If there’s anything wilder than the 2024 movie release Twisters, it’s the fan response that’s been pouring out since its debut. With Twisters’ “exceptional” opening box office on the board, the results speak for themselves; especially when things looked as intense as they did on screen. Star Anthony Ramos revealed that making the picture was indeed a “wild experience,” and I don't think he was was wrong when comparing it to a ride at Universal Studios.
As he spoke with the L.A. Times about the effects-heavy experience that was the Glen Powell/Daisy Edgar-Jones led ensemble adventure, he recalled myriad practical effects the big budget production put to use. Aside from comparing it to a Universal thrill ride, the following story sounds a lot like how production went on the original Twister:
Yeah, Transformers was pretty special effects heavy, but this was something else. I mean, they had a jet engine from a plane that they were using for the wind. It was so powerful that we’d roll up to film in our truck, I’d open the door, and it was like, 'Yo, this is gonna fly off.' Even filming the final scene, where Glen [Powell] gets pinned down, and I’m trying to help him, we were getting pelted with gallons of water. I’m talking like two dumpsters full of water coming at us like a cannon. It was like a ride at Universal Studios. It was a wild experience.
If you’ve listened to ReelBlend’s Jan de Bont interview, or just happen to be a Twister fan, then you know the stories behind the seamless mix of CGI and practical effects that were used to make the movie -- a movie that will likely go on to be iconic in the cultural lexicon. In that respect, reading the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ star recounting similar tactics of the set of Twisters is a nice, cozy throwback.
As a big theme park fan, I’m sitting with some very special feelings due to the fact that one of the Universal Studios’ attractions I wish would come back ties in with Ramos' narrative. That would be the beloved attraction Twister: Ride It Out, which closed back in 2015 to make way for Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon.
It’s a gigantic loss as far as I’m concerned, thanks to the nature of the ride skewing closer to the old school Universal Studios Orlando’s love of filmmaking. Also, you actually got to see the safest-yet-most-intense replica of an actual tornado that was possible at the time. Tie that all up with the infamous pre-show video that really showed the storied strain between Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, and you had an attraction a whole lot of people still fondly remember.
Like a cow in a cyclone, this Twisters story circles back to another interesting piece of trivia shared by Anthony Ramos. As he continued in this very same interview, In the Heights’ musical star provided a story so crazy you can’t make it up; as it involves our future Superman and the wrath of Mother Nature:
We had to wrap up early a couple of times. There was one scene where me and David Corenswet were shooting in the car, and behind us was this awesome storm cloud. They told us we had to stop because it was gonna turn into something, and sure enough it did. It turned into a real tornado, and our director went and chased it with one of our storm chaser consultants, Sean.
For a picture that has the unofficial taglne of, “If you feel it, chase it,” this cross road between actor safety and filmmaking insanity sounds like another building block in the potential long term legacy that Twisters might be building among its fans. We’ll see what happens as you can currently see Anthony Ramos chasing storms and making moves on the big screen.
And if you’re looking for the closest thing to a theme park ride based on this 2024 blockbuster, Twisters’ insanely good 4DX experience might still be available at a theater near you.
