Do You Want To See TWISTER 2? Bill Paxton Does

Ain't It Cool News received an e-mail from a source who interviewed Bill Paxton recently and discovered that the actor wants to make a sequel to the 1996 hit Twister.

The story goes that Paxton and Scott Thomson (who played Preacher in the film) took a road trip last year to retrace the path of the infamous Tri-State Tornado of 1925, the deadliest tornado in the history of the United States. The trip rekindled Paxton's interest in the subject and caused him to put a pitch together for a Twister sequel. He's already met with producer Kathleen Kennedy to discuss the project, but Paxton says they need the approval of Steven Spielberg before they can move forward - and he thinks that approval won't come without "real studio interest."

He also provides a rather cynical look into the reality of Hollywood today:

"The only reason I’d like to revisit that ground is because I realize we’re living in a time where big movies cost so much to make that the town is looking for built-in audiences,” admitted Paxton."...I always thought the first ‘Twister’ was an exciting ride, but I thought a sequel could explore it in a more enthralling way, getting into more of the history and the lore, more of a darker version of the first one.

"I think you’d still want to have a lot of the dark humor and all of that, with the flying cows and everything,” he said, with a laugh. “I think you could kind of intrigue people more by getting into a little more of the lore and really understanding. I just think there’s a lot more to explore there. When I researched the first film when I was getting ready to do it, I just found so much stuff. Ultimately, I was happy with ‘Twister,’ but I also had thought that it could’ve gotten a little deeper into it.”

So is he actually passionate about this project, or does he just want a payday? His opening sentence doesn't exactly lead me to believe he's truly into the creative process of this story, but he's certainly done his research. Paxton is a businessman (like every other actor), so I'm sure he's just assessing the cultural climate and trying to capitalize while he can. No hard feelings here. 

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the potential sequel is that it would (in theory) be a story enhanced by the 3D treatment. "I think the 3D applications of that could obviously be pretty amazing," Paxton says. Flying cows and debris flying at your screen? That actually does sound kind of cool. While I'm neither a full on supporter of 3D nor a detractor of the technology, I'm generally turned off when a project goes "gimmicky" and expands outward in Z-space toward the audience for a cheap thrill. In this case, however, I think it could benefit the storytelling and enhance our experience of what it's like to be caught in a tornado.

What do you think? Are you psyched for Twister 2, and what are your thoughts on seeing it in 3D?

[Special thanks to FirstShowing for relaying the story as well.]