Sharknado release fast-tracked for Australia after killer response Keep watching the skies: Sharknado is on its way. "Overwhelmed by local interest," Foxtel's Universal Channel has confirmed it will rush the hit schlock movie Sharknado to air, screening this Friday. The film, which follows a group of heroes led by former 90210 star turned Chippendale dancer Ian Ziering trying to survive after a tornado plucks a shoal of man-eating sharks out of the sea and sends them flying through the air and onto the streets of Los Angeles, became a surprise hit earlier this month when screened in America on the SyFy channel. We felt it we should get it to the fans as fast as possible. Thanks largely to an enthused Twitter response, the film generated huge buzz and was quickly marked for a sequel. That came as a surprise to David Latte, whose aptly-named production company The Asylum produced the film, although he happily admits the word "surprise" is key here when discussing the film's success. I'll tell you how surprised I am, I don't even understand this now, days after the release," Latte told Fairfax Media. The day after [Sharknado's July 11 premiere] I was like: 'What is the story here? Why is everyone interested? I'm banging my head against the wall going: 'Why? This is a film we've made 100 times - literally 100 times before.' It's a good film, it's a fun film, but the energy behind it is beyond me. We're along for the ride as much as everyone else is and have no idea where this is going to stop. Latte was not quite as surprised to hear the film had an enormous following in Australia. "We have a lot of great fans in Australia," Latte said. When we released Mega-shark, we had theatrical release events for the film, they had screenings of our movies there, we have a big fan base in Australia and we couldn't be happier. The next step, he hinted, would be to bring the Sharknado production team to Australia to shoot a film. The idea of shooting a film down there (in Australia) is something that's always been in the back of our heads. A Universal spokesperson said Sharknado will screen in Australia - the first screening of the film outside the United States - this Friday (July 26) at 8.30pm, with encore screenings on Saturday, July 27, at 10.30am, September 9 at 8.30pm and September 10 at 12.15pm. "We've been overwhelmed by the local interest for this film," a Universal spokesperson said. It has just been so high we felt it we should get it to the fans as fast as possible.