Top Gunjust turned 40, and to commemorate the occasion members of its key creative team are recalling the first timeTom Cruisefelt the need for speed.
Jack Epps Jr., the screenwriter who penned the classic action drama, and Jerry Bruckheimer, the film's producer, spoke withThe Guardianabout their memories of making the film.
Epps remembered a group of US navy pilots taking Cruise for a spin in a fighter jet shortly before he committed to starring in the film.
"They look at him and they don't know who Tom Cruise is," Epps said of the pilots. "They do what they like to do: they took him up, they shook him around, he barfed on himself, and he came out and said, 'I love this.' From that moment, he was on."
Bruckheimer said that he personally connected theMission: Impossiblestar with the pilots.
"We couldn't quite get him to commit [to the movie],, so I arranged for him to fly with the Blue Angels in El Centro, California," Bruckheimer recalled, noting that Cruise looked quite different from his character inTop Gundue to his longer hairdo for the 1985 movieLegend. "He had long hair and a ponytail and they saw this guy walk up and they said, 'We'll get this hippy a real ride.'"
Bruckheimer continued, "They sure did and he got out of the plane, walked to a phone booth, because there were no cell phones then, called me up, said, 'I'm in.'"
Entertainment Weeklyhas reached out to a representative for Cruise for comment.
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Cruise previously recalled his own perspective on his flight with the Blue Angels in a 2016 interview onJimmy Kimmel Live— and revealed that he'd already made up his mind to star inTop Gunafter his first meeting with Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott, but wanted to leverage his commitment so he could take a ride with the Blue Angels.
"I told my agent, 'I'm going to make this movie, but don't tell Jerry I want to make this movie, because I want to fly with the Blue Angels,'" he said (viaE!). "You've got work these things, you know? I'm a businessman."
The actor also admitted to losing his lunch during the flight. "I vomited with the Blue Angels," he told Jimmy Kimmel.
Curt "Griz" Watson, a pilot with the Blue Angels, previously detailed that same flight with Cruise in a2023 video interview. "We put him in the back of the 7 jet and I took him out. We basically did some rolls and some loops," he said. "I let him fly the airplane a little bit."
Watson echoed Bruckheimer's recollection of the flight inspiring Cruise to sign on to the film. "My understanding was that he came back from the flight and went directly to a phone booth and called the producer and said, 'I'll do it,'" he remembered. "And I got a really nice letter from him that said, 'Thanks for the ride, I appreciate it.' And something to the effect of, 'It really helped me with my character development for the movie.'"
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Top Gunand its sequelTop Gun: Maverickare now playing in theaters in celebration of the original film's 40th anniversary.
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