Thunder Levin is an American screenwriter and director, known for writing the first four Sharknado television films. Levin's work was largely responsible for the resurgence of sharksploitation films.
Early life and education 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.
He graduated from Hunter College High School, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film from New York University.
Career Early career Levin moved to Los Angeles at the age of 23. In the late 1980s, he worked as a still photographer on three films for the film producer Roger Corman.
His feature-film directorial debut was the 2008 horror comedy Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!, starring C. Thomas Howell.
Levin subsequently wrote and directed multiple films for production company The Asylum, including the 2012 science-fiction action film American Warships and the 2013 science fiction 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 the Syfy cable channel attracted nearly 1.37 million viewers and generated nearly 5,000 tweets a minute at its peak.
In 2014, Levin wrote a sequel, Sharknado 2: The Second One, which had 3.9 million viewers. 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.
Filmography Title Year Role Notes Zombie Tidal Wave 2019 story by The Last Sharknado: It's About Time 2018 based on characters created by also appeared as "Bar Patron" 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 A.K.A. 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
See also
List of American writers List of film and television directors List of New York University alumni List of people from Los Angeles List of people from New York City List of science-fiction authors
References
External links