
Back to All News
5 Things About Thunder Force' That Will Shock and Awe Netflix Staff
Entertainment
09 April 2021
GlobalUnited States
Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer star in the new Netflix film Thunder Force as two childhood best friends who reunite as an unlikely crime-fighting superhero duo . The film marks McCarthy's fifth collaboration with husband Ben Falcone, who wrote and directed the film, and her first with longtime friend Spencer. Ahead of the superhero flick's April 9 premiere, Falcone shared five secrets from behind the scenes.
FORCE-FUL FRIENDS
Spencer and McCarthy have been real-life friends for over 20 years, adding to their easy onscreen chemistry. Falcone says he did draw some elements from real life for their characters. Weve got a group of friends from way back and I think if you asked, Who's the smartest one?,' every single one of us would say Octavia. So if somethings wrong, who would you want to fix it? Octavia. And as for his wife, Falcone says, Melissa is very detailed and disciplined, but she really does work off her instinct. So I just felt like that was a really good dynamic: Octavia being so meticulous and saying This is the way Im going to do it,' and Melissa saying, Im so meticulous, but I might not do it how we planned at all.' So those are qualities that made their way into each character in a fortuitous way because theyre able to play something thats in their wheelhouse.
FAMILY BUSINESS
Falcone and McCarthy's daughter Vivian plays McCarthy's character, Lydia, at age 12. We needed a dead ringer for Melissa, and Vivian is, and shes also a good actor, says Falcone. Because as much as were not trying to steer her in that direction, I was sort of like, Well, jeez, I need a kid who can kind of get us off on the right foot, and Viv and Bria D. Singleton, who plays young Emily, really got us off on the right foot.
GET READY TO ROCK
Thunder Force composer Fil Eisler was heavily inspired by the hard rock and metal band t-shirts Lydia wears throughout the film. He loved the direction of going metal and he knows those people, notes Falcone. He was like, Shes wearing an Anthrax shirt. Should I call the guitar player from Anthrax? And what about the drummer from Slayer?' The result is a who's who of rock luminaries on the film's soundtrack including Scott Ian of Anthrax, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, and Corey Taylor from Slipknot, who together perform the closing credits theme song. We actually had just a male vocal for the ending song, and I said, I love it. But can we make it a duet?' And Fil said, Oh, I have just the woman.'" Eisler put out the call to Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale. Says Falcone, That was when the song really jelled.
The film also features two pieces of music by late Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, included with the blessing of his estate. Says Falcone, They knew that we were doing it out of love, so they were into it.
SPIRITED SUPER SUITS
A running gag in the film is that Emily and Lydia's superhero get-ups are a little ripe since they only have one and can't wash them. In reality, says Falcone, They each had two and then there were some stunt suits as well. And they did not smell. True story: In order to sterilize them and neutralize odors, The costume department would spray vodka on them at the end of the day.
TASTES LIKE CHICKEN
In order to maintain her super strength, McCarthy's Lydia must eat raw chicken, which was reproduced by the props department with striking accuracy. The raw chicken is actually really thinly sliced pears treated with citric acid and food coloring, says Falcone. It was so believable that we all got completely grossed out every time we saw it as did everybody who had to eat it. Melissa was like, I know its a pear, but its just hard not to imagine it as raw chicken.' So that was difficult for her to get through.
Thunder Force premieres April 9 on Netflix.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
With the Federal Communications Commission working on new rules for the deployment of NextGen TV, next year promises to be an important one for both the future ...
10/12/2025
DENVER Tom Rutledge, director emeritus and former president and CEO of Charter Communications, will be honored with the 2026 Bresnan Ethics in Business Award by...
10/12/2025
NEW YORK Novocap's Cadent has acquired VuePlanner, a YouTube video ad planning, optimization, and measurement company in a deal that will help Cadent expand...
09/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Pam Oliver, Sideline Icon Who Redefined t...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 2By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 7:17 am
Print This Story | Subscr...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Cloud Production Workshop Spotlights Live and Non-Live ...
09/12/2025
Next-generation content protection: Multi-technology security is integral to com...
09/12/2025
CBS Sports Provides One-of-a-Kind Production' for UEFA Champions League Cro...
09/12/2025
Spanish Professional Basketball League Relies on NETGEAR AV, MAM Tech for Seamle...
09/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: St. Thomas's Mike Gallagher and Casey Eakins on the Tommies...
09/12/2025
Free Registration for the 2025 SVG Summit Closes Today at 5 p.m. ET!After the deadline, tickets will cost $150 to attend the eventBy SVG Staff
Tuesday, Decemb...
09/12/2025
University of St. Thomas Ushers in Division I Era With New Arena and a Broadcast...
09/12/2025
For decades, music videos have done more than just accompany a song; they've shaped style, started conversations, and helped us fall in love with our favori...
09/12/2025
For decades, customers have turned to L3Harris capabilities in electronic warfar...
09/12/2025
L3Harris propulsion systems enable agile maneuvering and resilience for U.S. spacecraft, supporting national security and mission success in the evolving space ...
09/12/2025
L3Harris Technologies' imaging and sounding instruments will play a critical...
09/12/2025
LOS ANGELES James Shears has joined ThinkAnalytics as senior vice president, advertising, tasked with leading global strategy and commercial expansion of the co...
09/12/2025
VIENNA, Va. The Media Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment, has named Kathleen Kirby o...
09/12/2025
Throughout its century-plus existence, the motion picture industry has had to fight battles on multiple fronts to protect its content from piracy. From protecti...
09/12/2025
NEW YORK Fueled by football season, ad supported TV viewing in Q3 peaked in September, representing 74.7% of overall TV viewership in that month, per Nielsen...
09/12/2025
LYNDONVILLE, N.Y. Digital Alert Systems has introduced the DAS3-DC-PS, a new DC power supply option for its DASDEC-III emergency alert system. Designed to meet ...
09/12/2025
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced the appointment of Macky Beheshti as Dir...
09/12/2025
Triveni Digital and Device Solutions Inc today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted them a new patent for their novel ATSC 3.0 r...
09/12/2025
ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-powered data analytics for TV and streaming, today announced the appointment of James Shears as Senior Vice President of...
09/12/2025
European data management specialists appointed as SingleStore champion partner, bringing unified real-time transaction, vector and analytics capabilities to org...
09/12/2025
Broadcast Solutions, the leading systems integration group, has launched a new business, aimed at providing consultancy and design services across the media ind...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has once again delayed implementation of sponsorship identification requirements for foreign...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON #GALSNGEAR has announced two major leadership retreats in early 2026 that the group said are designed to equip women in media, entertainment, and tec...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON With a Dec. 15 deadline looming for a new retransmission consent and carriage deal between Cox and Verizon, the two parties have started trading barb...
09/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV has announced that it has secured new financing from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, an affiliate of Monroe Capital, with an init...
09/12/2025
Many cord-cutters looking to reduce their monthly cable or satellite bills are also cutting back on streaming costs, according to new research from All About Co...
09/12/2025
LAS VEGAS and NASHVILLE, Tenn. Shure technology played a critical role during the broadcast productions of the 59th Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena i...
09/12/2025
Unveiling of new CV1, web-browser workflows and Milan roadmap for mission-critical AV environments
Nixer Pro Audio will return to Integrated Systems Europe (IS...
09/12/2025
Spring Forward Are you ready to spring forward? The following steps will automate your transition from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.
Ensure all WO Aut...
09/12/2025
Tuesday 9 December 2025
Judy Murray calls for PE to be a priority for all schoo...
09/12/2025
Kyocera and Rohde & Schwarz demonstrate OTA characterization of mmWave PAAM at C...
09/12/2025
Wuppertal December 9, 2025
Riedel and Racing Electronics Announce Strategic Pa...
09/12/2025
Verified: LinkedIn crosses 100M member milestone From LinkedIn Published on Dec 9, 2025 Categories: Company News, Featured News
LinkedIn Corporate Communi...
09/12/2025
Another year, another 12 months of amazing adventures.
We are pleased to bring you our Highlights of the Year 2025.
We've worked hard and played hard this...
09/12/2025
Original article published in TV Tech: https://www.tvtechnology.com/equipment/bmg-redefines-remote-production-through-cloud-connected-workflows
When I started ...
09/12/2025
DPA Microphones today announces the immediate availability of its new N-Series Digital Wireless Microphone System for customers throughout the U.S. In addition ...
09/12/2025
Jason, before we get into the detail, what first got you involved in retail media standards? And how did you come to chair IAB Europe's Retail and Commerce ...
09/12/2025
Current Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins has been revealed as the third contestant...
09/12/2025
An easier approach to recreate the powerful nerve-blocking molecule found in shellfish A Scripps Research-led study resolves the challenge of synthesizing saxit...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 1By SVG Staff
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 6:56 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2025...
08/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Bill Rasmussen, the Entrepreneur Who Drea...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Live Production Innovation Workshop Goes Deep on ST 211...
08/12/2025
#GALSNGEAR Announces East, West Leadership Retreats for 2026By Ken Kerschbaumer
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 9:10 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story High...
08/12/2025
MediaKind Acquiring Harmonic's Video Business to Create New Streaming-Video ...