15 Fascinating Insights About ‘Twister’ That Will Amaze You

With Steven Spielberg as executive producer, Michael Crichton as co-writer, and the director of Speed at the helm, Twister became a global sensation. Its groundbreaking (for 1996) visual effects and thrilling storyline helped it earn nearly $500 million worldwide, securing its place as the second highest-grossing film of 1996, just behind Independence Day.

The movie features Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt as a divorced couple who reunite to chase tornadoes and deploy their DOROTHY device. Racing against a rival team to prove their invention’s worth, they face life-threatening challenges while endangering their crew.

As you prepare for the 2024 sequel Twisters, revisit these intriguing details about the original cinematic masterpiece.

1. The film drew inspiration from His Girl Friday.

The screenplay, credited to Michael Crichton and his spouse, Anne-Marie Martin, faced a plagiarism lawsuit in 1998. Crichton testified that their script for Twister was influenced by a PBS Nova episode about Oklahoma tornado chasers and the plot of His Girl Friday (1940). A Los Angeles Times article highlighted parallels between Twister and the Rosalind Russell/Cary Grant remake of The Front Page (1931). The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.

2. Joss Whedon contributed to the script (though uncredited).

Joss Whedon had to step away from production twice, once due to bronchitis and again for his wedding. Reflecting on the final product, Whedon remarked, “Some elements worked, while others didn’t align with my vision.”

When it became clear that much of the film would take place in moving vehicles, Jeff Nathanson (who later penned Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal for Spielberg) was brought in to craft car-related dialogue. “I had to write lines like ‘Watch out,’ ‘It’s coming,’ and ‘Move aside,’” Nathanson recalled.

Steven Zaillian, who earned an Academy Award in 1994 for Schindler’s List, had a peculiar experience; he spent three weeks working on the film without any of his contributions making it into the final script.

“For three weeks, I wrote scenes and faxed them to Oklahoma, where filming was underway,” he explained. “I later discovered that every page I sent was completely disregarded because the director was satisfied with the existing script. However, the production company wasn’t. Ultimately, not a single word I wrote for Twister ended up in the movie.”

3. Philip Seymour Hoffman accepted the role to facilitate his return to New York.

Philip Seymour Hoffman portrayed Dusty in the movie. Reflecting on his decision to join the project, he told Esquire, “I was living in L.A. at the time ... and I realized that taking this role would allow me to return to New York.”

4. Garth Brooks declined the lead role.

A lawsuit filed by a former employee of the country music star revealed that Garth Brooks rejected the lead role in Twister because the tornado was the true star of the film.

5. Both Helen Hunt and Jan de Bont left other projects to join this film.

Helen Hunt, who played Dr. Jo Harding, turned down the opportunity to work with John Travolta in John Woo’s Broken Arrow (1996). Similarly, after over six months of pre-production, Jan de Bont exited his role as director of Godzilla (1998) due to budget disputes with the studio and quickly signed on to direct Twister instead.

6. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton temporarily lost their vision.

The actors spent hours in a truck cab illuminated by intense electric lamps. To maintain the dark, stormy sky effect behind them as the outside light increased, the lamps were turned up even brighter—so bright that Paxton and Hunt suffered temporary blindness. Both had to use eye drops and wear protective glasses for several days afterward.

Other incidents occurred as well. Hunt and Paxton required hepatitis shots after spending time in an unclean ditch. De Bont described Hunt as “a little bit clumsy” after she accidentally struck her head on a car door. “Clumsy?” Hunt retorted. “He burned my retinas, but I’m the clumsy one.”

7. Several crew members walked out on de Bont.

De Bont reportedly shoved a camera assistant into the mud for obstructing a complex shot and labeled director of photography Don Burgess (Forrest Gump) and his team as “incompetent.” In protest, Burgess and over 20 camera crew members left the set.

The director refuted claims of calling the team “incompetent” and explained to Entertainment Weekly that his actions stemmed from frustration. “The noise from the wind machines was deafening,” de Bont said, “so the crew relied on my hand signals. When I signaled action, he [walked] right into the shot. We kept losing great takes because of such avoidable mistakes. I don’t consider myself hot-tempered, but I believe in being passionate. These crews are well-paid, and when they make errors, I’ll hold them accountable.”

8. Wakita, Oklahoma, became one of the film’s standout locations.

Wakita (population 344) was selected as a key filming site after scouts noticed debris remaining from a major June 1993 hailstorm. Most locals signed up as extras, earning $100 per day for their participation.

Wakita now hosts the Twister (The Movie) Museum, which debuted a few months before the film’s release. Visitors can enjoy a five-block walking tour, view a Dorothy I prop, and play on a Twister pinball machine, a gift from Bill Paxton.

9. The tornado sounds were crafted from a mix of animal noises.

As reported by Variety, the storm sounds were partially created using a modified recording of a camel’s moan. Other sources mentioned that a lion’s growl and a tiger’s snarl were also blended into the tornado audio.

10. A Boeing 707 jet was employed to produce the wind effects.

Alongside the jet, the production team used a fleet of wind machines. Despite winds reaching 200 mph, stunt doubles were only used occasionally. The actors wore earplugs but, seemingly forgetting their earlier experience, skipped eye protection. “After every take, someone would come by with Visine,” Hunt recalled.

11. Filming for Mad About You was postponed to accommodate Hunt’s schedule for the movie.

The fourth season of Mad About You, the NBC sitcom featuring Hunt and Paul Reiser, was delayed by two weeks. NBC executives told The New York Times that the delay was due to Reiser and the Mad About You team being upset about the show’s move to Sunday nights.

12. The tagline “It sucks” was briefly considered.

Producers reconsidered after realizing such a tagline could easily be used against the film by critics or dissatisfied audiences.

13. Oprah embarrassed the cast (likely on purpose).

“The most memorable moment from our press tour was appearing on Oprah,” Jami Gertz, who portrayed Dr. Melissa Reeves, told The A.V. Club. “We came out one by one, discussing the challenges of filming. We talked about debris in our eyes from the wind machines and using eye wash. Sometimes, we had to shut off electricity in the makeup trailer during electrical storms to avoid getting electrocuted, and so on. After the commercial break, Oprah returned and said, ‘Now, let’s hear from real tornado survivors!’ [Laughs] So there we were, a bunch of actors on stage, followed by people sharing stories like, ‘I was burned, struck by lightning...’ And we just sat there awkwardly, thinking, ‘Uh, that didn’t happen to us.’ It was incredibly humiliating—real survivors versus us, the movie version.”

14. Bill Paxton believes they created the “Pepsi Lite” version of the film.

“I’d love to direct a sequel to that movie,” Paxton once said. “I’ve always felt there was a Jaws-level intensity missing. It felt like we made the lighter, less impactful version.”

Unfortunately, Paxton passed away from a stroke in 2017 and won’t witness the 2024 sequel.

15. Spielberg credits the film’s success to its visual effects rather than its narrative.

During the plagiarism trial, Spielberg told Variety that the movie’s triumph was due to its groundbreaking special effects, not the screenplay.