Twisters Director Survived Actual Tornado
There’s nothing like actual experience to help a director make a better and more realistic film. Experience is exactly what Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung has with tornadoes after surviving one in Arkansas just weeks after his family moved there. Chung says his family moved into a mobile home on a farm that lacked a storm shelter when a tornado struck when he was just 5 years old.
Chung And His Real-Life Twister Experience
Chung’s father didn’t know a storm shelter might be needed in northwest Arkansas. They were unaware of the location’s proximity to the infamous Tornado Alley that generally runs from Texas north through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Three weeks after moving into their new home, the Twisters director said he woke the family in the middle of the night, loaded them into the family car, and searched for a safe place to ride out the storm.
Chung said his family was unaware that a car is unsafe during a tornado. Fortunately, the twister missed them and their home, but Chung said he’ll never forget the experience. His family eventually became used to the potential for tornadoes to disrupt their lives, much like those along the Gulf Coast being accustomed to hurricanes and tropical storms disrupting their lives.
A Healthy Dose Of Realism
When big storms were passing through the area of his family’s farm, Chung said he would go outside to watch them. He said he was awed by feeling the change in atmospheric pressure as they passed through. The Twisters director is using that experience to help make his sequel to the original 1996 Twister film more realistic for theater audiences.
Daisy Edgar-Jones In The Driver’s Seat
Instead of starring the late Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt in the lead roles, the sequel features Daisy Edgar-Jones as former storm chaser Kate Cooper. She’s studying storm systems while living in New York City after ending her storm chasing due to a horrific experience while in college.
Kate’s best friend Javi is played by Anthony Ramos who wants her help testing an experimental storm tracking system. Testing it requires traveling to Oklahoma in the heart of Tornado Alley. While there, they encounter noted storm chaser Tyler, a social media influencer who likes to take chances while chasing tornadoes.
Chung In The Director’s Chair
Glen Powell plays Tyler, and the trio encounters several tornadoes. One storm system proves to be especially dangerous. As an experienced tornado survivor, Twisters director Chung can lend his personal experience to help make the film more realistic for audiences.
Executive producer Ashley Jay Sandberg offered Chung the film’s director’s chair after initial director Joseph Kosinski left the production. Kosinski directed Powell in the smash hit Top Gun: Maverick. He also developed the story for Twisters and got the film project underway before leaving it.
The Right Guy For The Job
Sandberg interviewed several potential replacements but chose Chung to take over as Twisters director partly due to his experience with tornadoes as a boy. Chung previously directed the Oscar-winning and semi-autobiographical 2020 film Minari. Chung was nominated for best director, and actress Youn Yuh-jung won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar during the 2021 Academy Awards.
Source: MovieMaker
