Hollywood's new "it" guy Glen Powell chased after the gale of controversy whipped up by disappointed fans and gave his two cents over the controversial deletion of a romantic kiss scene with his Twisters co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones.
The standalone action drama that is a successor to the 1996 natural disaster movie Twister originally included a filmed kiss scene between the two leads for a climactic ending.
However, audiences never got to see it due to Stephen Spielberg's alleged suggestion of nixing the romantic ending.
Spielberg was an executive producer for the first film starring late actor Bill Paxton, whose son made a cameo in the new film.
The smooch in Twisters was ultimately left on the cutting room floor, leaving moviegoers salty about the decision because they had hoped to see the palpable chemistry brewing between characters, Kate Carter (Edgar-Jones) and Tyler Owens (Powell) realized and sealed with a kiss in the final cut.
After hearing about the outrage over the stolen kiss, Powell casually weighed in, flattered by all the hubbub.
He told Screen Rant:
"I'm taking it very personally! I'm sure you've seen the behind-the-scenes, where I did get to kiss Daisy Edgar-Jones, which really is all that counts."
"[Laughs] We had a great time, and I'm really proud of the movie."
In case anyone missed it, here is the behind-the-scenes footage of the Hollywood ending.
The 35-year-old continued:
"I really think that even that [backlash] shows that people care, which is really great. I just love how excited people have gotten about that movie, and Daisy and I send each other the TikToks and the gifs."
"There's so much funny stuff coming out of it. It's fun. That's what summer movies are about. It creates this conversation and cultural moment, and people dress up and do the thing. It's been really awesome."
He added:
"So, kiss or no kiss, everybody's a winner."
His response wasn't what some people wanted to hear.
Last month, he and Edgar-Jones addressed the romantic deleted scene.
“I think it stops the film feeling too cliched, actually," said Edgar-Jones, commenting on the notion of the movie pandering to the audience.
The 26-year-old British actor, famous for the TV miniseries Normal People, continued:
"I think there’s something really wonderful about it feeling like there’s a continuation. This isn’t the end of their story."
"They’re united by their shared passion for something."
However, some thought cutting the kiss was a good choice.
Director Lee Isaac Chung, who was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay Academy Awards for his 2020 semi-autobiographical film Minari, explained the final Twisters scene.
“I filmed both versions, and I even tested both versions,” he said. “It’s a very polarizing decision. There are people who have felt I should have kept it, and then there are execs who feel like we did a good job of removing it.”
Chung continued:
“I didn’t feel it should be a kiss."
“I felt like what she has earned and led up to is having community and having a sense of love for what she does again. She’s still active at the very end, and she’s going out and chasing another storm."
"So, for her to have regained all of that, that’s who she is, and that’s what I wanted to leave people with," he added.
