Inside the Sharknado: Mockbusters, Remix Culture, and the Earnestness of Camp
"The government's not prepared, man," says Judah Friedlander, castmember of Sharknado 2: The Second One, when asked if FEMA would respond to a sharknado effectively. "But Ian Ziering is."
Reason TV talked to Friedlander, Ziering, and director Anthony C. Ferrante about the upcoming sequel to the wildly popular TV movie Sharknado, which became a cultural phenomenon inspiring almost 5,000 tweets a minute and netting SyFy network more viewers than any other original program had ever done before.
Reason TV also spoke to David Rimawi, CEO of The Asylum, the production and distribution company that made Sharknado and has created a name for itself as a producer of low-budget "mockbuster" movies like Snakes on a Train, Transmorphers, and The Terminators, which consistently push the limits of intellectual property law.
"We're not very creative, but we're much more creative than the studios, or at least the same level of creativity," says Rimawi, who points to the huge share of Hollywood blockbusters based on previously existing trademarks or brands. "We do that as well, using their products."
As The Asylum has achieved greater mainstream success, they've even inspired knock-offs of their own products, such as a popular "Shark Tornado" game available on the iTunes app store. To this, Rimawi can only shrug and appreciate the gumption.
"These guys were quicker. 'Shark Tornado': We don't own that. I was just jealous," says Rimawi.
Sharknado 2: The Second One premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on SyFy.
Approximately 4 minutes. Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Camera by Tracy Oppenheimer, Alexis Garcia, and Weissmueller.
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