In 2005, Ian Ziering appeared in the Tony Scott-directed movie Domino, which ended with the Stratosphere being well and thoroughly blown up. In 2016, Ziering will star in the Anthony Ferrante-directed Sharknado: The 4th Awakens. The Strat’s fortunes, we’re sad to report, do not improve. R.I.P., Tinseltown X-Scream. Again.
“It’s the second time I destroyed the Stratosphere,” Ziering says from his LA home. “I’m surprised they let me back.”
After wrecking LA, New York City, Washington, D.C., and, to a lesser degree, space, the Sharknado series is finally touching down in the one place it always made the most sense to ambush: the middle of the desert. This is, perhaps, Ziering’s most anticipated turn in a Vegas production since that 90210 where Brian Austin Green lost his mind gambling and got robbed by hookers.
Five years after Fin Shepard saved President Mark Cuban and blew up sharks in space with Col. David Hasselhoff in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, Fin moves to Kansas to raise a son safe from the specter of future Sharknados. After he packs up to visit his son, Matt, in Las Vegas for a family reunion, our fair city becomes ground zero for a nationwide Sharknado epidemic.
But enough with the plot. Anyone who saw the teaser trailer ahead of the July 31 premiere on Syfy knows the standout moment comes when one of the Chippendales dancers knocks a shark from the air with a well-timed crotch-thrust. Leading crotch-first into a shark sounds like a terrible idea, but at least they’re trained professionals.
Ziering has made repeated guest appearances with the Chippendales, which made them a natural get. He also placed a phone call to friend and Vegas resident Vince Neil, who Ziering says “comes down for a bite.” Which we suppose means he’s doomed to become Mötley Crüdite. Neil was such a fan of the series, he and Alice Cooper binge-watched the first three on a tour bus, which is both completely surreal and not entirely unexpected. MMA fighters Roy “Big Country” Nelson and Frank Mir play a paparazzo and a security guard, respectively. Corey Taylor of Slipknot is another security guard. Carrot Top checks in as a cab driver.
Then there’s the timeless Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton. “He’s doing his show singing ‘The Ballad of Sharknado,’” Ziering says. “Because of course by now everyone knows Sharknado, and ‘The Ballad of Sharknado’ has become a standard in his repertoire.” Checks out.
Shooting in the city took place over four or five days, mostly at the Strat, and the hotel will host a premiere pool party July 31 at 8 p.m. with Ziering, Tara Reid, Cheryl Tiegs (playing Hasselhoff’s wife and Ziering’s mother, naturally) and Gary Busey (playing a scientist and Reid’s father, even more naturally). It’s open to the public for $15, with proceeds going to the Animal Foundation.
The morning after the first Sharknado aired, Ziering wasn’t prepared for the Internet-breaking turn it would take. He was with the Chippendales then, up in his suite at the Rio fielding calls from Oprah Winfrey’s people about going on the show. It was a weird morning.
It also didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would become an annual event, but here we are. Reaction hasn’t been quite as delighted since the first one, but how could it be? That movie was a once-in-a-lifetime combination of too-good-to-be-bad/too-bad-to-be-good effects, a deadpan cast and a story that ended with Ziering diving headfirst into a shark and chainsawing his way out. There’s a reason blowing up more Death Stars yielded diminishing returns in the Star Wars films.
But there’s the grilled cheese and tomato soup side to the formula, too. It’s not just comfort food for the fans after three straight years; there’s a class-reunion vibe to it for the cast and crew, too.
“We’re all in disbelief, like ,‘Here we go again,’” Ziering says. “This is a small, microbudget, campy, cheesy, science-fiction movie that has done something that major motion picture studios spend hundreds of millions of dollars to try and attain. We have captured the attention of not just the sci-fi fans that are out there, but people who are in the mainstream of entertainment.”
For two weeks a year, Ziering, Reid and players like Hasselhoff who manage to survive episode to episode (sorry, Frankie Muniz) get together and knock out another installment. Before the second one premiered, Ziering said he hoped to do a new Sharknado every summer, and it’s hard to see why Syfy wouldn’t keep green-lighting them as long as they provide a little summer bump.
Plus, it’s not like Harrison Ford doesn’t keep coming back to Indiana Jones. “This movie will go on long after Fin Shepard is beaten and gone,” Ziering said. “I have a 5-year-old son. He’s going to have to grow up one day.” Just another dad looking to bring his kid into the family business.
Sharknado: The 4th Awakens July 31, 8 p.m., Syfy. Premiere party & screening: $15, Elation Pool at the Stratosphere.
