“I wanted to dive into doing something completely different and do a summer blockbuster,” the director tells the Post. “That’s always been a dream of mine.
“I grew up on Amblin movies and to be able to do one, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, I was over the moon. I ran for this chance.”
Twisters falls comfortably into that mould, delivering a crowd-pleasing spectacle at a level that remains suitable for a family audience, and increasingly a global one.
“The beauty of these movies is that we are really trying to reach as many audience members across the board as possible. With Twisters it’s a unique film because it can be a family film in many ways.
“I just tried to keep in mind that there will be people all over the world who might be interested in this film and to work on that level where I’m thinking more of a global audience.
“It helped me feel that I was part of something bigger than myself. Thematically the movie is about these events that are so much bigger than humanity, so working in that dichotomy was somehow very interesting and invigorating.”
That film really just makes you want to chase tornadoes with a group of friends. I wanted that vibe with this film too
Chung, who is of Korean descent, was born and raised in middle America and so has first-hand knowledge of the film’s rural setting and how such places are often at the mercy of the elements, not least the types of volatile weather events dramatised in the film.
“I grew up on a farm, so there are many details that I was putting into the film that were very personal. I also grew up around a lot of weather, right in that area of tornado alley.
“Just the memory of that, that awe and reverence that people have for nature and for weather, I wanted to inject that into this movie.”
Chung’s involvement in the project also proved to be a major factor when casting, not least for Edgar-Jones.
Five years later she is convinced to return by an old friend (played by Anthony Ramos), and is soon thrown back into the eye of the storm. Edgar-Jones says it was Chung who convinced her to make her first foray into big-budget filmmaking.
“He was so inspiring and exciting. I just want a director that can do everything and try their hand at everything but always root stuff in truth and character, and so for me, as an actor, I thought that would be an amazing thing, to be in something of this scale but also play a character that had complexity and truth to it, and this film gave me all of that.”
He puts in another effortlessly likeable performance, this time as cocksure celebrity tornado wrangler Tyler Owens, and is similarly enthusiastic in his praise for Chung.
“Isaac is a unicorn,” Powell says. “He’s so singular. I can’t imagine this film being directed by anyone else, it’s really his entire personal history of growing up in Arkansas, within this community, and his experiences with these weather phenomena, and just his ability as a filmmaker.
“He’s one of the more emotionally intelligent filmmakers I’ve ever worked with. Isaac’s truly in a league of his own.”
As was the case with its 1996 predecessor, the cast of Twisters runs deep with accomplished performers on the cusp of breakout success.
“I was very honoured by the people who came aboard this film, even if their screen time is not as much as they would normally get,” Chung says. “I told them from the start that I was going to really give them a lot of freedom to individualise themselves on screen in the same way that Twister did with all those characters.
“Also, that film really just makes you want to chase tornadoes with a group of friends. I wanted that vibe with this film too.”