When you think of the movieTwister,what scene immediately comes to mind? Is it the cow scene? It’s okay if it is, that’s the one we all bring to mind when we think of the 1996 blockbuster. The iconic scene features a CGI cow being swept up by a tornado and has stuck with audiences since the day the film was released in theaters. It’s a memorable moment, and while every second ofTwisteris a thrilling ride,there’s something about the cow scene that feels especially eternal. Now, with the release ofTwisters, the highly anticipated sequel to the original film, fans have been eager to see how it shapes up. But if you went in expecting to see an updated version of the cow scene, (just with better CGI), you likely came out disappointed, because much to everyone’s surprise,there were no tornado-stricken cows to be seen.At least, none that you’ll catch unless you’re looking really really hard.But, director Lee Isaac Chung does have a good reason for why he chose not to pay homage to that specific moment.
‘Twisters’ Director Didn’t Want Flying Cows To Be the Focus of the Movie
One of the greatest things aboutTwistersis that director Lee Isaac Chung is a huge fan of the original movie, meaning there is a whole lot of love poured into the sequel.In an interview with CNN,he said that entering this world was a dream come true for him. “That film made that research and science feel like an adventure in many ways. That’s what I wanted this film to do.” He made sure to include plenty of homages to the original film, including the new characters using a version of Dorothy, which wascreated by Bill (Bill Paxton) and Jo’s (Helen Hunt) teamin the original movie, the iconic red truck, similar wardrobe choices, and even a cameo from Bill Paxton’s son,James Paxton. It’s truly a love letter to the original film, but there is one scene you won’t see recreated inTwistersand that’s the flying cow moment.
In the same CNN interview, Chung spoke about his decision to omit this scene altogether, despite everyone asking him about it.
“Everybody wants the cow. They think they want the cow. But I promise you, you would be disappointed if there was a cow.Any time I talk to anyone about that original Twister they would say, ‘Oh yeah, the big flying cow movie.’ I felt like I would hate to make a movie, update it, and just hear, ‘Oh yes, you made the new flying cow movie.’ So that was it – that was the decision.”
It’s an understandable decision because as he points out, we all think of the cow scene when we think of the original, so of course we’d correlate a sequel with the same thing if a similar scene was put in. But unbeknownst to Chung, a flying cow was added in, and he didn’t even know about it untilit was already put into the movie.
The ‘Twisters’ VFX Team Secretly Added a Flying Cow
As it turns out,Twistersisn’t as cow-less as it appears to be on a first watch, but spotting the famous flying cow is harder than you might expect. Even the director himself didn’t initially catch it, but he also wasn’t expecting it, since the VFX team added it in secretly.In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Chung shared where you can spot the blink and you’ll miss it cow cameo. It happens towards the climax of the filmwhen an F5 tornado is about to rip through a town in Oklahoma. If you squint you may just be able to make out a cow caught up in the debris of the storm, but if you can’t don’t sweat it, because Lee Isaac Chung almost missed it too. “It’s the hardest thing to spot,” Chung said of the unexpected cow cameo. “I only spotted it because I noticed some weird marking on a piece of flying debris. I said, ‘Could you freeze that frame?’ I was looking at frame-by-frame shots when we’re doing VFX reviews, and sure enough, there was a cow on that thing.”
So there you have it,Twistersisn’t quite as cow-lessas we all thought it was, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief, and call our friends to let them know “we’ve got cows!”
Twistersis in theaters now.
GET TICKETS
