There is some satisfaction in learning just how Thunder Levin managed to get the screenwriting gig for Sharknado. First off it was fun to hear him say that it was one of the most ridiculous things he’d ever heard of, as it’s true, Sharknado is more of a ridiculous movie than anything and people around the world, fans even, would agree. But to hear him tell his story it took several small steps to get to the point that he was able to finally take on a project like Sharknado. Now granted, the movies are flat out silly and populated by a bunch of B-list celebrities that likely needed something to get their career back if only for a little bit, but the manner in which Levin finally got to this point is still admirable.
He told the right people what he could do, then he went out and did it. Shouting it to the world isn’t going to get the results that a person wants all the time, but finding out just who can use your skills and then proving that you can produce said skills time and again goes a long way towards being given one job after another. That’s how people learn to rely on you, to trust in you, and to realize that you’re there to get the job done and to do it well. People want to be able to rely on those that will give their word that a job will get done, it’s still a valued quality no matter that too many people seem to want to get paid for half-measures these days. The value of being able to take someone at their word is priceless in so many ways, and it’s a trait that many people still have.
To some people that think the Sharknado movies are less than appealing (hand raised) it might be okay to wish that Levin had held out just a bit longer and found something really worthy of his talents. But seeing as how the creators of the movie came to him not once but twice, it would have likely been a mistake to say no again. After all it’s a paying job and when it comes to screenwriting you’re not always going to like what you’re doing but so long as you do the job well there’s always a chance that you’ll finally get something you really want to sink your teeth into later on. That’s the trick with being a writer or having anything to do with entertainment. You need to work your way up to the position at which you can actually refuse the jobs you don’t want and take the ones that you do. At that point you’ve become a known commodity and people might actually seek you out for jobs because you’ve proven that you can do the job and that you’ll do it to the best of your ability.
So despite the film, sorry but Sharknado IS ridiculous, Levin did everything right and managed to work his way up in a fashion that’s so completely old-school that it’s impossible not to respect it.
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