After a whirlwind PR tour touting climate-change scientists as superheroes, “Twisters” director Lee Isaac Chung appears to be strongly backing away from those sentiments.
“Twisters,” the sequel to the 1996 natural disaster film “Twister,” is about a group of scientists who are trying to collect data in hopes of “taming” or lessening the destructive impact of tornadoes.
It’s a schlocky, pseudo-sci-fi summer blockbuster in every sense of the word, which is why the movie raised a few eyebrows when it was seemingly a vehicle to push climate-change alarmism.
In late June, Chung spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and seemed almost eager — at least in the Reporter’s characterization — to push “Twisters” as a champion for climate-change policies.
“Anytime Hollywood is doing anything with climate change, I think we have to stay positive and let people have fun,” Chung told the outlet. “As a production, we want to inspire people to embrace the natural world.
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“That can go quite a long ways toward influencing people to make good choices in their relationship with nature, to study what’s happening on this Earth and to figure out how can we become better caretakers of the planet.”
Elsewhere in the Reporter piece, the piece claimed, “Chung says that he hopes his summer blockbuster will inspire people to regard climate scientists as the real superheroes.”
Now?
Chung couldn’t distance himself any more from that sort of messaging.
Did you enjoy the original “Twister”?
“I just wanted to make sure that with the movie, we don’t ever feel like (it) is putting forward any message,” Chung told CNN. “I just don’t feel like films are meant to be message-oriented.”
“I wanted to make sure that we are never creating a feeling that we’re preaching a message, because that’s certainly not what I think cinema should be about,” Chung added. “I think it should be a reflection of the world.”
Again, that’s starkly different messaging than what was seen in the Reporter piece.
Speaking of The Hollywood Reporter, the entertainment news outlet appeared to be flabbergasted at the film’s lack of climate-change narrative in its assessment of the messaging in “Twisters.”
The outlet called the lack of direct reference to climate change as “rather surprising,” and even took a jab at Chung’s assertion that movies should “be a reflection of the world.”
The Reporter, rather snidely, added “Or, at least, a reflection of studio caution during polarized times when looking for a summer movie hit” on top of Chung’s previous statement.
It should be noted that one of the biggest (surprise) blockbuster hits of the year is Disney’s “Inside Out 2,” which is actually bereft of activist messaging.
“Twisters” is currently in theaters.
