Twisters and 5 Other Man Versus Nature Nail-Biters: A Look into the Making of a Disaster Movie
The highly anticipated disaster movie, Twisters, has finally hit the screens, leaving audiences on the edge of their seats. The film, directed by Lee Isaac Chung, tells the story of storm chasers and their quest to understand the fury of nature. In an exclusive interview with Showmax, Chung shares his vision behind the movie and the making of this action-packed thriller.
According to Chung, his inspiration for Twisters came from his own experiences growing up on a farm in the South Western United States as the child of Korean immigrants. His film, Minari, which won six Oscars in 2021, including Best Picture and Best Director, was a testament to his storytelling abilities. Chung’s pitch for Twisters involved combining footage of the original 1996 movie Twister with a scene from Minari, showcasing his characters waiting out a tornado watch.
Chung’s fascination with storm chasing and tornadoes led him to team up with writers Joseph Kosinski and Mark L Smith to bring Twisters to life. The film features Glen Powell as Tyler, a "cowboy" storm chaser with a hillbilly streak, and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) meteorologist and storm tracker. The movie’s plot revolves around their journey to Oklahoma to test a new portable radar system during a terrifying storm season.
The Science Behind the Storms
To ensure the accuracy of the film’s storm sequences, Chung and his team consulted with professional storm chasers, including Sean Casey, host of the Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers. The production team drew on original footage of supercell clouds and real tornadoes filmed for Twisters by its technical consultants. The film’s final tornado, which rips through El Reno, was inspired by three different tornadoes: a wedge-shaped tornado that rolled through Kansas in 2023, a multi-vortex tornado that touched down in the real El Reno in 2013, and a tornado that struck Mayfield, Kentucky, in December 2021.
As Showmax reports, Chung aimed to depict different perspectives on tornadoes, from the scientific to the personal, and to show how they affect people’s lives in various ways. The film’s production team took extensive measures to ensure the cast’s safety, including setting up escape and shelter routes for 300-400 cast and crew members.
13 Lucky Facts About Twisters
The making of Twisters involved several interesting facts, including:
- The production filmed during Oklahoma’s real-life storm season.
- About 70% of the on-screen action captured required car stunt driving.
- Sean Casey’s custom-made "tornado intercept vehicles" inspired the armour and accessories of the film’s storm chasers.
- Meteorologist and former NOAA analyst Kevin Kelleher set up a "weather boot camp" to teach the cast about tornadoes from meteorologists’ and storm chasers’ perspectives.
5 Natural Disaster Movies to Get Swept Up In
If you’re looking for more action-packed thrillers like Twisters, Showmax recommends the following five natural disaster movies:
- Supercell (2023): A storm chasing movie that follows Quinn Brody as she searches for her missing son.
- The Perfect Storm (2000): A disaster movie based on the true story of the Andrea Gail, a fishing boat lost at sea during a super-storm.
- Into the Storm (2014): A "found footage" disaster movie that centres on a team of tornado chasers.
- Ice Road (2021): An action thriller about a group of ice road truckers who embark on a perilous mission to save trapped workers.
- Moonfall (2022): A sci-fi disaster movie that follows conspiracy theorist KC Houseman as he tries to warn NASA about the Moon’s collision course with Earth.
These movies are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, and with Showmax, you can stream them from the comfort of your own home.
