Twister's Troubled Production Had Steven Spielberg Yelling At The Director

There are few '90s blockbusters quite as resonant as "Twister." Yes, there were much bigger movies birthed by the decade, from "Jurassic Park" to "Armageddon," but there is something so singular about Jan de Bont's enduring disaster flick. There's a reason it took nearly 30 years to make a sequel in the form of director Lee Isaac Chung's recently released "Twisters," which is more or less a reboot even though it technically exists in the same universe. One thing that might have contributed to the very specific vibe of de Bont's 1996 disaster flick? The chaotic production that seemingly mirrored the chaos of a metaphorical tornado.

Speaking recently with The Independent, "Twister" stunt coordinator Mic Rodgers painted a picture of just how chaotic the production was. His most tantalizing reveal? Producer Steven Spielberg, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, allegedly flew down to the set to scream at de Bont. Why would he do such a thing? Here's how the article laid it out:

"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 apologize for the incident, [the] entire camera crew stormed off the set, promptly followed by the audio team, then the wardrobe department."

Rodgers added that tension on the set had been "brewing" prior to this moment, and it may not be difficult to see why. The outlet also points out that cinematographer Don Burgess shared some similarly chaotic details about the filming of the blockbuster with Entertainment Weekly in 1996:

"He would shoot one direction, with all the equipment behind the view of the camera, and then he'd want to shoot in the other direction right away. We'd have to move [everything] and he'd get angry that we took too long, and it was always everybody else's fault, never his."

Following the crew's walk-out, things came to a head, according to Rodgers. Spielberg arrived in Oklahoma the next day where production was taking place to share some not so kind words with de Bont, who was coming off of the success of 1994's action hit "Speed" at the time. Per the stunt coordinator's account of what followed, Spielberg never even made it to the set as de Bont met him at the airport. That's where the confrontation happened. To quote Rodgers directly:

"The ramp came down on the Learjet and Spielberg walked down it and he never touched the ground. He just stood there yelling at Jan. He never even got off the plane. He was just f***ing yelling, pointing his finger at him, screaming at him. I don't know what he said to him, but he barked at him for, like, 15 minutes and got back in the plane. The plane left without him even stepping off."

For what it's worth, Rodgers added that de Bont is "a great guy" and a "good director." However, ​​"as soon as he calls action, he turns into the 900-pound gorilla again." Granted, the notion of a director being tough on a cast and crew is nothing new. There are tales of such things dating back to Hollywood's inception. Alfred Hitchcock was infamously pretty terrible to Tippi Hedren while filming "The Birds." Then there's mega-director James Cameron, who put the cast through hell while filming "The Abyss." These are but a couple of countless examples one could cite.

Be that as it may, there aren't really accounts of Spielberg behaving that way. Not only is he the man behind numerous classics such as "Jaws" and "Raider of the Lost Ark," but people seem to love working with him. So, it's understandable that he would take issue with the way de Bont was handling the situation.

All of that having been said, de Bont hasn't commented on this alleged incident directly, nor has Spielberg. So, it should be taken with a grain of salt. It's also worth questioning how Rodgers even got this story in the first place. Why would he have been at the airport with de Bont to know what went down? Did he hear it second-hand? That's not to say some version of it didn't happen, but some additional context would be welcome.

It's worth noting that /Film's Ben Pearson recently spoke with de Bont about "Twister" in honor of the film's 4K Ultra HD release. During their conversation, the director did paint a picture of a chaotic set, mirroring what was described by other members of the crew:

"It was really hard for the crew. I have to say, for the actors, too. Helen [Hunt], especially. To have those wind machines, really big ones, aimed at you and the special effects putting a lot of debris in there so it flies right in your face, it's really tough. I tried it myself and I couldn't keep my eyes open. Of course, actors are trained, and immediately, the first thing they're worried about is their hair. And their hair, in one second, is a mess. The clothes are dirty, there's mud on it. So it was really hard for me to convince them that it's OK, if it really looks bad, I won't use it."

"Ultimately they became team players," de Bont added before concluding, "Maybe because we were all in the same boat. It was really tough for everyone." That does gel with some of what Rodgers said, as he did call de Bont a great guy, despite the hardships. Whatever transpired, it wasn't for nothing as "Twister" was a gigantic box office hit that helped reshape the summer movie season. That's not to excuse poor behavior, but it'd all be a lot worse if the end result was a poorly-regarded flop.

"Twisters" is in theaters now.