One of nature's most destructive forces has made its way to cinemas once again in Hollywood's latest disaster film, Twisters. Breakfast Producer Cameron Joe caught up with the film’s stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos.
The adrenaline-pumped movie is described as a 'current-day chapter' of the 1996 blockbuster Twister.
The '90s cult classic, starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, was the second highest-grossing film in its year of release.
While there are similarities between the two, the cast and Oscar-nominated director Lee Isaac Chung breathed new life into the disaster film genre with a fresh storyline and set of characters.
Daisy Edgar-Jones took on the role of Kate Carter, an ex-storm chaser with one mission: to tame a tornado.
Growing up in England, Edgar-Jones never experienced extreme weather events of this nature.
"I was so curious about this part of the world and this phenomenon. The most extreme weather we get is a different shade of grey. It was so cool to be filming in Oklahoma as well. I wanted to get the accent right and needed to immerse myself in the culture. I now feel I look at clouds differently and interact with weather differently," she said.
Glen Powell played the role of Tyler Owens, a vlogger-cowboy storm chaser.
Powell and Edgar-Jones’ characters joined forces in the film, and chased numerous tornadoes across the US state.
"I don't know if it’s something you can really prepare for," Powell told Breakfast.
"The special effects in this film were something we didn't expect. In Top Gun: Maverick, I got to be around jet engines, but rarely were they planted on the street shooting debris across."
Edgar-Jones and Powell said the film creators hired real-life storm chasers as background actors.
"So Glen and I became really friendly with the storm chasers because we had a bunch of them consulting on our film," Edgar-Jones said.
Powell told Breakfast they even gave real-life storm chasing a go with the crew.
"We are on text threads with a lot of these storm chasers. So we got to go down there and catch a bunch of really fun action."
Immersing themselves in disaster-struck Oklahoma came with its challenges, with Powell even finding it difficult to stand up during most scenes.
"They had these different rigs that would pelt you with dirt, hay, and ice. So I think it felt like we were really in the storm. There is very little acting that needs to be done when you're actually just trying to stay on your feet," he laughed.
Co-star Anthony Ramos, who plays Kate's longtime friend Javi, wanted viewers to remember that the 2024 film is not a remake or a sequel to 1996's Twister.
"We're a different group of people. This is a new movie, a new story. I think in our minds there is the 1996 film, but we’re making the first of this version," he said.
Twisters is screening now in New Zealand cinemas.
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