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‘Twister’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan

July 9, 2024 · Twister (1996) · Action · Adventure · Thriller · 1:55:36

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Categories

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 32:17the opening scene
Van Lathan▶ 32:22her dad/her trauma scene

Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 32:52Joe's dad deserved to die because the lock wasn't good enough and he made terrible decisions protecting his family - should have let the door go and run with his family instead
Chris Ryan▶ 37:12Dr. Melissa being incredibly naive about tornadoes despite potentially being from Dallas/tornado-prone areas doesn't make sense
Van Lathan▶ 36:53Dr. Melissa should have realized she was going tornado chasing after the first tornado instead of sticking through four of five tornadoes

Den of Thieves Benihana Award

Bill Simmons▶ 59:07Mentions drive-in theater area of Wakita and Mex house as potential locations

Big Kahuna Burger Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:00:49The whole food scene, specifically the gravy
Chris Ryan▶ 1:01:01Joe ordering eight to go coffees at the night
Van Lathan▶ 1:01:06The steak cooking scene in the cast iron

Butch's Girlfriend Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:01:19Two options: the last 18 seconds with the weird final kiss, or the unconvincing relationship between Bill and Dr. Melissa Reeves
Chris Ryan▶ 1:01:53The last scene - every writer quit before the last scene
Van Lathan▶ 1:01:47The last 18 seconds of the movie with the weird kiss

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:16:20Tom Hanks — Discussed Spielberg initially attached to direct, Tom Hanks read for Bill Paxton's role but passed, Mira Sorvino considered for Dr. Melissa Reeves but wouldn't dye her hair, and Garth Brooks for Jonas
Chris Ryan▶ 1:17:17Garth Brooks — Thought Garth Brooks or Dwight Yoakam would have been awesome stunt casting for Jonas
Van Lathan▶ 1:17:24Garth Brooks — Suggested Chris Gaines (Garth Brooks' alter ego) could have played Jonas

Apex Mountain

Chris Ryan▶ 1:26:27Bill Paxton

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:27:00Discussed various apex mountain questions including Paxton (yes), Helen Hunt (probably), Hoffman (no), Dodge Ram (uncertain), tornadoes (yes), gravy (definitely no), and Jamie Gertz (Lost Boys or Less Than Zero)
Chris Ryan▶ 1:26:30JDB was a staunch vegetarian, hated the ant mech scene, and was a huge Tori Amos fan who personally appealed to her to appear on the soundtrack
Van Lathan▶ 1:29:17Argued that invasion movies are not disaster movies - disaster movies must be natural occurrences, and if Independence Day counts as disaster movie then it's apex mountain, otherwise it's Twister

Hanks or Cruise

Bill Simmons▶ 1:33:37Tom Hanks — Against Denzel - says he's too cool, audience would never be scared of him losing to the tornado, similar to Charlton Heston being rejected for Jaws
Van Lathan▶ 1:33:26Tom Hanks — Proposes adding Denzel Washington to the comparison, suggesting Denzel as the lead in this movie

Sequel/Prequel/Limited Series/Remake

Bill Simmons▶ 1:38:40Prequel called 'The Extreme' about Bill going sideways, like 'Leaving Las Vegas with tornadoes'; HBO show 'After the Storm' about Dr. Melissa as sex therapist who gets involved with clients
Chris Ryan▶ 1:38:34Prequel about Jonas, Jill and Bill at the lab where they all came up working; sequel about Dr. Melissa Reeves' life after Twister called 'After the Storm'
Van Lathan▶ 1:38:48For prequel casting, suggested Tobey Maguire as young Bill Paxton; sequel where Melissa has a radio call-in show but is completely changed after being dumped

Is This Movie Better With

Bill Simmons▶ 1:40:23Bill Paxton — Lists utility players (Wayne Jackets, Danny Trejo, Sam Jackson, JT Walsh, Byron Mayo, Harley Mays, Evil Laughing, Ramon Raymond) and suggests Bill Paxton playing Hudson character would 'fucking rule'
Chris Ryan▶ 1:40:39Bill Paxton — Bill Paxton doing his Hudson character from Aliens ('Game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now?')

Just One Oscar

Bill Simmons▶ 1:41:01Special effects/VFX

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:41:18Todd Field would be the backup driver if Bill Paxton's character doesn't show up; tsunamis are the scariest disaster because you can't understand or predict them
Chris Ryan▶ 1:42:56Jonas likely has private company backing to sell early tornado detection tech to government for profit; earthquakes are scariest because of the helpless rolling sensation
Van Lathan▶ 1:42:09Joe would die on that day without Bill Paxton's character saving her from her trauma-driven decisions; tornadoes are scariest because they're unpredictable and violent

Best Double Feature

Bill Simmons▶ 1:46:38Speed — Speed - a Jan de Bont double feature
Chris Ryan▶ 1:46:48Independence Day — Independence Day - same summer disaster movie pairing
Van Lathan▶ 1:46:52Deep Impact — Deep Impact - prefers it as the companion disaster movie

Coach Finstock Life Lesson

Bill Simmons▶ 1:48:38Stop living in the past and look what you got right in front of you

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:48:45Philip Seymour Hoffman — The tornadoes, but notes that Hoffman's performance becomes most fascinating over time as he became one of the greatest actors of the last 40 years
Chris Ryan▶ 1:49:16Philip Seymour Hoffman — Focuses on praising Hoffman's performance and specific character choices, highlighting key moments where Hoffman delivers expository dialogue really well
Van Lathan▶ 1:48:51Seems to agree with the tornadoes pick and discusses how the movie changed tornado perception, but also suggests consideration for other elements

Movies Referenced (55)

Jurassic Park (1993)

7 mentions · Chris Ryan, Van Lathan▶ 2:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Independence Day (1996)

6 mentions · Van Lathan, Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 8:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Shining (1980)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan▶ 43:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Boogie Nights (1997)

5 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 25:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Out of Sight (1998)

5 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons▶ 19:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Speed (1994)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan▶ 2:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Deep Impact (1998)

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Van Lathan▶ 1:29:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Apollo 13 (1995)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 15:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

As Good as It Gets (1997)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 21:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Forrest Gump (1994)

3 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jaws (1975)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 54:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Cable Guy (1996)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 8:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (6)

George Clooney

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Ides of March, Michael Clayton▶ 18:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Kevin Costner

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves▶ 18:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Spielberg

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Saving Private Ryan▶ 5:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Todd Field

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Tár, Little Children▶ 23:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roland Emmerich

1 mentions · Van Lathan · Known for Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow▶ 1:31:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sean Penn

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking▶ 19:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (40)

Bill Paxton

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Aliens, Apollo 13▶ 13:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Helen Hunt

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan · Known for As Good as It Gets, Twister▶ 4:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Alan Ruck

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Twister, Speed, Ferris Bueller's Day Off▶ 23:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Philip Seymour Hoffman

5 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 4:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jami Gertz

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Twister, The Lost Boys▶ 6:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Van Halen

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Spaceballs, Ready Player One, Mission to Mars▶ 3:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chris Cooper

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for American Beauty▶ 23:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ice Cube

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 14:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Matthew McConaughey

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for Interstellar, Dallas Buyers Club, Magic Mike▶ 18:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Biden Hall

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 13:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bryan Cranston

2 mentions · Van Lathan, Chris Ryan▶ 21:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Gerard Butler

2 mentions · Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Law Abiding Citizen, The Phantom of the Opera▶ 1:31:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (3)

Joss Whedon

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Avengers▶ 28:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 30:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Crichton

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Jurassic Park, Twister▶ 28:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Other Guys▶ 27:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗