Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to “Top Gun”, which made Tom Cruise famous in one night, will meet with the cinema audience on May 27. We interviewed the film’s producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Joseph Kosinski, and Paramount Pictures Chief Executive Brian Robbins.
For many years, it was said that the “Top Gun” series would continue. How did you finally come together?
Jerry Bruckheimer: After making the first movie, it was clear that it was going to be a success. More than 30 years have passed and people are still excited for the new Movie. We started from this point. Tom had so many stories he wanted to tell. We went over these stories and added other things. Unfortunately we don’t have Tony Scott… But we do have Joe (Joseph) Kosinski who has done amazing things for us!
Tony, I think he’s smiling down on us right now and he’ll be excited to bring this movie to all of you. But making a movie from scratch is very difficult. No one notices watching this. Everything looks great on the screen, but it’s really, really hard. We had a great character in Maverick, but what is his story, what does he want to tell us? Thank you Joe Kosinski for coming along and creating a path that Tom and Paramount and all of us can get excited about.
Shooting standards have changed a lot digitally since 1986. At what points did you have difficulties today?
Joe Kosinski: This movie needed to be as grounded and realistic as possible. On YouTube, I saw videos of Navy pilots shot with GoPro. Even though it was made with GoPro and uploaded to the internet, it was amazing. It was better than anything I’ve ever seen. I showed them to Tom and said, “This is available online for free. If we can’t beat that, there’s no point in making this movie,” I said. He also accepted it.
Then a 15-month project began to figure out how to put cameras in the cockpit. As a result, we put 6 IMAX quality cameras in the cockpit. Obviously, the next challenge was; I knew Tom would handle anything, but could we make sure that Glen (Powell) and the other players could do whatever he needed to do? Tom then devised a training program to prepare the players for what they were about to experience.
You shot in a secret location for this movie. Can you tell us a little about the space issue?
Joe Kosinski: While filming the first “Top Gun,” they didn’t get a lot of support from the Navy. On the other hand, this movie helped the Navy relatively open its doors. We were looking for a place for the dark star section. We went to the China Lake Naval Air Base, a base where they developed a lot of secret things. “You are free to take pictures of anything you want, except the building over there,” they said as they scouted there.
Of course, I immediately focused on the angular hangar surrounded by barbed wire. “That’s it! It’s the perfect venue for what we’re trying to try,” and they said, “Don’t even think about it.” And I said, “Well, can we go there, so I can take a picture?” They let me do this. When I walked in, I said, “It would be great if we could shoot here.” After a two-week hiatus, they called us and said, “Okay, you can shoot in the hangar, just tell us when it’s time so we can clear out.” And yes, so we shot the scene in a very special place.
In which scenes did you bite your nails the most? Action or drama?
Joe Kosinski: In everything! So, this is “Top Gun”… It’s an action movie surrounded by drama. So, working on aerial scenes is a completely different skill. We put the same effort into the drama scenes between Maverick and Penny, Maverick and Rooster. The DNA of the movie is to get it. We’ve worked very hard on that too.
Does this movie fit Paramount’s overall strategy?
Brian Robbins: I would like to quote Mark Winestock; “an excellent movie.” We couldn’t be more proud! I couldn’t be more honored to be a part of the making of such a great movie. Thanks Jerry and Joe. We want to make great films for the world of cinema, for the common enjoyment of the audience.
Jerry, what do you think as a producer? How do you decide what will be successful in the movie industry in 2022?
Jerry Bruckheimer: We don’t decide what success is. It is the audience that tells us that it is successful. We really don’t know. We strive to make the most entertaining content we can, with the best talent, on- and behind-the-scenes, backed by great marketing and distribution. And we leave the decision to the audience. Look, if I had known what I was doing was going to be a hit, I would have retired and lived in the Bahamas a long time ago. But I love what I do. I love creating content and filling seats. This is my mission.
You said you didn’t expect it to be such a hit when you made your first “Top Gun”. What were your expectations for that time?
Jerry Bruckheimer: They say hope for the best and expect the worst. I have this etched in my mind because we never know what will happen. We are trying to do our best.
Can you talk a little bit about working with Tom Cruise?
Joe Kosinski: Philosophy; pushing the limits in every way, every day. So not only for himself, but also for the whole team and very inspiring. I think Glen and all the other actors were inspired by Tom, his work ethic, his passion, his knowledge of filmmaking, his advice, lessons learned from his past mistakes. Different from the first movie I did with him, in this movie I really saw him as a mentor. On the set with all these young pilots, he would turn it into a ‘masterclass’ session where he talked about how he got to where he is and how things are done.
How does a producer feel when making films in which the protagonist enjoys danger? Are you stressed? Do you mean “Let someone else do this to Tom”?
Jerry Bruckheimer: That’s not something you can say to Tom. Tell that to someone else, but not to Tom. Tom does everything his best and beyond, all the time, at full speed, and you can’t stop him, he will do whatever it takes. But because he is so prepared, he does everything with real attention.
Our female pilots are all awesome
There is also a female pilot in this movie…
Joe Kosinski: We had female pilots flying Monica’s character in the movie. So, this movie is not fiction. There are female aviators flying in the movie who have done wonders for us. It was important to us that our film reflected the Navy, the Navy of today, and even the Navy of tomorrow. We worked very hard for this. I was very impressed with the professionalism of the “Top Gun” pilots. I mean, the things we’re doing seem amazing and very dangerous. But knowing that these actors are flying with this level of aviators who are the best of the best in the world is what we say in the movie and it is absolutely true. It was an honor and pleasure to work with all of them.
Does everyone want to go back to the movies now? How comfortable are audiences after the pandemic?
Joe Kosinski: We know that the comfort level has been higher since the beginning of the pandemic. This is a good thing. It’s still not 100 percent, but we’re at 80 percent. Now we have to keep filling those halls with good product, right?
I remember that in the beginning the youngsters were ready to come back but many other groups did not come back…
Joe Kosinski: They were saying that the old band was the last audience to come back. They’re back in a big way. A few weeks ago the families returned in a big way. We have to offer a good product to everyone.
Tom Cruise blasted my mind
Glen, you were not initially interested in the role of ‘Hangman’. You had a meaningful-sounding talk with Tom Cruise. Can you talk a little bit about what happened there?
Glen Powell: Yes, I initially auditioned for the role of ‘Rooster’. When you watch the movie, you realize that this is an excellent casting choice.
But I wasn’t sure how to do it. They showed me the test footage from the sky. Then I had to sit in a room with Tom for a few hours. I was pretty confident about how I chose the movies and what I wanted to do. Then Tom blew my mind about how he built his career. “What do you want, Glen,” he said, and I said, “You, man! “I want to be like you,” I said. “How do you think I got here,” he said. “You choose beautiful roles,” I said. And he said to me, “No, I choose good movies and I do great roles.” That was true. Then I adopted the role of ‘Hangman’. And I must say, these men kept every promise they made to him. This is a very rare thing in Hollywood. I am very grateful for that.
I won’t make this film if I don’t have Val KilmerOne of the touching things about the movie is the appearance of Val Kilmer and that scene. How did you do this?
Jerry Bruckheimer: That was a story Tom wanted to tell. Val was very comfortable doing this, but shooting the movie was very emotional. We knew Val from the very beginning, she was a very young actress. And it was amazing to see him today, to see him working on acting… He has a great spirit, helpful… It was a great shoot. “I’m not going to make this movie unless I see Val in it,” said Tom. It was a very kind gesture.
All about Top Gun: Maverick movie.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Monica Barbaro, Charles Parnell, Danny Ramirez, Manny Jacinto, Bashir Salahuddin, Jay Ellis, Raymond Lee, Lyliana Wray
Screenplay by: Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie
Production Design by: Jeremy Hindle
Cinematography by: Claudio Miranda
Film Editing by: Eddie Hamilton, Chris Lebenzon
Costume Design by: Marlene Stewart
Set Decoration by: Andrew McCarthy, Jan Pascale
Art Direction by: Andrew Bennett, Jared Patrick Gerbig, A. Todd Holland
Music by: Harold Faltermeyer, Hans Zimmer
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some strong language.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: May 27, 2022 (United States)
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