Helen Hunt Reflects on ‘Twister’ Before Sequel

That happened on the set of “Twister.”

Helen Hunt, for instance, endured hepatitis shots, vision impairment, and a concussion. But, 28 years after the release of the blockbuster motion picture, she wants you to know about the fun times she experienced during the making of the film.

There are “Twister” fans all over the globe, but Oklahomans especially love the film because it was shot there. For some Okies, “Twister” is their “Citizen Kane.” Dorothy > Rosebud?

Hunt and Bill Paxton, who died in 2017, were the lead actors in “Twister.“ If you’re a “Twister” enthusiast, you’re in luck: a sequel, “Twisters,” is set for release July 19.

Hunt, who just joined season 3 of HBO’s hit comedy “Hacks,” took a moment to chat with Oklahoma’s Tulsa World ahead of this weekend’s Fan Expo Dallas pop culture convention, where the Emmy- and Oscar-winning actress was slated to appear.

“I hear there’s a museum to the destruction we brought there,” she quipped.

That would be the Twister the Movie Museum in Wakita. Home of “Twister” breakfast maestro Aunt Meg (Lois Smith), Wakita is a tiny Grant County town (population 300-plus) that was ravaged by a tornado in the film. Wakita was faux damaged for the shoot.

So how was shooting in Oklahoma?

“This was not like getting pampered every day and having your lipstick touched up and getting your feet rubbed,” Hunt said. “We were — it looked like we were pummeled with crap all day because we were and we had jet engines and fire hoses and human beings whose only job was to throw junk at you. So, at the end of the day, you took quite a shower.”

Truth: The shoot was physically grueling.

“But what saved us is all the actors had so much fun together,” Hunt said.

“We had an ongoing, like, four-month card game that went on and on and on and into the night. We worked all night, so we would start playing cards at 8 and finish at sun-up, interrupted occasionally by coming to the shoot. But mostly movies like this are people setting up and then they call the actors in at the last minute.”

“Plus, when you’re away from home and you’re in your 20s or 30s, shooting is fun. You hang out and there’s nothing else to do everybody gets really close, and that definitely happened on this movie.”

Hunt and Paxton got hepatitis shots after they had been crawling through mud, according to Hunt. “And when you’re staring at a giant tornado, or pretending to, probably your mouth is hanging open,” she said, “We all looked at each other and (said) ‘I wonder what’s in that water?’”

The vision impairment they sustained has been described as temporary blindness.

“We had a bright, sunny day, and that was before it was really easy to just change the color of the sky (with effects),” Hunt said. “You had to change the color of the whole image. So if you want to make it dark (behind the actors), everything has to be dark. So they had to pump us full of extra light. The next day, Bill and I looked at each other and said he said, ‘Are you seeing OK?’ I said, ‘Not great.’”

Their corneas got some rest for a few days, and they emerged from the shoot minus serious injuries.

“But it was not for the faint of heart,” Hunt said.

At least the actors and film crew didn’t have to dodge real tornadic storms while in Oklahoma. Hunt said they shot during a “pretty sunny spring,” but there was one time when the sky turned green and that creepy feeling arrived when the barometric pressure was changing. Eek.