The 3 Guys Podcast Recorded on 6/23/2022 I feel the need, the need for speed. In this podcast, we review Tony Scott’s action movie, the original Top Gun (released 1986) starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Tom Skerritt. WARNING: There will be SPOILERS! The 3 Guys Rating 3.6/5
Notes From The Show * Quick Synopsis * Released: May 16, 1986
Directed By: Tony Scott
Screenplay By: Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr.
Based On the Article: “Top Guns” by Ehud Yonay
Stars: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt and a bunch of other actors
Plot: As students at the United States Navy’s elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.
Tagline: I feel the need, the need for speed
How did this movie do? Budget: $15 Million Box Office: $357 Million * Casting * + Actor Matthew Modine turned down the role of Pete Mitchell because he felt the film’s pro-military stance went against his politics. Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Scott Baio and Tom Hanks all turned down the role. Janet Graham, Charlie Sheen, Jim Carrey, Rob Lowe, Kevin Bacon, Eric Stoltz, and Robert Downey Jr. were considered for the role. Sheen (who was deemed too young for the role) would later go on to spoof the role in the comedy Hot Shots! (1991). + Julianne Phillips was in consideration for the role of Charlie, and had been scheduled to perform a screen test opposite Tom Cruise. Tatum O’Neal, Jodie Foster, Daryl Hannah, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker and Linda Hamilton all turned down the role of Charlie. Carrie Fisher was also considered for the role. + Ally Sheedy turned down the role of Charlie because she didn’t think that anyone would want to see a movie about fighter pilots. She later regretted this decision. + Val Kilmer did not want to be in this film, but was forced to by contractual obligations. However, it became one of his most iconic roles in his career. + Jerry Bruckheimer on convincing Tom Cruise to sign on to the film after his initial reluctance: “So they (the Navy) take Tom up there, and they do five Gs. They do barrel rolls, they do everything. He’s heaving in the plane. He gets on the tarmac, runs to a pay phone … and he said, ‘I’m in. I’m doing the movie. I love it. This is great.'” + Louis Gossett Jr. was considered for the role of Viper. Gossett, however, did play the older, mentor-type role in another 80s fighter jet film, Iron Eagle (1986). * Awards * Academy Awards
+ Nominated: Best Film Editing, Best Original Song, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing
+ Won: Best Original Song – “Take My Breath Away” (Also won Golden Globe)
Maverick (Tom Cruise): Lieutenant Pete Mitchell.
Goose (Anthony Edwards): Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Nick Bradshaw.
Iceman (Val Kilmer): Lieutenant Tom Kazansky.
Hollywood (Whip Hubley): Lieutenant Rick Neven.
Wolfman (Barry Tubb): Lieutenant (JG) Leonard Wolfe.
Slider (Rick Rossovich): Lieutenant (JG) Ron Kerner.
Sundown (Clarence Gilyard Jr.): Lieutenant (JG) Marcus Williams.
Chipper (Adrian Pasdar): Lieutenant Charles Piper.
Cougar (John Stockwell): Lieutenant Bill Cortell.
Merlin (Tim Robbins): Lieutenant (JG) Sam Wills.
Stinger (James Tolkan): Commander Tom Jardian.
Charlie (Kelly McGillis): Charlotte Blackwood.
Jester (Michael Ironside): Lieutenant Commander Rick Heatherly.
Viper (Tom Skerritt): Commander Mike Metcalf.
Red Neck (Duke Stroud): Air Boss Emmett Johnson. * Whose Fault? * In the film, Maverick is cleared of the incident causing Goose’s death and told that he is not at fault for the plane entering the spin.
Argument 1: Maverick was directly responsible for Goose’s death and that it was his fault because in the chase of Jester, Maverick continued the leftward turn to follow Jester and swept through Iceman’s jet wash as Iceman moved up and to the right and Maverick followed too closely behind Iceman and refused to back off and Maverick didn’t take a less dangerous position because he wanted to get a better shot of Jester.
Argument 2: It was Iceman’s fault because Maverick told Iceman to break high right and he went left, causing Maverick to get caught in his jet stream, and he took too long and just had to keep trying to get a lock on the enemy fighter. * Trivia * + After the film’s release, the US Navy stated that the number of young men who joined wanting to be Naval Aviators went up by 500 percent. The U.S. Navy set up recruiting booths in the major cinemas. + The real Top Gun School imposes a $5 fine to any staff member that quotes the film. + Tony Scott also directed the music video for “Danger Zone” with Kenny Loggins (1986) + Stunt pilot Art Scholl was killed during the production of the movie, aged 54. He died when his Pitts S-2 camera plane failed to recover from a flat spin and plunged into the Pacific Ocean. Scholl’s last words over the radio were “I have a problem – I have a real problem.” The exact cause of the crash was never determined, and neither the aircraft nor Scholl’s body were ever recovered. The film is dedicated to him. + CAMEO: Charlie’s “older man” date at the officer’s club is the real-life “Viper”, Pete Pettigrew. He is a retired Navy pilot and TOP GUN instructor, and shot down a MiG during the Vietnam War. He served as the technical consultant on the film. + CAMEO: When Maverick receives his orders to the carrier following the graduation ceremony, there is a pilot standing behind him, with a mustache and wearing sunglasses. The pilot is “Heater” C.J. Heatley, a real-life former F-14 air show demonstration pilot and Top Gun instructor. + Anthony Edwards is the only actor who didn’t vomit while in the fighter jets. + Ad-Lib: When the students are being briefed by Charlie in the hangar, Maverick explains that he gave “the bird” to a MiG. She asks how he saw the MiG up close, and he says he was flying inverted. Right then, Ice coughs “bullshit” and the guys laughed. The “bullshit” line was ad-libbed by Val Kilmer, and everyone’s reactions are genuine. + Ad-Lib: After the “car chase” when Charlie tells Maverick that she didn’t want anyone to find out she was falling for him, Maverick originally had a line to say. Tom Cruise forgot the line and “ad libbed” by kissing Kelly McGillis instead. Tony Scott liked it so much, he left the scene like that. + The Pentagon charged Paramount Pictures $1.8 million to use all of their planes and aircraft carriers for the film. + All of Maverick’s stunt flying in the film was done by Scott Altman, who later went on to become an astronaut. + The character portrayed by Kelly McGillis is based on Christine Fox, a civilian flight instructor the producers met on a visit to Miramar while doing research to prepare for the film. Fox eventually rose through the ranks at the Pentagon, retiring in May 2014 as Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense, the highest post ever held by a woman at the Department of Defense. + For the opening of the film, director Tony Scott wanted to shoot aircraft taking off and landing on the aircraft carrier, back-lit by the sun. The carrier captain had changed course of the ship, and when Scott asked if the ship could continue on the previous course and speed, he was told that turning the ship cost $25,000. Scott then wrote the captain a quick $25,000 check so the ship could be turned and he could keep shooting for another five minutes. According to Scott, the check bounced. + Tom Cruise had to wear lifts in his scenes with Kelly McGillis. Cruise is 5’7″ (1.70 m) while McGillis is 5’10” (1.78 m). + Meg Ryan and Anthony Edwards became an item after filming concluded. + This film is credited with starting the home video industry. Originally, VHS tapes were priced at $100 upon their first release, and were sold mainly to video stores. This film was priced to own immediately upon release, made possible by Pepsi Cola buying ad space at the beginning of the tape. Since then, pricing VHS tapes to own right away became a common practice. + The elevator scene (in which Maverick and Charlie meet after his workout) was filmed post-production. Kelly McGillis’s hair had already been colored for another movie role, which is why she is wearing a hat. Tom Cruise’s hair is longer in the shot as well. + Tom Cruise had never ridden a motorcycle until this film. He went to House of Motorcycles in El Cajon, California, to learn. They taught him in the parking lot of their shop. + Cougar was supposed to have crashed while trying to land back on the carrier, and his death was supposed to be why Maverick “slid into Cougar’s spot”, but this was summarily cut by the Navy. As this was intended to be a recruitment tool for the Navy, they didn’t want negative attention drawn on a particularly hazardous aspect of serving on a carrier, or flying fighters. + Bryan Adams was asked to allow his song “Only the Strong Survive” on the soundtrack, but he refused because he felt that the film glorified war. + Aircraft carriers used in the film were USS Ranger (CV-61) and USS Enterprise (CVN-65) + The final combat scenes were inspired by 2 real life incidents, the capture of the US Navy spyship USS Pueblo by North Korea in 1968 and the 1980s Gulf of Sidra engagements where F14 Tomcats downed 4 Libyan MIGs in air to air combat. + In 1986, jet fuel was pretty cheap – about 1 dollar per gallon. However, Paramount still paid 10,000 dollars an hour every time they went up to film an F-14 + The producers knew the film was big when leather jackets and white t-shirts became “in” again. + Goose was originally to have died in a flaming crash aboard an aircraft carrier, but the Navy objected, and the scene was changed to the training accident that has been featured since the film’s release. + CONNECTION TO NEXT MOVIE: Over the course of the movie a prior incident that Maverick had with an Admiral’s daughter named Penny Benjamin is mentioned several times. Although Benjamin is never on-screen in Top Gun, she makes her appearance as Maverick’s new love interest in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), played by Jennifer Connelly. + FORESHADOWING: Goose saying “You kill me” when he laughs about Iceman’s joke about the plaques for the alternates is on display in the ladies room is a foreshadowing of Goose’s death. When Goose is killed in the jet wash, Maverick flew into Iceman’s jet wash when Iceman rolled out for the chase of Jester’s aircraft causing both engines to go out and Maverick going into a flat spin.
Released: May 16, 1986
Directed By: Tony Scott
Screenplay By: Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr.
Based On the Article: “Top Guns” by Ehud Yonay
Stars: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt and a bunch of other actors
Plot: As students at the United States Navy’s elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.
Tagline: I feel the need, the need for speed
How did this movie do? Budget: $15 Million Box Office: $357 Million
Academy Awards
Counting mentioned and not otherwise mentioned in the movie but only by their call signs, real names of the pilots/RIOs are:
Maverick (Tom Cruise): Lieutenant Pete Mitchell.
Goose (Anthony Edwards): Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Nick Bradshaw.
Iceman (Val Kilmer): Lieutenant Tom Kazansky.
Hollywood (Whip Hubley): Lieutenant Rick Neven.
Wolfman (Barry Tubb): Lieutenant (JG) Leonard Wolfe.
Slider (Rick Rossovich): Lieutenant (JG) Ron Kerner.
Sundown (Clarence Gilyard Jr.): Lieutenant (JG) Marcus Williams.
Chipper (Adrian Pasdar): Lieutenant Charles Piper.
Cougar (John Stockwell): Lieutenant Bill Cortell.
Merlin (Tim Robbins): Lieutenant (JG) Sam Wills.
Stinger (James Tolkan): Commander Tom Jardian.
Charlie (Kelly McGillis): Charlotte Blackwood.
Jester (Michael Ironside): Lieutenant Commander Rick Heatherly.
Viper (Tom Skerritt): Commander Mike Metcalf.
Red Neck (Duke Stroud): Air Boss Emmett Johnson.
In the film, Maverick is cleared of the incident causing Goose’s death and told that he is not at fault for the plane entering the spin.
Argument 1: Maverick was directly responsible for Goose’s death and that it was his fault because in the chase of Jester, Maverick continued the leftward turn to follow Jester and swept through Iceman’s jet wash as Iceman moved up and to the right and Maverick followed too closely behind Iceman and refused to back off and Maverick didn’t take a less dangerous position because he wanted to get a better shot of Jester.
Argument 2: It was Iceman’s fault because Maverick told Iceman to break high right and he went left, causing Maverick to get caught in his jet stream, and he took too long and just had to keep trying to get a lock on the enemy fighter.
About The Movie From IMDB
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