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When Kevin Smith made Clerks, he was on top of the indie comedy scene. With that, he had some clout to get his next movie going without much of a wait. Unfortunately, it was about as well-received as a stink palm, forcing Smith back to the drawing board — or the comic book panels, returning with Chasing Amy in a go-for-broke move.

Chasing Amy still remains one of the bravest films of the 1990s, not only for its content but for how Kevin Smith used it as a way to show he still had a place in the business. As he remembers in the new documentary Chasing Chasing Amy (via People), “Clerks began my career. Mallrats killed it. So you got me needing to do something to stay in this business, or else we were out. That’s a big part of where [the movie] comes from.”

With Chasing Amy, Kevin Smith concluded...

Many characters have come and gone from "Yellowstone." The series announced itself as a show unafraid to write off even key characters by immediately killing off Lee Dutton, son of Kevin Costner's John Dutton III, who met his fate at the end of the pilot episode of "Yellowstone." Other characters have faded in and out of the series as it has gone on. Taylor Sheridan cast himself as horse trainer Travis Wheatley, who initially showed up in season 1 for an episode, then a handful of episodes in season 2, before being absent altogether from season 3. The character then cropped up in a recurring capacity in season 4, but was once again missing from season 5A.

Similarly, Canadian actress Tanaya Beatty played the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch horse groomer Avery in season 1. When she's first introduced, Avery is recruited by Cole Hauser's Rip Wheeler from a strip club and has to justify...

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My Old Ass is a coming-of-age sci-fi comedy-drama film written and directed by Megan Park. The Prime Video film follows Elliott, an 18-year-old who takes mushrooms on her birthday and comes face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old. Soon, she is contacted by her older self who gives her life advice which makes Elliott forces to rethink everything from family to love. My Old Ass stars Maisy Stella, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks, and Aubrey Plaza. So, if you loved the coming-of-age drama, comedic tone, and compelling characters in My Old Ass here are some similar movies you should check out next.

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (Prime Video) Credit – Amazon Studios

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things is a sci-fi romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ian Samuels from a screenplay by Lev Grossman. Based on Grossman...

“The One with the Blackout,” the seventh episode of “Friends’” inaugural season, was notable for several reasons. It first introduced viewers to both the gang’s miserly broomstick-waving neighbor Mr. Heckles and Ross’ first rival for Rachel’s affections, Italian stallion Paolo. It apparently added the term ‘friend zone’ to the English lexicon as a result. And, as its title suggests, it formed part of an ingenious marketing strategy in which three NBC sitcoms were deliberately plunged into darkness.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this month (November 3), Blackout Thursday was the brainwave of Dan Holm, a promotional producer also responsible for the term ‘Must See TV.’ Alongside the comedy that would prove to be the network’s most successful, the programming stunt also included one of the many forgettable one-seasoners that failed to ride its coattails, the Dabney Coleman-starring “Madman of the People,” and the 12-time Emmy-winning “Mad About You.

Calling "Seinfeld" a success story is understating it. But Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza on the show in every episode except one, thinks the series' success might've had bad consequences for the TV industry as a whole. In a Charlie Rose interview from 1998 (the same year "Seinfeld" concluded), Alexander walked through the story of how he, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine), and Michael Richards (Kramer) fought for a raise about halfway through the show's run.

Alexander explained how, around season 5 of "Seinfeld," he, Louis-Dreyfus, and Richards felt "there was no upside" in staying on the show anymore. The success of "Seinfeld" could even be a double-edged sword since they'd be typecast as actors going forward. His fears ended up being founded; of the three, only Louis-Dreyfus has become more than her "Seinfeld" character to the larger public.

Initially, the three actors tried to get in on the show's syndication success. Syndication,...

After a successful theatrical run, ultimately grossing $371 million worldwide, Twisters will finally make its streaming debut. The film is slated to be released on Peacock this November. The exact release date is Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.

Twisters was helmed by Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) from a screenplay written by Mark L. Smith. In addition, Smith wrote the script based on a story by Joseph Kosinski.

Twisters is a disaster film serving as a standalone sequel to the 1996 classic Twister, which starred Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, and Cary Elwes. It follows former storm chaser Kate Carter, who finds herself lured back into the field of storm chasing when her friend, Javi, reaches out and asks her if she wants to help out with testing a new tornado tracking system.

She, Javi, and their team travel to Oklahoma and eventually meet popular social media star Tyler Owens and his team of storm chasers,...

After swirling up more than $333 million at the global box office, Twisters is now storming into home theaters.

The hit sequel to the 1996 blockbuster film will be available to stream on Peacock starting Nov. 15. Until then, movie lovers can buy or rent it on digital at Prime Video, Apple TV and other premium video-on-demand platforms.

Stream 'Twisters' on prime video

The film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as a former storm chaser-turned-meteorologist Kate Cooper and Glen Powell as Tyler Owens, a YouTube star and self-professed “tornado wrangler.” Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane and David Corenswet also star in the new movie.

Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton starred in the original film, Twister, which was released on May 10, 1996, and earned $495 million globally. Powell recently revealed that he keeps Paxton’s memory alive by using an acting trick that the late actor shared with him when they starred together in Red Wing.

For a few years in the '90s, it seemed like Helen Hunt was destined to be a mainstay on the big and small screen alike forever. The actor landed her earliest movie role in 1977, playing a teenager in the disaster movie "Rollercoaster," which featured a singularly weird plot about a man trying to bomb an amusement park ride. Hunt continued to act over the next decade, taking roles in films like "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and "Peggy Sue Got Married," plus the popular doctor drama "St. Elsewhere." But it wasn't until the '90s, when Hunt earned a trifecta of great, memorable roles, that she truly became a household name.

Hunt's big break came from "Mad About You," a 1992 sitcom in which she played one half of a New York City newlywed couple opposite Paul Reiser. Plotlines for the show mined married life for humor, but they...

Julie Bowen didn’t think she was funny enough to land Modern Family, the actress said this week.

“I was like, ‘I can’t tell a joke, I’m not funny,” Bowen recalled during an appearance on The Three Questions with Andy Richter.

The actress played Claire Dunphy on Modern Family, which ran for 11 seasons from 2009 to 2020 and is widely regarded as one of this century’s best sitcoms. As a result, Bowen is well-known for her comedy chops today.

Nevertheless, the actress almost didn’t audition for the role. At the time she told her team, “Don’t give me those three-jokes-a-page kind of things.”

Luckily, her managers pushed back and told her, “You know what? Helen Hunt isn’t funny.” Hunt charmed audiences as Jamie in Mad About You, which ran for seven seasons in the 1990s and then returned for an eighth in 2019.

“I said, ‘[Helen Hunt] just won like five Emmys,...

Julie Bowen looks back at her start in comedy and reveals that she didn’t think she was funny.

In a new interview, the Modern Family star recalled her team booking auditions for comedic roles, which Bowen didn’t think were suited for her.

“They sent me out on comedy auditions,” she said on The Three Questions with Andy Richter. “I was like, ‘I can’t tell a joke, I’m not funny — don’t give me those three-jokes-a-page kind of things.”

She continued, “And my managers were always very supportive, like, ‘You know what? Helen Hunt isn’t funny.’ I go, ‘What?’ They’re like, ‘Not technically.'”

“I said, ‘She just won like five Emmys.’ They’re like, ‘Yes. So she’s funny in a different way. She’s not three-jokes-a-page funny. And yet she is wildly funny. Try to be Helen Hunt,'” Bowen said.

Bowen would...

With a career that stretches back 50 years, Charles Band is one of the most well-known names in genre filmmaking. The head of companies like Empire Pictures and Full Moon Features, Band has over 400 producing credits, nearly 90 directing credits, and over 60 writing credits. A few years ago, he started telling the story of what it has been like bringing all of that entertainment into the world with his autobiography Confessions of a Puppetmaster: A Hollywood Memoir of Ghouls, Guts, and Gonzo Filmmaking (you can pick up a copy at This Link) – and now he has revealed that he’s currently working on a second autobiography, titled Horror Puppet!

Band told PopGeeks, “I don’t want to step back (from filmmaking) until I’m forced to, by end of life. I enjoy what I do and, yeah, I’ve done it for a long time. Sometimes I feel like I’m the...

Rise up, “Hacks” hive!

The beloved HBO series has officially won the 2024 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for its long-awaited third season. “Hacks” stars Emmy winner Jean Smart and Emmy-nominated actress Hannah Einbinder as an aging (yet still iconic) stand-up comedian and her writing partner.

Smart has won an Emmy, SAG Award, and Critics Choice Award for playing Deborah Vance; Einbinder has been an Emmy, SAG Award, and Critics Choice Award nominee for her turn as Ava Daniels.

Shockingly, this is the first year that “Hacks” has won the coveted Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy. Both Smart and Einbinder were also nominated at the 2024 awards show.

Fellow nominated comedy series included “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Palm Royale,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” and the respective final seasons of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Reservation Dogs.”

“Hacks” is created and showrun by Emmy winners Paul W. Downs,...

Mit ihrem neuen Film „The Assessment“, produziert von der Kölner augenschein Filmproduktion, kommt die schwedische Oscarpreisträgerin Alicia Vikander zum Zurich Film Festival. Dort wird sie auch mit dem Goldenen Auge für ihre herausragende schauspielerische Leistung geehrt.

Alicia Vikander (Credit: Julian Ungano)

Am 8. Oktober wird Alicia Vikander beim 20. Zurich Film Festival mit dem Goldenen Auge geehrt. Der Preis wird ihr für ihre herausragende schauspielerische Leistung verliehen. Die schwedische Oscarpreisträgerin ist zudem mit ihrem neuen Film „The Assessment“ im Programm des Schweizer Festivals, einer internationalen Koproduktion der Kölner augenschein Filmproduktion.

Artistic Director Christian Jungen blickt mit Vorfreude auf die Ehrenpreisträgerin: „Wir freuen uns sehr, dass Alicia Vikander zum 20-Jahr-Jubiläum ans Zff zurückkehrt, nachdem sie uns bereits 2017 besucht hat. Es war mir eine große Freude, sie 2023 beim Karlovy Vary International Film Festival zu treffen. Bei dieser Gelegenheit habe ich ihr von unserem Jubiläum erzählt und erwähnt, wie glücklich wir wären, sie wieder in Zürich begrüßen zu dürfen.

The Zurich Film Festival will honor Swedish actor Alicia Vikander, who won an Oscar with “The Danish Girl,” during its 20th edition, which runs Oct. 3-13.

Vikander will accept the festival’s Golden Eye Award on Oct. 8 when she presents the Swiss premiere of her new film “The Assessment,” which is directed by Fleur Fortuné.

“The Assessment,” in which she stars opposite Elizabeth Olsen, tells the story of a society striving for perfection, living in a world devastated by climate change, trying to optimize life – including the assessment of parenthood. A couple is examined by an assessor for seven days to determine their suitability to have children.

The award recognizes her “outstanding acting performance and her consistently courageous and clever choice of roles,” as demonstrated in auteur films and blockbusters alike, including “Ex Machina,” “The Danish Girl,” “Anna Karenina,” “Jason Bourne,” “The Green Knight” and “Tomb Raider.”

In 2015, she was...

Alicia Vikander will be feted with the Zurich Film Festival’s Golden Eye Award at its upcoming 20th edition, running from October 3 to 13.

Vikander will be handed the award on October 8 before presenting the Swiss premiere of her new film The Assessment by the director Fleur Fortuné.

Vikander’s credits include Ex Machina, The Danish Girl, Anna Karenina, Jason Bourne, The Green Knight, and Tomb Raider. In 2015, she won an Oscar for her performance as Gerda Wegener in Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl. Her performance also landed her a SAG Award and Critics Choice Award.

“I am incredibly honoured to be receiving the Golden Eye Award at Zurich Film Festival and proud to be amongst such a talented list of past honourees,” Vikander has said. “I was last there in 2017, for the Zff Masters and premiere of Euphoria, and I’m so pleased to be returning to the festival once again this year.

With things constantly being swapped out or deleted from your favorite streaming service, a commitment to physical media should be stronger now than ever before. And thankfully both big studios and smaller boutique labels understand how important physical releases are.

We are running down the very best 4K Blu-ray and DVD releases from July and August 2024.

“Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” MGM

One of the most hotly anticipated home video releases of the year is here – and it was worth the wait. Sam Peckinpah’s highly contested western, about an older Pat Garrett (James Coburn) hired to track down and kill Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson), was taken away from the filmmaker in post-production and released in a truncated version that he and several of the cast and crew members outspokenly derided. This Criterion release acknowledges and engages with the various iterations of the movie, with 4K discs devoted...

(from left) Lily (Sasha Lane) and Tyler (Glen Powell), in Twisters directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Photo Credit; Melinda Sue Gordon Copyright Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment When the 1996 action movie Twister hit theaters, it was a box office tornado, sweeping audiences off their feet. With a stellar cast including Oscar-winner Helen Hunt and the unforgettable Bill Paxton, directed by the action maestro behind Speed, Jan de Bont, and produced by the legendary duo Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall, it had all the makings of a blockbuster. A sequel seemed inevitable, but fans were left waiting… and waiting. 28 long years later, Twisters finally arrived, proving that the storm hadn’t calmed. What caused the decades-long delay? Frank Marshall, who returned to produce the sequel, shed light on the factors that kept the project grounded for so long. (Click on the media bar below to hear Frank Marshall) https://www.

It is impossible to think of disaster films and not think of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as Dr. Jo Harding and Bill Harding in ‘Twister’. Jan de Bont's film was the second-highest-grossing film of 1996 and had a very significant impact on popular culture, becoming a fan favorite and influencing storm chasers all over. There was never a continuation until now with Lee Isaac Chung’s stand alone sequel‘Twisters’ (2024), and now a new crew will be chasing a few storms together. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal, by combining entertainment, education, and philanthropy.

The late actor Bill Paxton was more than just a versatile actor, for he was a true Hollywood legend who carved a name for himself through his legendary portrayals in some of the biggest science fiction franchises of all time. Having passed away in 2017, the legend left behind a unique legacy and the rare distinction of being the only actor to be killed on-screen by the iconic trio: a Terminator, an Alien, and a Predator.

Bill Paxton in Titanic | Credit: 20th Century Studios

A unique trifecta that sets him apart from other actors in the industry, Paxton’s ability to seamlessly transition between different genres and characters not only made him a fan favorite star but also earned him his much-earned $40 million net worth!

Bill Paxton: A Hollywood Legend Like No Other

Bill Paxton in Aliens | Credit: 20th Century Studios

Bill Paxton‘s Hollywood career spanned over four decades with...

Exclusive: Leo Woodall (One Day) and Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) have signed on to star in Tuner, a new crime thriller directed by Oscar winner Daniel Roher (Navalny), for which Black Bear is launching sales at TIFF.

Written by Roher and Robert Ramsey, the film tells the story of a talented piano tuner whose life is turned upside down when he discovers that his meticulous skills for tuning pianos can equally be applied to cracking safes.

JoAnne Sellar and Lila Yacoub will produce, with production kicking off in Toronto in October. Debra Zane is the casting director. Black Bear will represent the international rights to the film while UTA Independent Film Group will rep the U.S. rights. Elevation Pictures is co-producing and will also release the film in Canada.

Breaking out with his role as Jack in the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus,...

Exclusive: Kecia Lewis, who won a Tony Award this year for her featured portrayal of Miss Liza Jane in the Alicia Keys Broadway musical Hell’s Kitchen, has signed with Paradigm Talent Agency.

Hell’s Kitchen is Lewis’ 10th Broadway show following performances in Leap Of Faith, Children Of A Lesser God, The Drowsy Chaperone and Once On This Island, among others. She started her career in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls.

On television, Lewis was a series regular on the Fox series The Passage and the 2019 reboot of Mad About You opposite Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt. She has recurred on Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Law & Order: Svu and The Blacklist. She recently appeared in …And Just Like That.

In film, Lewis played Jodi Turner-Smith’s mother in The Independent.

Lewis continues to be represented by Jed Abrahams at The Rosenzweig Group.

Robert Downey Jr. could be about to join an exclusive actors club by becoming just the fourth person to win both an Oscar and an Emmy for acting in the same calendar year.

Downey Jr. won Best Supporting Actor at this year’s Oscars for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in “Oppenheimer.” That Christopher Nolan biopic, which also won Best Picture, followed Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and depicted the scientist’s creation, and later guilt, of the atomic bomb. Downey Jr’s Strauss was a politician who was once an ally of Oppenheimer only to become his rival. Downey Jr’s portrayal of Strauss, the film’s villain, made him the obvious choice for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar and that remained throughout awards season. He won the BAFTA, Critics Choice, Golden Globe, and SAG awards before he eventually won the Academy Award, beating fellow Oscar nominees Sterling K. Brown...

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Twisters has been ripping through the box office, racking up over $300 million so far. Its theatrical run isn’t over yet, but the film is now available to rent or buy through Prime Video, iTunes, or YouTube. Amateur storm chasers can also pre-order a copy on 4K Uhd, Blu-Ray, or DVD, but the release date has not yet been announced.

buy or rent on prime

Helmed by Minari director Lee Isaac Chung,...

What do Robert Downey Jr., Idris Elba, Lily Gladstone and Maya Rudolph have in common?

These four stars are not only nominees at this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards but are also the sole representatives of their respective series: Downey (supporting actor in a limited series for “The Sympathizer”), Elba (lead drama actor for “Hijack”), Gladstone (supporting actress in a limited series for “Under the Bridge”) and Rudolph (lead comedy actress for “Loot”). While each of these talented actors has a shot at winning, history shows that it’s rare for someone to take home an Emmy when their show has no other nominations.

Over the past four decades, only six actors have won an Emmy as the sole nominee from their show: Louie Anderson (supporting comedy actor for “Baskets” in 2016), Richard Kiley (lead drama actor for “A Year in the Life” in 1987), Regina King (lead actress limited for “Seven Seconds...

If you feel it, chase it -- that little pearl of wisdom applies to obsessive storm-chasers and humble movie fans, alike. Despite its somewhat ham-fisted attempt to connect itself to a preexisting franchise (if the original 1996 movie can even be called that), "Twisters" felt like a breath of fresh air upon release this past July. In my review for /Film, I called it a "satisfying, crowd-pleasing effort [that] somehow rides the fine line between its IP obligations and a refreshingly self-contained experience" and I stand by every word. Sure, its impressive box-office performance was fueled by a number of factors (not least of all the Glen Powell Effect), but deep down I believe audiences responded to its throwback charms as the kind of Amblin-esque movie that we simply don't get enough of anymore.

Although it was practically made to be experienced on the biggest screen possible, that likely won't stop anyone...

Before Pete Docter left the stage at D23 tonight, he had one final surprise: “Incredibles 3” is coming. The crowd, understandably, went wild.

Brad Bird, the original writer/director of “The Incredibles” and “Incredibles 2,” is “developing” the project, Pixar said. What his precise role will be when the film goes into production isn’t known at this time.

Instead, Bird is in the middle of making “Ray Gunn,” his ambitious sci-fi detective story for Skydance and Netflix. The “Ray Gunn” script pre-dates “The Iron Giant” and was meant to be produced at Warner Bros. Animation, as a traditionally animated 2D feature. The project was briefly revived at Warner Bros., before Skydance head John Lasseter wooed Bird to the studio. “Ray Gunn” is now CG and is intended for release on Netflix in 2026.

“The Incredibles” and “Incredibles 2” are two of the most successful and beloved movies in Pixar’s catalogue.

In a world where intimate scenes have become a part and parcel of cinema that helps explain human connections, Glen Powell’s latest movie Twisters sparked controversies for yanking a kissing scene between the leads. Leaving audiences high and dry with simply tornado-chasing plots, the 2024 follow-up generated significant buzz for their bizarre decision.

Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones in Twisters | Amblin Entertainment

So much so that even Zack Snyder, who is practically the reigning monarch of on-screen passion was left scratching his head in bewilderment. After the filmmaker recently released the R-rated versions of his Rebel Moon films, Snyder addressed the controversial choice of editing a kissing scene between Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, that left him reeling.

Glen Powell’s Twisters Sparked Outrage After a Controversial Editing Decision

After initially generating positive remarks on social media, upon its release, Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones’ Twisters suddenly began sparking controversies.

Following his global popularity through Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick, and his project with Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell recently released his latest film, Twisters. Made with a notably higher production budget of $200M, Powell’s movie was expected to earn a positive reception and substantial commercial success.

Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones in Twisters | Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Unfortunately, releasing his movie a week ahead of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool & Wolverine, Glen Powell’s Twisters witnessed fierce competition. Although it crossed a significant milestone, surpassing $220M at the worldwide box office, Powell’s film failed to make a substantial financial triumph compared to its budget.

Glen Powell’s Twisters Need to Make $400M to be a Box Office Success

Released on July 19, 2024, as a highly anticipated sequel to the original 1996 movie starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, @HollywoodHandle reported that Glen Powell‘s Twisters has already managed to earn...

“Twisters” is sweeping audiences off their couches and into the theaters.

The standalone follow-up to “Twister” (1996) grossed over $80 million in its first weekend and was the third highest-grossing film of 2024.

Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos lead the disaster film as a ragtag group of storm chasers. Jones plays Kate Carter, a once disaster-seeker turned to corporate weather pro, while Powell plays Tyler Owens, a viral “tornado wrangler.” The two team up with Javi, a longtime friend of Kate’s played by Anthony Ramos, to tackle the biggest twister Oklahoma’s seen in generations.

The cast also features some newcomers but (spoiler alert!) no cameo from Helen Hunt. For the complete “Twisters” cast and character guide, keep reading.

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate Carter Daisy Edgar-Jones on the “Twisters” red carpet (Credit: Getty Images)

Kate Carter is a young woman who suffered through a tragedy while attempting a new experiment...

[This story contains spoilers for Twisters.]

Twisters audiences are getting swept up in the renewed debate surrounding depictions of sexual intimacy on the big screen. Social media users have been in a tizzy over the ending of director Lee Isaac Chung’s action film that stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos.

A follow-up to the 1996 film Twister that starred Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, the new movie centers on Kate (Edgar-Jones) aiming to put a tragic tornado encounter behind her as she returns to Oklahoma to assist a team in tracking dangerous storms. Twisters shows her slow-building connection to YouTube-famous storm chaser Tyler (Powell) — but you might be blown away to learn that the pair never express their affections with an onscreen kiss.

“My partner immediately lamented the fact that their romance was never physicalized in any way, and that they even avoided the hunky hero ever taking his shirt off,” says John Bucher,...

Steven Spielberg is often seen with a cool and composed demeanor. But a situation that happened on the Twister 1996 set reportedly left the filmmaker completely baffled. Spielberg, who helmed the executive producer role for the American disaster movie, flew down to Oklahoma and yelled at director Jan de Bont.

Bill Paxton in a still from Twister || Warner Bros.

The reason being de Bont’s alleged meltdown on set. This further led to the entire crew temporarily halting all the activities. A stuntman present on the movie set detailed what chaos took place on the movie set in a recent interview.

How Steven Spielberg’s Intervention Brought the Twister Crew Back on Set?

The entire production of Twister 1996 took an entirely different turn when the crew temporarily halted all activities and walked out. The reason behind this being director Jan de Bont’s dramatic meltdown on set. Stunt coordinator...

Movies are not just entertainment but also sources of inspiration and influence. While movies like Steven Spielberg’s Jaws became detrimental to sharks, the 1996 blockbuster Twister, ended up becoming a cultural touchstone. Such was a storm created by one single movie, that it not only ignited a passion for weather phenomenon among countless viewers but also gave a significant boost to the recreational activity of storm chasing.

Bill Paxton [Credit: Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams | Dimension Films]Part of the film’s success was Bill Paxton’s incredible portrayal of Bill Harding, an intrepid stormchaser, who left an indelible mark on both the movie industry and the meteorological community. After his tragic untimely death, American meteorologists paid a special tribute to him in a manner befitting his iconic role.

When American Meteorologists Honored Bill Paxton in the Most Unusual Way

Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton’s 1996 disaster movie...

The hit tornado sequel has two hot actors – Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones – avoid a climactic smooch. Is Steven Spielberg to blame?

Minor spoilers ahead

If you haven’t seen Twisters, Lee Isaac Chung’s loosely related sequel to the 1996 film starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, you should stop reading this and change that – and, specifically, see it in 4Dx, because the gimmicky movie/ride combo will never get better than watching hot people chase tornadoes while getting tossed in your seat and battered by wind.

If you have seen the heartland disaster flick that’s rejuvenating the adult box office (it made over $80m in the US over the weekend), then you likely have some pressing questions: is there reliably a tornado every day in Oklahoma? Can you really kill a twister with what appears to be barrels of laundry detergent? Where is Glen Powell’s dog, Brisket?...

In the lead up to the release of “Twisters,” the stunt coordinator from 1996’s “Twister” spoke to The Independent about the chaos that ensued during the production of the original movie. Mic Rodgers recalled “Twister” director Jan de Bont having an alleged meltdown on set one day that resulted in the crew temporarily abandoning the production.

Per The Independent: “De Bont’s most notorious outburst nearly scuppered the entire production. 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 apologise for the incident, [the] entire camera crew stormed off the set, promptly followed by the audio team, then the wardrobe department.”

“It had been brewing,” Rodgers told the publication about the set tension.

According to Rodgers, none other than executive producer Steven Spielberg arrived the next day to Norman, Okla. to...

Stars: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Kiernan Shipka, Katy O’Brien, Daryl McCormack | Written by Mark L. Smith | Directed by Lee Isaac Chung

28 years after the original movie, Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is using Dorothy to get a new invention off of the ground — a powder that should decelerate the power of a tornado if it gets swept up. After a catastrophic disaster with an F5, Kate puts her dreams on the back burner until her friend Javi (Anthony Ramos) entices her back to Oklahoma. While there, she meets YouTube sensation Tyler (Glen Powell), who describes himself as a ‘tornado wrangler.’ As the trio race for the best storm, Kate learns both guys aren’t as they appear.

Let’s call a spade a spade — Twisters is almost exactly the same film as Twister, except this time, no CGI cows get swept up in a tornado. Play by play, beat for beat,...

Moviegoers embraced the storm this weekend, propelling “Twisters” to a blockbuster $81.25 million opening weekend. That’s far above expectations of $50 million to $55 million and enough to score the third-biggest debut of the year behind “Inside Out 2” ($154 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($82 million).

Of course, “Twisters,” a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster epic “Twister,” benefitted from nostalgia. The original adventure, starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes and Philip Seymour Hoffman, was hugely successful with $496 million globally and remains a touchstone for audiences.

However, analysts point out that brand familiarity isn’t enough these days to fill seats in multiplexes. This May’s “Furosia: A Mad Max Saga,” a prequel to the acclaimed 2015 action film “Mad Max: Fury Road,” struggled to sell tickets despite great reviews, while last year’s big-budget sequels like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” fell cavernously...

Cowtastrophe.

After kicking off July with discussions on the badass babes of Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror (listen) and the queer undertones of Stanley Kubrick’s final film Eyes Wide Shut (listen), we’re taking a vacation from heavy analysis and having fun with Jan de Bont‘s 1996 special effects extravaganza Twister!

In the film, a series of intense storms sweeping through Oklahoma leads meteorologist Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) and her team of storm chasers to test out Dorothy, a ground-breaking tornado data-gathering device conceived by Jo’s estranged husband, Bill (Bill Paxton). When Bill shows up in town with his new fiancée (Jami Gertz) in tow, it becomes a race against the clock as the whole crew try to get Dorothy to work before their rival Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) gets there first.

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Twisters has torn up the North American box office with a mighty estimated $80.5m opening weekend that rode roughshod over pre-opening forecasts of a $50m-plus.

North American distributor Universal said the tentpole delivered the highest debut ever by a natural disaster film, ahead of The Day After Tomorrow on an unadjusted $68.4m in 2004, and scored the third highest opening weekend of 2024 behind Inside Out 2 on $154.2m and Dune: Part Two on $82.5m.

Lee Isaac Chung’s follow-up to his recent awards season darling and Oscar winning Minari centres on storm chasers in Oklahoma and stars man of the moment...

Twisters has torn up the North American box office with a mighty estimated $80.5m opening weekend that rode roughshod over pre-opening forecasts of a $50m-plus.

North American distributor Universal said the tentpole delivered the highest debut ever by a natural disaster film, ahead of The Day After Tomorrow on an unadjusted $68.4m in 2004, and scored the third highest opening weekend of 2024 behind Inside Out 2 on $154.2m and Dune: Part Two on $82.5m.

Lee Isaac Chung’s follow-up to his recent awards season darling and Oscar winning Minari centres on storm chasers in Oklahoma and stars man of the moment...

“Twisters” is taking the box office by storm, though it’s not resonating quite as strongly with international audiences.

The film, a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster epic “Twister,” has whipped up $27.1 million from 76 foreign territories over the weekend and $42 million overseas in total. “Twisters” has been far more powerful at the domestic box office, though, where ticket sales ignited to $80.5 million. Globally, the movie has grossed $123.2 million to date.

Outside of the U.S. and Canada, this weekend’s biggest markets were the U.K. ($5.5 million), Mexico ($2.5 million), Australia ($2 million) and France ($1.9 million). “Twisters” misfired in China, earning a paltry $1.5 million in its debut. Imax screens contributed $2.2 million internationally and $11.2 million globally for the weekend.

“Twisters” cost $155 million to produce, not including the many millions in global marketing efforts. Universal Pictures backed the movie and released it domestically while Warner Bros. has international rights. The film has yet to open in Japan or Korea.

Starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt in the lead roles, the 1996 film Twister was a major success, earning critical acclaim and two Oscar nominations at the 69th Academy Awards. Its popularity paved the way for a recently released sequel featuring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell.

Twister | Credit: IMDb

However, the original film’s production was not without its difficulties. The cast of the film faced numerous challenges, including temporary blindness, due to the filmmakers’ dedication to authentically capturing the storm-chasing adventure.

Jan De Bont’s Struggles While Filming Twister

Filmmaker Jan De Bont preferred to shoot the 1996 action film Twister in Oklahoma to depict the harsh weather conditions featured in the movie authentically. However, unlike what he wished for, the weather in Oklahoma was not cooperating.

Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton | Credit: Warner Bros.

While the filmmaker had wished for cloudy weather, it ended up being all sunny with clear blue skies.

“Twisters” is taking the box office by storm.

The movie, a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster epic “Twister,” has collected a massive $80.5 million from 4,151 North American theaters in its debut. Heading into the weekend, the follow-up film was projected to generate $50 million to $55 million. It’s the third-biggest opening weekend of the year behind “Inside Out 2” ($154 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($82 million). Directed by “Minari” filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, “Twisters” stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos as storm chasers who find themselves in the fight of their lives as multiple tornadoes converge over central Oklahoma.

Analysts believe several factors contributed to the surge in initial ticket sales, the most important being that audiences simply dug the film. It holds an “A-” on CinemaScore. Nostalgia for the original blockbuster, starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as the rising bankability of the property’s fresh faces,...

Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters is whipping up huge winds at the box office, with forecasters predicting a far better than expected domestic opening of $80.5 million in North America. That’s even up from Saturday’s already massive estimate of $74.6 million.

The record-breaking movie, playing in 4,151 theaters, easily boasts the top domestic opening ever for a natural disaster film, not adjusted for inflation. (The current crown holder is Roland Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow, which bowed to $68.44 million in 2004.) It’s also the third biggest start of the year to date behind Inside Out 2 ($154.2 million) and Dune: Part Two ($82.5 million) after edging out Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire ($80 million).

The turnout for Twisters cements the rising star status of Hollywood’s man-of-the-moment Glen Powell, along with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos (the trio lead the ensemble cast). It’s also a notable win for Chung, the acclaimed filmmaker of indie hit Minari.

As Twisters rips through theaters and updates a nearly 30-year-old franchise, the original movie’s creator is reflecting on how the movie got made.

Director Jan de Bont recalled the “goddamned real” effects that went into 1996’s Twister and “ultimately decided whether the movie was made” as the sequel premieres in theaters.

“We weren’t sure at the time if we could even make the movie, because of the difficulty of the effects,” he told Vulture. “And it took a long time — the hardware and the software had to be designed for the movie. It was like two steps forward and one step backward, but it was exciting.

“One of the scenes we did as a test, to see if we could make it believable, was the opening with the farm and the family going into the shelter. Another test we did was a shot from the inside of a car,...

Twisters stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos got to wet their whistles during a surprise appearance at a Luke Combs concert over the weekend.

The performers joined the country singer onstage at his show Friday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. As seen in footage shared to social media, Combs and the castmembers each had a can of beer and took part in a brief chugging contest.

Powell and Combs can be seen quickly shotgunning their beers and then tossing the empty cans toward the audience. Edgar-Jones did not appear to finish hers and instead handed the half-finished beverage to Powell, who polished it off and tossed that can to the crowd as well.

“So this happened,” Edgar-Jones wrote about footage from the appearance when sharing it to her Instagram Stories. She included an exploding head emoji and tagged Powell, Ramos and Combs. Ramos reposted her footage and added the message,...

Update 07/21/24: With Saturday's box office numbers in, "Twisters" has once again blown past estimates! It's now on track for an $80.5 million opening debut, according to Variety. If that number holds once the final count is in on Monday, it will be the third-biggest box office debut of the year, behind only "Inside Out 2" and "Dune: Part Two." 

Original article follows.

Nothing is safe from the suck zone of a tornado. It wrecks houses, it steals chickens, and now it has captured the wallets of moviegoers as well. Lee Isaac Chung's "Twisters" is off to a rip-roaring start, grossing $32.2 million on Friday (including Thursday previews) and landing an A- CinemaScore from audience exit polling. Per the Hollywood Reporter, "Twisters" is now on track for a $74.6 million opening weekend, but it wouldn't be at all surprising to see it climb higher. 

Adjusting for inflation, that's on par with the...

Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for “Twisters,” now playing in theaters.

In “Twisters,” Glen Powell’s Tyler Owens — a YouTube superstar who chases tornadoes for clicks and notoriety, as well as for the thrill of riding out his fears – drives a Dodge Ram truck was built to withstand winds of up to 130 miles per hour.

Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, a meteorologist and ex-tornado chaser who is haunted by a major storm from her past, who along with her colleague Javi (Anthony Ramos), goes up against Tyler as they find themselves working in one of the deadliest tornado seasons ever in Oklahoma. While Javi and Kate have access to sleek state-of-the-art StormPar vehicles, Tyler needed something to match his personality – an extreme meteorologist who doesn’t have a ton of money.

Sean Waugh, a research scientist at the National Severe Storm Laboratory (Nssl), worked as a consultant on...

Ginger Zee isn’t just a Good Morning America host, she’s actually a well-respected meteorologist and scientist.

In fact, she’s even coined herself a “Storm Chaser” in the past. But, even with those credentials, Ginger Zee didn’t score any tickets to the Twister movie premiere this week.

Can you imagine being The Ginger Zee and having to wait until a movie about tornadoes hit theaters and then have to actually pay for a ticket to watch it?

Ginger Zee Didnt Score Twisters Tickets

Twister, which starred Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, broke Box Office records back in 1996.

The 2024 rendition of the movie follows a female meteorologist (sounds kind of like Zee) named Daisy, who winds up on a wild storm-cashing ride with an online celebrity who records storms up close and personal for his audience.

Ginger Zee ranted on Instagram, “Not me over here kicking rocks, thinking,...

“Twisters” is twirling, twirling, twirling toward one of the five biggest domestic debuts of the year. The sequel whizzed past projections on opening day with $32.2 million from 4,151 locations across Friday and preview screenings.

Outlook for the opening weekend of the natural disaster thriller is now at $74 million — way north of the industry estimates for $50 million to $55 million earlier this week. That puts it in competition with fellow Universal release “Despicable Me 4” ($75 million) for the fourth-biggest three-day debut of the year (though that animated sequel opened on a Wednesday and had grosses dispersed across a five-day holiday weekend frame). The top three North American opening weekends of the year are “Inside Out 2” ($154 million), “Dune: Part Two” ($82 million) and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($80 million).

That’s great company to be in for “Twisters,” which Amblin produced and Warner Bros. is distributing internationally. The original “Twister,” starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt,...

[Editor’s note: The following story contains mild spoilers for “Twisters”]

Lee Isaac Chung’s “Twisters” hits theaters this weekend, 28 years after the release of Jan de Bont’s original “Twister.”

But while the classic branding will no doubt inspire some disaster movie fans to check the film out in theaters, many have pointed out that the sequel stands on its own without relying on many direct connections to the 1996 first film.

Still, some have noticed that one scene in “Twisters” felt like a natural opportunity to bring back one of the original film’s biggest stars — and expressed puzzlement when that didn’t happen. Many fans believed that Daisy Edgar-Jones’ Kate could have been the daughter of Dr. Jo Harding, the storm chaser that Helen Hunt played in “Twister.” But when Kate returns to Oklahoma to visit her mother in “Twisters,” her mother turns out to be an unrelated character played by Maura Tierney.

In a recent interview with The Wrap,...