Summary

• Twisters features a star-studded cast and an acclaimed director who brings the terrifying beauty of tornadoes to life.
• Director Lee Isaac Chung infuses his own fears into the themes of the movie, creating a sense of awe and bigness for audiences.
• The film follows storm chaser Kate as she faces her past trauma while running towards her fears in the midst of deadly storm systems.

In Twisters, Kate Carter left storm chasing behind for the safety of following weather patterns in New York after surviving a deadly tornado. Her friend Javi pulls her back into this world in order to test his groundbreaking new technology, however, and the pair run into celebrity social media storm chaser Tyler Owens, who does whatever it takes to catch the most dangerous tornadoes on camera. The trio and their teams, are caught in a deadly convergence of multiple storm systems that will force them to fight for their lives if they have any hope of surviving.

Director Lee Isaac Chung makes tornadoes even more terrifying than the original Twister while also showing the beauty of these storms as well. Twisters stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Anthony Ramos bring these storm chasers to life with their ion, reckless curiosity, and deep-seeded trauma shining through in their performances. Twisters is a stand-alone sequel to Twister that, while not directly tied to the original, does have a number of callbacks.

Screen Rant interviewed Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung. He discussed collaborating with legendary filmmakers on Twisters and how he infused his own determination to face his fears into the themes of the movie. Chung also shared a personal experience he had with severe storms and revealed what he is looking for in his next project.

Twisters Director Put His Own Fears "Into The Story, Into The Themes"

Chung has had personal experience with tornadoes growing up in Arkansas. He shared one moment that stands out from his childhood and how it shaped his view of these storms. He also explained how that impacted his approach to showing the tornadoes in Twisters.

Lee Isaac Chung: Yeah, really the closest experience I had was when I was a kid. We first moved to Arkansas onto a farm and we were living in a trailer home. A couple weeks into that a tornado was coming into the area and it was at night and we had to pile into my dad's truck because we didn't know what to do and he was just looking for a place where we could be safe. That stuck with me because I think I was four years old at that time.

So there is a childlike element to the way that I think about tornadoes. And then to do this movie, I definitely wanted it to feel like not just what it feels like as a kid to experience weather, but also what it's like as a kid to watch movies. So all of that is really in this film.

Can you talk about the theme of running towards your fears and taking on the challenge of a project like Twisters?

Lee Isaac Chung: After Minari, I was wondering what I should do and what kind of film I should make. A movie like this, when I got this script, it really scared me. I didn't know how to do it, and there was just this moment, this seed of this spark that hit my head that was just like, If you're afraid of this, that's a good sign. How else can you grow as a person and grow as an artist and all of those things if you don't try something that absolutely scares you?

So that was definitely something that led me to want to do this. And then as I was working on it, it's not like that fear went away, it was more or less like I was always wrestling with that fear with this project. I was putting that into the story, into the themes. It was so great that [Daisy Edgar-Jones] character, [Kate], is also wrestling with the same thing. So in many ways I think of Kate as a filmmaker. She's trying to make this giant film and hoping that it works.

Twisters' End Goal "Is That Sense Of Awe And Bigness And A Movie Theater Experience"

Chung shared what it felt like to work with filmmaking legends Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall on Twisters. He also explained how surreal it felt to be treated as a peer by them and why it was such a positive uplifting environment.

Lee Isaac Chung: Yeah, it was an absolute dream come true because I've grown up just watching and revering the stuff that they've been making. I'd always wonder, How did they do that? How did they pull it off? So that was always in my mind. So just to be able to work with them, it was a chance for me to learn a lot and to learn from them as masters.

But also what was crazy for me was that they treated me as though I'm a colleague, that I'm a filmmaker. They want to empower me, they want to give me a voice, and they really believe in that aspect of this business. That really you have to champion the artist and help them make the film that they want to make. So I felt really empowered by that and inspired. It was just a beautiful working relationship with them.

I talked to James Wan before and he said that he likes doing these smaller horror movies and then going back to these giant tentpole films like Aquaman or whatever it may be. Would you want to work on something more intimate for your next project or another one of these big projects like The Mandalorian or Twisters?

Lee Isaac Chung: James Wan is so cool. I love that he does that. I've been feeling after doing this one, I want to push forward with this high that I got with this film of really trying to bring a lot more awe to people, having people experience something that's much bigger than themselves. If that means that it has to be a big budget film, then yes, then I need that. If I can do that with a small intimate film, then I'll be for that. But the end goal is that sense of awe and bigness and a movie theater experience. So that's what I'm really hoping to do.

About Twisters

Kate Carter, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens, the charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew, the more dangerous the better. As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed, and Kate, Tyler, Javi and their crews find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.

Check out our other Twisters interviews:

• Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones & Anthony Ramos
• Brandon Perea & Sasha Lane

Twisters hits theaters July 17

Source: Screen Rant Plus