The production of the 1996 blockbuster Twister was anything but smooth sailing. From intense on-set clashes to unpredictable weather conditions, the making of the film was marked by chaos and drama. Things were so bad that executive producer Steven Spielberg had to personally intervene to address the escalating tensions.
Disarray on the set of Twister
During the difficult production of Twister, which starred Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, an incident took place that almost derailed the entire project. Stunt coordinator Mic Rodgers recounted to The Independent the chaos that ensued on set, revealing tensions between the crew and director Jan de Bont reached a boiling point.
“De Bont’s most notorious outburst nearly scuppered the entire production,” he revealed. “The crew was filming in a ditch one day when the director shoved a camera assistant aside, who tripped and tumbled down the gulley. After the director refused to apologize for the incident, [the] entire camera crew stormed off the set, promptly followed by the audio team, then the wardrobe department.”
Steven Spielberg had to get involved
The disarray on set prompted none other than executive producer Steven Spielberg to intervene. He flew to Norman, Oklahoma, with the intention of addressing the situation directly. According to Mic Rodgers, Spielberg’s frustration was palpable.
“The ramp came down on the Learjet and Spielberg walked down it and he never touched the ground,” the stunt coordinator recalled. “He just stood there yelling at Jan. He never even got off the plane. He was just f****** yelling, pointing his finger at him, screaming at him.
“I don’t know what he said to him, but he barked at him for, like, 15 minutes and got back in the plane,” Rodgers continued. “The plane left without him even stepping off.”
Working on-set was a grueling experience
Despite Steven Spielberg’s intervention, the production of Twister continued to be fraught with challenges. Jan de Bont himself has since discussed the grueling nature of the shoot.
“Making this movie was a really hard shoot physically,” he said in an interview with Variety. “It was draining because we were in a territory where we never knew if it was going to rain or be sunny, so we often had to change location in the middle of the day.”
The unpredictability of the weather was just one of the many challenges the production faced.
Problems upon problems plagued the production of Twister (1996)
One issue viewers might not have taken into consideration was the fact filming took place in a real rural area, not in a studio. This meant the production team had to contend with not just the weather, but also the ever-changing scenery.
“Those additional problems happened on a very regular basis,” Jan de Bont explained. “And because the movie takes place in one day but shooting takes place over multiple months, in the beginning everything is barren and then slowly the corn comes up and the trees start to grow.
“Before you know it, you have to look for another location that matches the first one. And that went on and on and on – it was really, really tough.”
A blockbuster release that spawned a sequel
Twister went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters of 1996, grossing $495.7 million worldwide and becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year, behind Independence Day – not a bad outing for a film that was more than difficult to produce.
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Despite these challenges, Twister was a smash hit. In fact, it was so popular that it’s since spawned a sequel, nearly 30 years later. Twisters, starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, was released in theaters in July 2024 to much fanfare.