Summary
Twistersdirector Lee Issac Chung has recalled what the challenges were of filming the disaster movie sequel while in real, tornado-prone locations throughout production. The story of the sequel centers around researcher Kate Carter, who is dragged back into storm chasing by her friend Javi, later meeting online personality Tyler Owens who has his own approach to chasing tornadoes.Twistershas received critical praiseand is on its way to being a box office success, with the tornado elements having a key role to play in its reception.
Speaking withRadio Times, however,Chung explained how filmingTwistersin tornado-prone locations impacted production, making it a more challenging shoot than expected. The director explained how filming in these locations was important to ensure the setting looked right for the film, but that it also resulted in periodic filming shutdowns and storms happening as they were filming. Check out what Chung had to say below:
I think, stupidly, it came with more risk than I was expecting. I had this great idea, let’s film during tornado season, because I want good skies. That’s what I said. And then when we’re filming, we were getting shut down… maybe every three days or so, something would shut us down. And we’d be filming half days as a result of storms just coming through, destroying our sets sometimes. So that was a huge challenge.
It really filled us with this feeling of what it’s like to be storm chasers. All the actors, I think, really felt the texture of reality and so in some ways, it was nice that we did it. [But] I don’t know if I would do it again. It was a crazy decision.
I really tried to up to scale with everything that was happening in the ending, all of that was just logistically pretty crazy. And then we’d have tornadoes and storms coming through while we were filming. So that would shut us down, it would destroy our sets and stuff. And yeah, I can’t believe we did it, we pulled it off, that sequence.
How Twisters Filming In Tornado Season Made The Movie Better
The Struggle Was Worth It
Twistersis a box office success, having raked in $134 million as of writing, against an estimated budget of between $155 million and $200 million. This path to success is because of the disaster moments,including massive tornadoes ripping through fields and buildingsas the main characters try to save people, and one another. Some of the more impressive shots, however, are the skies prior to the storms, a look of authenticity that couldn’t have been captured without filming during tornado season.
While filming during a time of increased, real tornadoes may have caused some delays during production,the decision ended up working in the movie’s favor because of how the disastrous events were portrayed.Without the authentic-looking skies and locations throughout the film, there wouldn’t have been as many foreboding moments prior to the tornadoes actually showing up. By taking the risk and shooting the movie in such conditions, Chung managed to create a memorable sequel that stands out because of the obvious effort put into crafting it.
Twister vs. Twisters: Which Tornado Movie Is Better
The 2024 disaster movie sequel Twisters comes 28 years after the original released, and the two movies have naturally invited comparisons.
While the movie could have used CGI to make the buildup to its storms look realistic,Twistersbecomes more memorable for going the extra mile and actually filming during tornado season. This also likely impacted the success of the movie as well, since it offers a more realistic feeling to its disaster sequences that couldn’t have been done by just using CGI. Thanks to a blend of actual storm conditions and special effects, the movie manages to provide plenty of entertainment while adding a layer of realism as well.
Twisters
Cast
A follow-up to the 1996 original film Twister, Twisters is a sequel set years after the original, said to be fast-tracked by Steven Spielberg and Mark L. Smith, with Frank Marshal as producer. Little details exist about the film, but Helen Hunt is expected to reprise her role as Jo, with the film likely to pay homage to the late Bill Paxton.
