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25 Things You Don’t Know About ‘Twister’: Flying Cows, Onset Injuries and Harsh Weather Conditions

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It’s officially been 30 years since Twister hit theaters, making Us look at cows in a whole new light.

To celebrate the milestone anniversary, we broke down some must-know facts about the groundbreaking disaster film in the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.

For instance, did you know that actors Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt were temporarily blinded by electric lamps used on set to keep the sky looking dark and stormy?

Or that Twister was actually one of the first films released on DVD in the United States?

Keep scrolling for 25 Things You Don’t Know About Twister:

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1. Twister was released on May 10, 1996, kicking off the summer blockbuster season in a big way.

2. The film starred Hunt and Paxton as storm-chasing exes, with an early performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman as fan-favorite Dusty.

3. It was directed by Jan de Bont, who previously helmed Speed.

4. The screenplay was written by Michael Crichton and his then-wife Anne-Marie Martin.

5. According to de Bont, Crichton and Martin based the central relationship dynamic on the 1940 screwball comedy His Girl Friday.

6. Much of the film was shot on location in Oklahoma, giving it an authentic Tornado Alley backdrop.

7. To keep the sky looking dark and stormy, electric lamps were used that temporarily blinded Paxton and Hunt. “The guy burned my retinas,” Hunt joked of working with de Bont.

8. The team behind Twister — including producer Steven Spielberg — consulted with real-life scientists to make the script as accurate as possible.

9. The production was notoriously grueling, with long shoots in harsh weather conditions.

10. The actors were frequently blasted with wind, dirt and debris from massive industrial fans.

11. The film was one of the first to use large-scale CGI to realistically depict tornadoes.

12. It was also among the first films released on DVD in the United States.

13. The iconic flying cow scene became one of the most memorable — and parodied — moments in disaster movie history.

14. “At the time, I thought it was just fun as a quick thing. But then, it became an iconic moment in the movie that people remember forever,” de Bont said of the flying cow’s legacy.

15. The fictional “Dorothy” device in the film was inspired by real tornado research equipment called Totable Tornado Observatory (TOTO).

16. The soundtrack features artists like Van Halen, Stevie Nicks and Shania Twain.

17. Twister was a massive box office success, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1996 worldwide, behind Independence Day.

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18. It earned nearly $500 million globally, a huge number for the time.

19. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Visual Effects.

20. Universal Studios later created a Twister-themed attraction, “Twister… Ride It Out,” which ran in Orlando from 1998 to 2015.

21. Rumor has it a recording of a camel’s moan was slowed down and used as the sound of the tornado.

22. Standalone sequel film Twisters hit theaters on July 19, 2024, nearly three decades after the original.

23. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos as a new generation of storm chasers.

24. Director Lee Isaac Chung intentionally shot on Kodak 35mm film on location in Oklahoma — just like the original — to capture the same Tornado Alley feel.

25. Twisters continues the original film’s legacy of The Wizard of Oz references, including code names “Scarecrow,” “Tin Man” and “Lion” in Javi’s Storm Par group.

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