With Twisters now available to purchase on Digital HD, we recently sat down with actress Sasha Lane ("Lily") to talk about her role in the blockbuster disaster film and get all the juicy behind-the-scenes details on the making of the film.
She tells me about growing up in Texas and being very familiar with the original Twister, before revealing more about how involved she got with the drones and shooting her big stunt in the finale. Plus, we also talk about working with director Lee Isaac Chung and what her hopes are for a potential sequel down the line.
In addition to Twisters, Lane's previous credits include, but are not limited to, American Honey, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Hearts Beat Loud, Hellboy (2019), Utopia, Loki (Season 1), Marvel's Wastelanders: Hawkeye (podcast) and The Crowded Room.
To date, Twisters has grossed $347.8 million globally on an estimated $155 million production budget, and, despite its digital debut, is slated to return to IMAX for one week, starting August 30!
Watch our full video interview with actress Sasha Lane below and/or keep scrolling to read the transcription. Plus, please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: Were you a fan of the original Twister? Or did you get into the film after being cast?
SASHA: Yeah, I grew up on Twister, I loved Twister. As a kid, I used to watch it all the time. I grew up in Texas, obviously, so tornadoes were a really big thing here. So, to now be a part of something, decades later that was so iconic back in the day, but also to realize, we have so much different technology. We have, you know, a lot more resources now, the climate is so much different, and to kind of just be a part of that world, and to bring the new generation something as special as what we had back in the day, I think it's so fun. It's amazing. I'm really, really happy to be a part of it.
ROHAN: As you mentioned, you grew up in Texas, and were familiar with tornadoes growing up. So, when you're doing the weather boot camp before the start of filming, did you pick up on anything that you weren't previously aware of?
SASHA: I think the main thing was just like the origin of the alarms. I just didn't recognize that they once debated even having them, like the sirens going off, debated even having them because they thought it would send people into too much of a panic, and until they decided, like, wait, no, this actually could be very beneficial. It sounds crazy, but also, I didn't really process the storm chaser's reasoning, I guess, I just never thought about it. I just always thought like, I'm in awe of nature too, and they're probably just like adrenaline junkies, which a lot of people think that, but really, there's that aspect, but it's also the fact of they are the ones essentially feeding the information back to the weather channels, and, you know, the people who are collecting the data that they can see visually, but there's still nothing that beats like physically being somewhere and being able to tell you, kind of firsthand what's happening and what to expect, and so, they are really, actually just essentially risking their lives to help save so many people on top of us having other technology, and so I think that's just something that I definitely took away from that experience and from filming, to talking to a bunch of storm chasers that it's just kind of, there's, you know, you always gotta respect the people who were doing things that you don't even consider.
ROHAN: This is such a big, big film and you don't often get to see big budget productions shot on location as much, especially now. What was your experience shooting on location and being in the thick of the action. I believe you all even experienced a real tornado during filming...
SASHA: Yeah, I love it. It's kind of how I got into this industry, that was the norm for me. So, anything that has to do with too much studio work and too much imagination, I think, is not as ideal for me, and it's harder for me to kind of feel connected to so, I think it's really great that we were able to do so much on location and it just makes the acting experience when you're dealing with like, hey, the winds are hitting you, or it's starting to get really hot or really crazy, or, you know, it just makes it just so much easier and such a smoother transition into how you're processing what's happening around you.
ROHAN: Since Lily is the drone operator of the team, were you able to pilot the drones yourself? How much were you operating the drones versus what's going on behind the scenes?
SASHA: Yeah, so I got to - I need to check this after but I think his name is Alex, the one who’s actually operating my drone in real time. I really was able to have some good talks with him. I did a lot of YouTube research, and I got to, kind of, they let me try to operate it myself a few times and lift it myself, but that thing is heavy and it's huge. So, I think they were politely telling me that I looked ridiculous. So, essentially, we handed it off to Katy and everyone else, but, we did that, and then, I remember when we went to the weather center, and we're learning about tornadoes and learning about, you know, all the technology and stuff that they have now, there was a guy there that essentially had created his own versions of just the things that you send off into the tornado to collect the data, and it's just really wild to think that there's just people who do that and are thinking and processing and trying to learn and reinvent as much as possible to essentially save us.
ROHAN: This is such a highly detailed movie and you also get this really amazing stunt near the end of the movie where you're lifted off the ground and I'm assuming you're wearing a harness in that sequence. Can you break down shooting that stunt with Glen Powell?
SASHA: It was fun. I mean, I honestly had fun. I mean, it was a bit uncomfortable. We have a harness and a bunch of things pulling at you everywhere, but, you know, I love a little drama. So, yeah, it was great, as long as I remember to actually physically grab onto Glen, or else I actually went flying up, and they had to catch me. So, you know, I had to make sure I was present, but other than that, it was fun, and it just made it feel real, I guess, that you are flailing around, and they are throwing the wind and everything. So, yeah, I had a great time doing that.
ROHAN: Lee Isaac Chung directed the film and I read somewhere that his directing style is very collaborative. Were you able to offer input into your character and her overall story? What was your experience working with him?
SASHA: I think he just had such a laid back energy to him, but like the gears, you can see them spinning, he really is processing, and he knows what he wants, while also just being super open to everyone. He's understood that if I want this to look authentic, especially with the tornado wranglers, and that's just kind of hanging around a lot, then you kind of have to be a little hands off and let everyone essentially do their thing, but I like that he told us, even when it came down to us making fun of Storm Par, he's like, listen, do your thing, but we're not mean. You guys aren't bullies, and it's like, alright, alright, alright. So, we gotta hone it in a little bit. He just king of gave us a set tone, I guess, and it's really nice when you don't have to think necessarily about your Twain coming out, or sometimes when I talk like it just gets really country, and it's just really embarrassing, but it helped me feel more natural, I guess, that I didn't have to then cap and be like, wait, what would a New Yorker say? Or, how would a person who talks more and speak in this scene right now? So, that just felt really nice and freeing.
ROHAN: The film leaves the door open for a sequel down the line? Where would you like to see a future film go or where would you want Lily to go next?
SASHA: I don't know. We always make jokes about it, like Twisters in space, Twisters underwater, Twisters in New York, like, what are we doing? I don't know. Very curious. I have no idea. Just maybe some more action from Lily, it'd be really cool to see a lot more drone work, actually.
This summer, the epic studio disaster movie returns with an adrenaline-pumping, seat-gripping, big-screen thrill ride that puts you in direct contact with one of nature’s most wondrous—and destructive—forces.
From the producers of the Jurassic, Bourne and Indiana Jones series comes Twisters, a current-day chapter of the 1996 blockbuster, Twister. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the Oscar® nominated writer-director of Minari, Twisters stars Golden Globe nominee Daisy Edgar-Jones (Where the Crawdads Sing, Normal People) and Glen Powell (Anyone But You, Top Gun: Maverick) as opposing forces who come together to try to predict, and possibly tame, the immense power of tornadoes.
Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi (Golden Globe nominee Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Powell), the charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew, the more dangerous the better.
As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed, and Kate, Tyler and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives.
Twisters is now available on Digital HD!