A Hollywood Ending

A fictional tornado ripped through Ames, Iowa, in the 1996 movie "Twister," but the damage that was done was contained to the world of special effects within the film. Now Littleport, another Iowa town that really was destroyed by a natural disaster, is going to have the starring role in a television program about special effects in movies. Two years ago, the town was devastated when the Volga River overran its banks and flooded the area with 10 feet of water. The town used to have almost 90 people, but only about two dozen still live in Littleport today. The rest were bought out by the state or federal government after their homes were deemed unsafe.

Instead of paying to demolish their flood-ravaged infrastructure, the community offered to let Hollywood take advantage of the razing of the town for cinematic effect. "It was pretty creative of those folks to think that up," says Wendol Jarvis, who promoted the project for the Iowa Film Office, "Structures had to be destroyed anyway, so they figured they'd see if Hollywood wanted to do it."

Hollywood's interest may be the silver lining in the loss of Littleport. In lieu of the roughly $150,000 that demolition would have cost, the community will receive a fee from the production company, and the company will also be responsible for cleaning up after it has destroyed the town. The town is considering using the money it makes to put a campground on the site.