MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American actor Brandon Perea and the rest of the "Twisters" team pay tribute to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who starred in the 1996 original film with Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, and Cary Elwes.
Perea, in Lee Isaac Chung's "Twisters," stars as Boone, the right-hand man and hype beast of storm chaser Tyler Owen played by "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Anyone But You" star Glen Powell.
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Much like the original, the 2024 film sees a new group of storm chasers as they try to predict and possibly tame one of nature's most destructive forces.
"They're a diverse group of fun and crazy hooligans who work efficiently together, but there's a higher purpose in what they do,” Perea says of storm chasers in a statement.
"They're cool because everyone's just being their genuine honest self, no false fronts. Their goal is to help people and have fun while doing it, and as they reveal themselves to the audience, they will earn everyone's respect."
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Perea, Powell, and the rest of the cast, including Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Sasha Lane, Katy O'Brian, and David Corenswet, all took inspiration for their fun-loving, rag-tag group from Hoffman's character Dusty Davies.
"I know that I'm talking about one of the greatest actors of all time," Perea says of Oscar winner Hoffman, who passed away a decade ago. "Hopefully I can bring even just a pinkie-nail amount of that fun-kooky energy he brought to the film."
Chung, himself an Oscar nominee for "Minari," similarly wanted to honor Hoffman by having Boone carry some on of Dusty's aesthetic through tie-dye outfits.
"I wanted to pay respect to Hoffman, who was so beloved in 'Twister' for playing a quirky, thrill-seeking character, and whose spirit can be seen in the storm wranglers," Chung said, adding that Lane's character Lily wears pants with swatches of floral fabric akin to Dusty's wardrobe prints.
Pera hit into the mainstream as a lead on Netflix's "The OA," followed by a breakthrough performance in Jordan Peele's "Nope," another film dealing with a natural entity.
"Twisters" premieres in Philippine cinemas on July 17.
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