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Tag: twister

  • A Real-Life Storm Chaser Answers All Our Questions About Twisters

    A Real-Life Storm Chaser Answers All Our Questions About Twisters

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    Photo: Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Amblin Entertainment

    “WE DROVE INTO A TORNADO!!!” announces one of the most popular videos on storm chaser Jordan Hall’s YouTube channel. (“IM IN IT!!” a graphic on the still adds, in case you were wondering.) The video alternates between terrifying drone footage of a giant tornado cutting across Nebraska and the sounds of the folks in the truck clamoring to buckle up and roll up their windows as the wind and rain overtake them. The Oklahoma-based, 27-year-old Hall has been chasing storms since his senior year of high school; it’s a fascination borne out of a childhood obsession with the 1996 Jan de Bont film Twister. On the precipice of Lee Isaac Chung’s not quite sequel, Twisters, in which Glen Powell’s character plays a Youtube storm chaser named Tyler Owens, we spoke with Hall over Zoom to talk about the realities of modern-day storm chasing, competing for content, and how likely it is to see twin tornadoes out on the road.

    How did you first learn about storm chasing?
    I got obsessed with tornadoes and severe weather when Twister came out when I was a little kid. It was my favorite movie. Then as I got into middle school and then high school, I watched a lot of the Weather Channel stuff with Jim Cantore, who I always thought was cool. When I was a senior in high school, my town of Baker, Montana, actually got hit by a tornado, and I went out chasing it. I met another storm chaser that day who was driving through, and that’s when I realized people actually go all over the U.S. to chase them. He was from Oklahoma, and he drove all the way to Montana to chase it. I was like, “That’s crazy, but it’s awesome.” When I went to college in Chadron, Nebraska, me and my buddy started skipping classes to go chase tornadoes, even though we had no idea what we were doing.

    Did you study weather in college?
    I went to school for criminal justice because I didn’t think there was actually a career path in storm chasing. It’s not like there’s a job application for it. I always figured it would be something I’d do on the side. I really credit my mentors and chase partners; they not only taught me how to storm chase but showed me how to work the media side of it. If you shoot crazy videos, you can sell them and make money. I’m like, “Well, if you can sell enough of it, you can make a living.” That was kind of my motivator: “I just gotta shoot crazy videos.”

    In both the original Twister and Twisters, storm chasers drive around with teams. When you go out, how many people do you chase with?
    For a while, it was just me and my chase partner, Scott. And then it was just me for a while going out there and doing it solo. For the past year and a half, it’s been me and my girlfriend, Sierra —

    Oh wow!
    She storm chases with me a lot. Starting last year, I teamed up with Reed Timmer — he was on the TV show Storm Chasers back in the day with a tornado tank, the Dominator 3. I’ve jumped around and teamed up a little bit, but overall I try to do things myself and make my own name.

    Did you and your girlfriend meet through storm chasing?
    We met on Twitter, but she’s studying meteorology.

    What’s your dynamic when you go out chasing together?
    If we’re out chasing, she’ll run the computer, looking at forecast models and looking for road options, and then sometimes she’ll shoot video as well.

    What kinds of traits make for a good storm chaser?
    The best trait is just being able to be on the road nonstop, consistently, not needing to stop and go to the bathroom every 30 minutes, and being willing to live off gas-station junk food for a while. I think we’ve done over 48,000 miles this year alone already. You’re almost on the road more than a truck driver is. It’s like car camping.

    Do rivalries develop between storm chasers out on the road, like what pops up in Twister and Twisters?
    At the end of the day, a lot of people are going out because they love weather. We’re all united on that front. But we all compete, too, because everybody wants to get the craziest shot. When someone else gets crazy footage, you’re like, “I’m so mad at you … but I’m happy for you at the same time.” The competition helps push people to shoot better footage, but it has its risks, obviously.

    I watched your video where you drive straight into a tornado.
    That was in the Dominator 3, yeah.

    How do you know when it’s safe to do?
    That vehicle was fully designed to go into a tornado. Our mission for that was to find a photogenic or a condensed tornado, preferably in the middle of nowhere so there’s no debris flying around. That’s one of the biggest threats, getting hit with something like a tree or someone’s house. That day just worked out perfectly in Nebraska; we were in the middle of nowhere. You can look at the tornado itself and you can tell whether it’s violent or if it’s too strong. You can tell by the motion. The motion will give it away. With a strong tornado, you’ll start seeing more of a vertical, throwing things straight up in the air. It’s almost like digging a trench or picking a flower out of the ground. When it’s a wispy or weaker tornado, there’s more of a spin to it, blowing things off to the side. That tornado was definitely strong, and we were being risky on that one but we ended up making it work.

    The storm chasers in these films have a real sense of what a tornado might do based on the feel of the air or the look of the clouds. How do you develop that instinct?
    You really learn to look at what’s called surface observations or mesoanalysis, and you gotta look at your dew points. When you’re stuck between multiple storms and you don’t know what’s going on around you, wind direction is a huge key because usually the wind will end up leading you to where the tornadoes are. It’s more helpful to have a general idea of where you are on the storm’s path, versus the tornado’s location itself. If the air is really hot and humid, that’s healthy for a storm, but if I was to hop out and all of a sudden I’m getting cold air thrown at me, the odds of that being a tornado producer are very low. Cold air means it’s outflow dominant. The storm is pushing out all its recycled air; it’s not breathing. Knowing how to key in on certain things like that helps a lot, especially if you get into sticky situations when you’re chasing at night or in the rain.

    There’s a big set piece in the new film when the storm chasers witness two tornados splitting apart into twins almost. Is that something you’ve seen out on the road?
    I’ve seen tornadoes have a big satellite on them. It’s usually anti-cyclonic, and you can see them kind of revolve around each other. It’s very rare to get tornadoes that split off into separate directions, but it does happen. This year on April 26, we didn’t see twins — there was an old tornado occluding as it was coming back north and then a new tornado was forming just to the east of it. So we saw those two tornadoes, but one was weakening as one was getting stronger. Still, seeing two tornadoes simultaneously for about two minutes is pretty cool.

    Are you excited to see Twisters?
    I am so excited.

    What do you think it was about the original that you loved so much as a kid?
    I have never been asked that question! I just remember watching it and first thinking the music was really good and then I was like, “It’s crazy it’s so flat there,” because I had never been to Oklahoma. I was a Montana kid. Everybody in that movie looks like they’re having a good time when they’re out on the chase. Going up and seeing tornadoes up close is so beautiful and scary at the same time. I just felt like I wanted to see more of that. And the romance between Bill and Jo is so good. I can watch Twister over and over. My girlfriend complains because any time we watch it, I literally quote the entire movie word for word. So it’s funny. It’s just my favorite movie. It’s perfect. It has the perfect blend of CGI and regular theatrics, and it still just looks really good. Obviously, there are some inaccuracies in it about storm chasing, but it’s still one of the most realistic tornado movies out there.


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    Fran Hoepfner

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  • Party Games To Avoid When High On Marijuana

    Party Games To Avoid When High On Marijuana

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    Game nights rule. Hanging out with friends (new and old), holing up in a comfy home, and generally having a great, relaxing time.  And there might even been so good food! Yes, game nights rule, as opposed to the movie Game Night, which looks like a hot mess. There is a reason movies open in February, you know.

    Of course, a little bit of substances can help you relax and spur conversation to move the party along. Some wine, a cocktail, or some cannabis. But just like wine has its pairings, some games work better than others in that situation. Here are party games to avoid when high on marijuana

    Jenga

    Thought up by a Brit in the 1970s and trademarked just prior to its public debut at the London Toy Fair in 1983, current brand owner Pokonobe Associates says 2017 saw more than 80 million boxes, more than 4.3 blocks, sold around the world.

    Rules are simple. Set up a tower with 54 blocks. Take turns pulling blocks out of the middle and place them on top of the tower. Until someone brings the whole thing down.

    Despite a fellow Fresh Toaster disagreeing about its merits as a cannabis-friendly activity, this is not a good fit for a bunch of altered enthusiasts to try. Unless they like rebuilding falling towers. A lot. Cannabis can affect coordination and someone with a heavy buzz could take forever trying to figure out what block to move next.

    Of course, there is the mellow vibe of there only being one loser — the tower collapser — and everyone else wins!

    Twister

    Inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, class of 2006, it was originally pitched as “Kings of Footsie” to a potential investor who passed (can’t imagine why) in 1964. Milton Bradley bought the concept in 1964 and (thankfully) renamed it.

    Twister made its first big splash when Johnny Carson and Eva Gabor played it on “The Tonight Show” in 1966. Competitors (haters) accused MB of selling “sex in a box.”

    Rules are simple. Twister mat is unfolded and players — two or three are suggested — are then told by a “referee” where to put hands and feet on what colored parts of the mat. The ref determines this by using a spinner. You fall or touch an elbow or knee to the mat, you’re out. Last one … er … standing is the winner.

    Related: Best Board Games To Play After Consuming Marijuana

    It really is fun and a more-is-merrier game. But as with Jenga it relies too much on motor skills, specifically the kind of balance difficult for most people to find sober. Playing this after indulging will lead to a lot of short games.

    Operation

    How’s this for a bad investment? The game’s inventor was a college student at the time and sold the rights to Milton Bradley for $500 and the promise of a job after graduation. Since then, Hasbro, who currently owns the rights, estimates the franchise is worth $40 million.

    The game “board,” is a patient named “Cavity Sam” with a red light bulb for a nose. Cut into him (ouch!) are hollow spaces filled with plastic baubles such as “Adam’s Apple,” “Butterflies in Stomach,” and  “Charley Horse.”

    Two sets of cards are used. “Doctor” cards are shuffled and set aside. “Specialist” cards are dealt equally among the players. Players take turns drawing Doctor cards, which name a specific ailment to be removed with metal tweezers. Since Operation was one of the first board games to require batteries, the electrified board sounds a buzzer and Sam’s nose lights up if a player isn’t precise and touches the edge of the cavity the ailment is in.

    If the doctor is buzzed the specialist gets a chance. Each ailment is assigned a cash value for successful completion. Richest player at the end wins.

    Related: 10 Types Of Marijuana Perfect For Gamers

    Sure, being on cannabis and watching someone buzz out as Sam’s nose glows is fun. But again, motor skills. There will likely be a lot of short games. Bring extra batteries and make sure your malpractice insurance is paid in full.

    An updated “Star Wars” edition was released to coincide with “The Force Awakens” in  2015. Surgery is performed on BB-8. A previous edition had used R2-D2.

    Yahtzee

    Possibly as old as dice, it was first sold as Yatzie in the early 1940s, and can trace its lineage back to numerous rolling-the-bones games. According to current rights owner Hasbro, 50 million games are sold each year.

    Players take turns rolling six dice.The roller then has two more chances to roll all or some of the dice, filling out categories such as three of a kind with twos where the player would take the sum of the final roll where three or more dice are showing two. If a player can’t fill out a category, they must cross a category out and pass the dice to the next player. The game ends when all players can no longer roll due to all categories being filled and/or crossed out.

    The winner is determined by adding up the scores from each category. High score wins.

    This is great for involving a lot of people. But we’ve seen people fret over strategy and have trouble with math before they indulge. A strong buzz will only compound the problem. Maybe a modified card has five more “Chance” categories would speed things along.

    Stoner City

    A cousin of Monopoly evidently managed to stay just this side of infringement, the tokens are all bongs, the houses and hotels are plants, and a police car moves in the opposite direction of the players and if it lands on one occupied, that player is arrested.

    It’s dumb and having something like this in your place will make you seem like a caricature. Who wants to be tagged?

    Plus, if you buy it on Amazon the thing costs $78! Cannabis enthusiasts can certainly find better recreational uses for the money.

    

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    Anthony Washington

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  • ‘Twister’ Director Says He Wasn’t Consulted About Sequel

    ‘Twister’ Director Says He Wasn’t Consulted About Sequel

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    There are plans to put out a new sequel to 1996’s Twister. Unfortunately, the original film’s director didn’t quite get the memo.

    The new film, titled Twisters, has been in development since some time in 2020, and the studio eventually settled on putting Minari filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung in the director’s chair. The plot will supposedly follow the daughter of the storm chasers from the first movie, played by Helen Hunt and the late Bill Paxton. Interest in tornados apparently runs in the family, and she decides to pick up her parents’ mantle.

    Jan de Bont, the director of the original Twister, recently told Inverse that he had only heard of the sequel recently and has not been contacted or consulted about the project. (“It made so much money for the studio. Sooner or later they would do it,” de Bont said.)

    While de Bont is not involved, he was confident the new film would be very different from his, simply because of the changes in filmmaking technology since 1996. As he put it…

    When things fell from the sky, there were real things falling from a helicopter. If you film a car escaping a tornado in a hail storm, it was real ice that came at us. It’s a movie that cannot be remade… That would never, ever happen again. Every shot was a fortune. It would take three days to transfer all that information onto film.

     

    Warner Bros., Universal, Amblin

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    The director also pointed out in the interview that the wave of big movies directed by artists like Chung who made their name on smaller films and quickly graduate to major tentpoles is because the studios and executives “want to be able to fully control them … ultimately, the studio is going to tell them what’s in the movie. I know that firsthand.”

    While de Bont seems fairly cynical about the project, only time will tell how it pans out. Twisters is currently scheduled to open in theaters on July 19, 2024.

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    Cody Mcintosh

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  • You Can Be An Extreme Storm Chaser In This Game

    You Can Be An Extreme Storm Chaser In This Game

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    Every time I watch Twister, Jan de Bont’s 1996 film about a ragtag group of storm chasers trying to figure out how to better predict tornadoes, I think to myself: “Boy, do I wanna do that.”

    The Anime Series With Better Metaverses Than Meta, AKA Facebook

    Now, thanks to Twisted, a Roblox game in development from two storm superfans, I can do just that. And if you, like me, watch Twister at least once a year and find yourself longing to don a Hanes tank top and cargo pants that get progressively more filthy during a day of 200 mile-per-hour winds swirling around in a murder vortex and slinging mud at you, maybe you should check out Twisted, too.

    Twisted 1.20 Thumbnail

    “Throughout the rolling hills and prairies of the fictional state of Keysota, scientists and thrill seekers alike set out on the roads in chase of severe weather. Some will observe from a safe distance, while others will risk it all to get the perfect shot of a violent tornado from close range,” reads Twisted’s description on the official Roblox website.

    Tornado chasing the video game

    Players start by selecting a “blue blip” on the map of Keysota, which are areas of interest that could spawn a tornado. They then drop into the game, select a car for their storm-chasing efforts, and jump in the driver’s seat. From there, they’ll have to use the instruments available to them (which are based on actual meteorological tools like doppler radar and hodgraphs) to track down a twister and drive to intercept it.

    The game, built by Willzuh and Siryzm in Roblox, is only in beta right now, but it’s got an active community of fans—as well as the attention of Reed Timmer, storm chasing’s resident bad boy. Timmer saw a screenshot from Twisted featuring side-by-side tornadoes and tweeted, “I may have to start playing video games today.” Twisted even includes Timmer’s iconic Dominator vehicle (a souped-up, armored car he’s been iterating on since 2009) as a vehicle option, so it’s clear the creators are fans of the self-proclaimed “extreme meteorologist.”

    Twisted 1.20 dropped on July 25 with a massive update that includes a revamp of its impressively large map, object reactions to wind that increase in violence based on their vicinity to a tornado (like trees bending and street lights swaying), dynamic tornadoes that are more varied in shape and movement, and a smaller, “lite” version for those whose devices that can’t handle the larger game. Twisted’s extensive wind, damage, and debris systems make for a pretty intense game, which is why the game’s official page warns that the full-fat version “will NOT run well on low end devices.”

    Kotaku reached out to Twisted’s devs to learn more about their process and what to expect for its future, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

    As a Twister superfan and wannabe storm chaser, I am kicking myself that I don’t have a rig that can handle this beautiful behemoth. Guess I’ll be watching all the future Twisted streams and loudly shouting “Going green. Greenage!” alone in my apartment.

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    Alyssa Mercante

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  • ‘Twister’ Sequel Finds Its New Cast

    ‘Twister’ Sequel Finds Its New Cast

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    Glen Powell has been on the acting scene for a while now, but after his recent breakout in Top Gun: Maverick, he’s been cast in Twisters, the long-in-development sequel to the ’90s blockbuster Twister starring Helen Hunt and the late Bill Paxton. We’re not entirely sure exactly what Powell’s role is going to look like, but we do know that he’s going to be starring opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones. The script for the new film is written by Mark L. Smith, and it’s going to be directed by Minari’s Lee Isaac Chung.

    The movie is also a co-production between Steven Spielberg’s Amblin and Universal Pictures. There have been plans for a follow-up to the original for a long time. At first, a direct sequel was in the works that would have starred new characters along with Helen Hunt’s Dr. Jo Harding. For whatever reason, the studio abandoned that approach and eventually decided to instead focus entirely on new characters. Spielberg also produced the original Twister in 1996, which was directed by Jan de Bont and went on to become the #2 biggest movie of the year, behind only the original Independence Day.

    Getty Images

    READ MORE: The Worst Remakes and Sequels Ever Made

    Glen Powell got his first big acting role in Spy Kids 3D: Game Over. As the years went on, he found himself cast in bigger and bigger projects. Eventually, he got his most prominent role yet last year, playing the scene stealing Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the mega-blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. Given the layout of the first Twister movie, it’s very likely that he ends up playing a love interest for Daisy Edgar-Jones’ character. She’s rumored to be the child of Dr. Jo Harding and Bill Harding (Bill Paxton’s character) from the first movie.

    It’ll be a little while before we see really anything out of production. Principal photography is starting in May of this year, and the film is set to be released on July 19, 2024.

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