San Diego fell prey to a sci-fi phenomenon on Thursday: a big, fierce Sharknado.
The cast and crew of SyFy’s “Sharknado 2: The Second One” hosted a panel at San Diego Comic-Con International 2014 where director Anthony C. Ferrante, along with stars Ian Ziering, Vivica A. Fox and Judah Friedlander, spoke candidly about the magic of the action-packed sequel.
Turns out, the production was a bit of a whirlwind.
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But the crew and cast said that’s what made it a unique and fun project, much like the wildly successful first “Sharknado” flick.
Ferrante said he attributes the success of the project to its low budget. He believes the energy created in that environment brought the movies to life.
Fans might not realize it, but the film was shot in only 18 days. Unlike most big budget productions, the team didn’t have the leisure of a flexible schedule.
Ferrante said that when something went wrong they couldn’t, “pine it off on another day, you have to make magic happen.”
To that end, much of the film was left to the last minute. Ferrante said that nights before filming a scene they would be writing in new characters.
“Anyone can come up with an idea and if it works, we put it in the movie,” he said of the creative process.
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Newcomer to the sequel, “30 Rock” actor Friedlander said the quick pace of the project added a new level of passion among actors and crew.
Ziering added that there is an immense amount of trust between the actors and digital effects artists. Many of the scenes are filmed on green screens and the animation team is responsible for making the shark attacks look as realistic as possible.
Fox told fans at the panel that in the sequel, the sharks take a “bite out of the Big Apple.” In a surprising twist of weather conditions, the main characters have to protect New York City from an invading Sharknado.
Fox also teased several celebrity cameos in the film, including Kelly Osbourne and Matt Lauer.
The cast also added that they were impressed with all the support they received from New Yorkers while shooting the movie there in late February.
“Sharkando 2: The Second One” premieres July 30 on SyFy.
