عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Entertainment

'Twisters' Film Thrill-packed and Science-backed, its Stars Say

Harry Hadden-Paton, from left, Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos and director Lee Isaac Chung pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Twisters' in London on Monday, July 8, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Harry Hadden-Paton, from left, Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos and director Lee Isaac Chung pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Twisters' in London on Monday, July 8, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
TT
TT

'Twisters' Film Thrill-packed and Science-backed, its Stars Say

Harry Hadden-Paton, from left, Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos and director Lee Isaac Chung pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Twisters' in London on Monday, July 8, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Harry Hadden-Paton, from left, Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos and director Lee Isaac Chung pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Twisters' in London on Monday, July 8, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Almost 30 years on from the blockbuster "Twister," deadly tornadoes and their chasers return to the screen for an updated extreme weather tale.
"Twisters" is a "current-day chapter" of its 1996 predecessor, its makers say.
It centers on storm expert Kate Carter, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, and chaser and superstar streamer Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) whose paths cross during a once in a generation tornado outbreak in Oklahoma, Reuters reported.
Directed by "Minari" filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, in his big-budget action movie debut, "Twisters" introduces advanced technology and a new generation of adrenaline junkies with a large social media following.
"This is a new chapter. This is just a modern telling of that same community that audiences responded to in '96," said Powell, premiering the film in London on Monday.
"Audiences can expect lots of fun, lots of thrills and just to strap in and go on the ride," added Edgar-Jones.
Powell's Owens is a former rodeo star and self-titled "tornado wrangler" whose rowdy team courts danger with gusto. Texan Powell, 35, said both the original movie and the reboot resonated with him personally.
"When I was like nine years old, there was a tornado that went through Jarrell, Texas, and we were on the road to my aunt's ranch and got kind of stuck in it. It was a really terrifying thing...But we cleaned up after that tornado. It's one of those things that imprints on you for the rest of your life," he said.
"This movie's really about what we do in the face of storms, but also how we pick up after each other in the wake of disaster," said Powell. "It's a thing that affects a lot of people, and not just tornadoes but weather all over the planet. I think this is a universal movie for that reason."
"Twisters", written by Mark L. Smith, is based on consultations with meteorologists, climate scientists and real-life storm chasers, said Chung.
"We had people working on the forefront of climate science and also tornado science. We tried to incorporate as much of that into this film as possible to honor what is actually happening and also honor the scientists who are heroes in many ways. If we're going to look to any solutions, we have to look to the scientists," he said.
Like "Twister", Chung hopes his follow-up will leave a lasting impact.
"That first film inspired so many people to get into weather science and research. I would love if that would happen with this movie, that we would inspire a new generation of people want to research and get out there and study."
"Twisters" begins its global cinematic rollout on July 10.

Most Viewed

 
 
Entertainment

‘Despicable Me 4’ Reigns at Box Office, While ‘Longlegs’ Gets Impressive Start

This image released by Neon shows Maika Monroe in a scene from "Longlegs." (Neon via AP)
This image released by Neon shows Maika Monroe in a scene from "Longlegs." (Neon via AP)
TT
TT

‘Despicable Me 4’ Reigns at Box Office, While ‘Longlegs’ Gets Impressive Start

This image released by Neon shows Maika Monroe in a scene from "Longlegs." (Neon via AP)
This image released by Neon shows Maika Monroe in a scene from "Longlegs." (Neon via AP)

Gru and the minions celebrated a second week in first place at the North American box office this weekend, while a small horror movie called “Longlegs” upset the starry $100 million "Fly Me to the Moon."

The supremacy of “Despicable Me 4” was hardly a surprise, as the Universal and Illumination franchise added $44.7 million and pushed the film over $200 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. But the big upset came further down the charts with “Longlegs ” more than doubling the debut of the Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum romantic comedy “Fly Me to the Moon.”

“Longlegs,” an original horror about a serial killer starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, made an estimated $22.6 million from 2,510 theaters. That’s the best ever start for indie outfit Neon (most famous for releasing the Oscar-winning “Parasite”), which acquired the $10 million film for distribution. Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, “Longlegs” also scored the best opening for an R-rated film this year.

Neon deployed an innovative marketing strategy for the film, including touches like placing cipher messages in local newspapers and posting a Los Angeles billboard with a phone number that played an “unnerving” message. In its first 48 hours, the number received over 250,000 calls.

“Longlegs” was well-received by critics (it has an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences gave it a less enthusiastic a C+ CinemaScore.

“Fly Me to the Moon,” an Apple Original Films production, launched with only $10 million over the weekend. It trailed holdovers “Inside Out 2,” in third with $20.8 million; and “A Quiet Place: Day One,” in fourth place with $11.8 million.

Sony distributed “Fly Me to the Moon,” the Greg Berlanti-directed film about a marketing executive brought in to sell the space race to the American public, and, later, stage a fake moon landing just in case. Apple has not yet announced when it will debut on its streaming service.

The movie opened in 3,356 locations this weekend, attracting an audience that was mostly over 45. In this case, the audience was kinder than the critics, giving it an A- CinemaScore against a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting that word-of-mouth may work in its favor over the long run.

The year-to-date gap between box office performance this year and last is getting moderately slimmer. It's now down 16.1% from 2023 thanks to a run of recent successes. But performance still pales in comparison to pre-pandemic standards. On July 14 in 2019, the annual box office take was at $6.2 billion. This year it’s at $4.1 billion so far.

“A very unpredictable summer movie season continues,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “And after a slow start in May (it) has continued to surprise and impress with expected as well as unexpected hits adding bottom-line dollars to the industry’s most important season.”

In limited release, A24 opened “Sing Sing,” an early Oscar contender, in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. With sellouts in both locations, it made $137,119, one of the best limited openings of the year.

The film from director Greg Kwedar is about an arts program at the prison and features many real life participants, including Clarence Maclin in his film debut. “Sing Sing” will continue playing on four screens through July and expand nationwide in August.

Finally, “Twisters,” which opens in North America on Thursday, began its international rollout this weekend, earning $11.5 million from 38 markets including in Australia, Mexico and Brazil.

In its wake comes “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the first Marvel release of the summer.