field Museum Scientist Gave Fascinating Insights into Film". The Bank. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  10. 1 2 France, Lisa Respers (March 29, 2018). "'Sharknado' set to end with No. 6". CNN.
  11. ↑ Newitz, Annalee; Bricken, Rob (July 11, 2013). "We asked the writer of Sharknado some very serious questions". Gizmodo. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Zombie Tidal Wave". SyFy.
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