Back on a bitter cold morning in February, the Citi Field set of “Sharknado 2: The Second One” was abuzz about the current, um, situation. The day’s scene — in which the Sharknado attacks the stadium and sends the masses stampeding outside — is set in the heat of summer. The problem? In reality, not only was snow falling, it was beginning to stick.
The budget dictated that filming had to happen that day. Whispers traveled about what the crew could do: Perhaps the storyline would have to change to give Sharknados the power to screw up the seasons?
“The crew are changing things on a dime, putting out fires and solving massive problems that go with a budgeted movie that’s on a TV network,” says cast member Mark McGrath. “Things have to get done. It’s snowing all over, and it’s supposed to be summer? Tough s - - t.”
Luckily, this isn’t exactly Oscar bait.
Last July, “Sharknado” became the summer’s most head-scratching success. One of countless B-movies to premiere on Syfy, the so-bad-it’s-good film struck a chord with audiences, igniting a phenomenon.
If it doesn’t change the landscape of the world, then we’ve done something wrong.
- Executive producer David Rimawi
The premise was simple, if insane: What would happen if a tornado filled with sharks hit the West Coast?
Throw in some stars well beyond their hits — Ian Ziering from “90210,” Tara Reid of “American Pie” — and the whole shebang was one giant ironic pleasure. The initial broadcast garnered 1.7 million viewers and a whopping 5,000 tweets per minute from engaged viewers. Fans can now buy everything from a “Sharknado” video game to “Sharknado” pajamas.
A second movie was only a matter of time.
“We joked a lot about, ‘Ohhhh, if there’s a sequel …,’ ” says director Anthony C. Ferrante. “Like, there’s never going to be a sequel … none of my movies” — his distinguished résumé includes looooooow-budget horror flicks “Boo” and “Headless Horseman” — “have warranted a sequel. [But] this thing was huge.”
The night of the premiere, Twitter snark was on full blast.
Even Mia Farrow got in on the fun.
“It was in the zeitgeist, and it was a very special thing to know that people were actually watching the movie, whether they hate it or like it or just want to make fun of it — it entertained people,” Ferrante says.
But a year and a million jokes later, has “Sharknado” jumped the shark?
“I don’t know if that matters,” says executive producer David Rimawi. “Look at all the marketing, look at all the licensing, look at all the press and publicity, look at all the people talking about it … There’s a lot of success, even though it may not translate to the ratings.”
Rimawi is feeling confident the new film will match, if not exceed, the hype of the original.
“As far as the lightning in the bottle with the social media and all that stuff, that’s gonna be where Syfy and [parent company] NBCU really focus their efforts to make sure that if there’s a chance it could do what [the first] did, they’re going to exploit that in any way and every way possible,” he says. “If it doesn’t change the landscape of the world, then we’ve done something wrong.”
For the sequel, which airs July 30 at 9 p.m., the filmmakers had a reported $2 million to try to top themselves. (Though SyFy will not confirm figures, this seems to be on the high end for the network’s original movies.)
The director jokes that one idea was to have a Sharknado so strong, it goes back in time, picks up dinosaurs and becomes a Sharknadosaurus.
Ultimately, the big change was moving the setting to the Big Apple. This time around, Fin (Ziering) and the gang have to save the city from everyone’s favorite natural disaster.
Ziering admits he almost didn’t say yes to the first movie.
“It was with a lot of trepidation that I agreed to do [it], but it was at the behest of my wife, who said, ‘Look, we’re going to have another baby, you better make sure you have your health insurance covered,’ ” he says. “[But] I was pretty excited to hear that they wanted to do a sequel, being that the first one was so well-received.”
The filmmakers also brought in a motley crew of new actors, including McGrath (the Sugar Ray frontman and former “Extra” host), Judah Friedlander of “30 Rock” fame, Vivica A. Fox — and cameos better left as surprises.
“I love the first movie so much,” says McGrath, noting he tweeted about it upon its premiere. “I got the call, and I called [my] friends, and it was like I got a Scorsese movie.”
The actors say that despite the film’s content, they have to take it seriously.
“[I perform] with all the professionalism and dedication I bring to any role,” says Ziering. “We did that in the first movie, and if anyone winked at the camera like, ‘Come on, people, we both know I’m better than this,’ then it would have let all of the air out of the balloon. You have to keep the stakes raised because once you let them down, the audience deflates, too.”
Suspension of disbelief is a must for the actors when the antagonist is entirely made of CGI.
“Yesterday, I sliced up a whole bunch of sharks. They weren’t there, but I sliced they asses up,” says Fox. “And [Ferrante] helps us to know what’s going on, when they’re coming — ‘Overhead! Guts flying! Duck down!’ ”
New addition Kari Wuhrer, who has also appeared in such animal-horror masterpieces as “Anaconda” and “Eight Legged Freaks,” says she grounded her performance in reality.
No, really.
“I’ve been through thunderstorms and hurricanes and all of that. And there’s a real fear of losing somebody that you love or being out of control. So you just go to that place,” the actress says. She pauses. “I can’t believe you’re asking me about the preparation for this.”
Yesterday, I sliced up a whole bunch of sharks. They weren’t there, but I sliced they asses up.
- Vivica A. Fox on working with sharks made of CGI
Filming in New York, the production was plagued with difficulties. The aforementioned snow was a pain, and bitter cold temperatures made filming atop soaring skyscrapers physically grueling, but McGrath found himself struggling much closer to the ground.
“I got a concussion the first day, jumping off a stupid cab,” he says. “I had a 40-pound sword on my back, so I’m jumping off the thing, and you know, I get into my method acting, and I slam my head into the sword … It’s not even my sword! I’m carrying it for Ian!”
New York’s paparazzi — both professional and amateur fans — also came out in droves.
“It’s insane. Literally, we have to, like, push them out of the scenes,” says Reid.
Despite the setbacks, a third film is already in the works.
“I’m lobbying for a tropical climate,” says McGrath as the snow continues to fall outside. “You know, Key West, Hawaii, Tahiti. I’m open for any one of those … if I make it.”
Additional reporting by Andrea Morabito