‘Top Gun’ sequel starts filming on NAS North Island
The horrors we visit upon ourselves in the name of entertainment. To any knowledgeable of aviation in general, and Naval Aviation in particular, “Top Gun” was at best low comedy, a farce. Dozens of sites have picked it apart for fallacies and errors, here’s a couple examples:
https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/79-cringe-worthy-technical-errors-in-the-movie-top-gun
https://www.moviemistakes.com/film1312/factual/pageall
My personal favorites are the seemingly unlimited amount of fuel the jets carry, same-same with the missile load-out resembling a Western Six-Shooter- they never run out of bullets, either. Best is the defensive tactic known as an “aileron roll” to defeat cannon fire from the bogy on one’s six- this looks cool but would merely distribute the incoming rounds equally along the airframe, and is roughly analogous to firing a shotgun at a pirotteing ballerina.
Anyway, The Navy Times gushes:
Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full …”
For years fans of the 1986 mega-hit “Top Gun” have debated on a sequel. Should the Air Force get a chance this time? Will the F-35 have a role?
Answers: 1.) Sorry, Air Force, probably not; and, 2.) No Lightning here, Tom Cruise’s teaser tweet showcased an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Cruise is on Naval Air Station North Island right now, completing the first of two days of filming at the San Diego base for “Top Gun: Maverick.” It’s all Navy. The service has already completed a first review of an initial script draft and sent it back with requested revisions, DoD’s entertainment office confirmed (but would not reveal what those revisions were.)
Will Maverick face off against MiGs of unknown origin again over the Indian Ocean, or will he test the skies over the Spratlys in the South China Sea?
Spare me. Word on the street has an aging Cruise taking on Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) in his single seat F/A-18. Which is a shame, as Gooseman, his RIO in the first travesty, was about the only saving grace with his sarcastic wit and charm. Obviously, he had to go.
The “Top Gun” sequel is one of several movies the Pentagon’s entertainment office is involved in. The office is also supporting the upcoming movie “First Man,” about astronaut Neil Armstrong; next year’s “Captain Marvel” and the World War II Navy destroyer flick “Greyhound,” starring Tom Hanks.
Let’s hope for better days. Sorry, Mick. But it had to be told.
Category: Blue Skies, Navy
Maverick has been hauling rubber dog $hit out of Singapore for over twenty years, its time to RIF his non promotable a$$.
Another “Top Gunk”? *YAWN*
A good friend of mine is a retired O-6 Navy fighter jock. He says that Cruise treated the real Navy pilots in the first one like $h*t. He was a complete south end of a horse facing north in how he treated those pilots whose flying was making him look good for the cameras.
I don’t think I’ll bother with this one.
I was on ENTERPRISE with him. He was a complete horses’ A$$
Why am I not surprised…
Jealous of people that actually do something with their lives other than pretend to be special…
That really takes the cake though.
Treating pilots like shit that fly planes off of aircraft carrier decks with a full load of explosives, ammo and fuel, operate in the most dangerous workplace in history, and that clown treats them badly ?????
That is once again up there in the annals of the stupidest things anyone ever does, right up there with pelosi, cunt-oon and all the rest of the turnips in the demonrat party.
Remember when Mark Wahlberg took him on when he said that he works harder than GI’s in the SEALS, Rangers and Spec-ops? That was great !!!
Like I said, why am I not surprised…
I was on the Ranger when they filmed some scenes on there. Anthony Edwards came to visit us in the MarDet. He was extremely nice and stayed to talk with us for about a half hour. Tom Cruise, not so much.
Tom Skerritt making an appearance? If a 55 year old Tom Cruise can still be a hard charging fighter jock, then Skerritt can be an 80+ but still on active duty Vietnam vet.
Wasn’t “maverick” supposed to be a Marine in this one?
OH, that’s right: they don’t want him, either.
So Cruise is a bit bored with things and decided he can recoup his youth by being more boring than ever.
Okay, well, I’ll stay home fer sure, then.
This prick is a real putz!! I have met him he is such a short little shit he really has that famous short fucker syndrome! He should be kissing their ass for them even allowing this putz to set foot on their base!!! Won’t he be afraid the mother ship will come down and get him while he is flying?? I really think it would be funny as hell to send him up in a two seater, wait until he is really far out in the ocean, then eject and leave the little shit to handle things on his own, I am sure he would shit himself in less than 4 seconds!! What do you think Ex???
I like the idea, but is he really worth a $60-million-dollar aircraft?
Knowing the infamous sensitivity of jet aircraft, I’d be inclined to think the plane would eject him and keep the parachute, then fly on and land itself. (The Navy is working on self-controlled planes and carrier landings now.)
A whoopee cushion in every flight scene would be priceless.
Wilted Willy, this scenario did occur at one time unintentionally:
http://www.vfp62.com/f14_rio.html
Maverick caught in bed with an underage tranny whore presented to him by Fat Leonard after he diverted all PACFLT aviation maintenance contracts to Glenn Martin Marine Asia facilities in Singapore. If we’re gonna have to have another Top Gun movie, let’s have one based on actual events…
Ohh shit, the savage is strong!
Ironic. Given how his career just barely survived the Tailhook ’91 scandal, you would have thought he would keep his nose clean thereafter. Some folks just never learn.
Don’t forget his big blowout party when DADT was repealed.
Saw the original once, as part of a captive audience. Would have walked out if it were possible. Haven’t seen it again since. Yeah, it was pretty silly even without knowing official Navy protocols.
So, yeah, good call by USAF to not become involved. So sorry to all you Navy folks that have to put up with the strutting peacock. Again.
I will never watch one of this little shits movies!! You will loose at least 30 iq points for even watching the trailer!! He is really into that shitty cult of the scientology! I wonder how much money that this little turn has spent on that silly shit?????????
I really meant to say, this little turd!!!
Damn spell check, please forgive me, it is very hard to type while you are laying in bed!!
Take care all!!!
As a condition of his movie contracts little Tommy requires the production company to let Scientology (not a religion) set up recruiting tents at all the filming sites. He tried to do that when “Valkyrie” was to be filmed in Germany and the gov’t told him they would arrest anyone who set up Scientology stuff, as it is a classified a criminal fraud under German law.
I was on a fire near the scientology (intentionally uncapitalized) compound in San Jacinto about twelve years ago. We didn’t know at the time that their compound was just on the other side of that ridge from where the fire started (almost held it to four acres, too, but we ran out of hose and a 10-foot-wide stretch reached the bottom of that slope and took off). Anyway, a bunch of women in their 20s and 30s showed up out of nowhere that evening with trays of sandwiches. It seemed strange, but we didn’t know who the hell they were, and we’d been getting our ass kicked, so we accepted.
About half and hour later, the Deputy Chief shows up and asks if we’ve run into any scientologists. We all say “Huh?” “Yep, their big compound is just the other side of this ridge, and they’re walking around with trays of sandwiches. Not saying you should look a gift horse in the mouth, but I wouldn’t trust ‘em.”
We all look at eachother, there’s a collective “Aw, fuck!” and then thirty firefighters are lined up in a ditch sticking our fingers down our throats until we hurl. None of us was willing to take that chance!
War Story Alert. I pre-flighted the women for the sex and love scenes. Tom got really pissed when they gave me the call sign “big dick”. That’s why my scenes wound up on the cutting room floor. One who was screwing him told me she would have to ask him if he was inside her yet.
I think the real question here, the one that should be on everyone’s minds, is: Will they cast Kelly McGillis again??!!
Also, in keeping with the times and social equations, will the Iceman be cast as gay?
Maybe not gay but have you seen pictures of Val Kilmer lately? Let’s just be charitable and say he’d have a tough time fitting into a fighter plane.
C-17? Undoubtedly. 😉
Cargo section only…
feel the need…….
I don’t……the original was enough given little Tommy Cruise was the ‘star’.
A lot of movie license to ensure Cruise’s fat ego was satisfied.
There were no female reps when
I was at NAS Miramar (arrived shortly after TOP GUN began).
I also heard a lot about how he treated Navy pilots/NFOs.
Finally, all the blather about him and I find out he is not even as tall as I am…….LOL
Never saw the movie. As I’ve commented in the past, I do not watch hollyweird flicks due to their hatred of the Flag, Country, Military, 2nd A etc. I don’t give a flying f-ck about how great an actor/actress they are. I cannot be objective and separate their acting and political views. Cruise donates to the democratic facist party and plays both sides when it suits him. Their are few conservatives in the movie trade and I am careful about who is starring in certain flicks. and the other reason is some of the moola shmoola they make from box office receipts and salary goes to their democratic party. So F them.
Lets hope Cruise packed a diaper because when you get that age those g forces can cause one to have an accident.
I feel the need, the need for less bullshit.
I think he plays the leader of the school in this one. While the movie was terrible to anyone in the military (like a lot of military movies) it served as a great recruiting tool for people not in the military. Nothing like a fresh young high school kid trotting in and signing up as a “Aviation Boatswain’s Mate”
“Will I fly Jets?”
“Sure son, sure, you will be launching them off of air craft carriers in no time. Just sign right here.”
It’s a bit tougher to get away with that these days with the internet and five minutes of research. Not like someone would sign up for a four year commitment without doing five minutes of research.
I dunno…
I did that for three years…
You like to walk around int the woods, and you want to go to Alaska???
Well, son, we have a need for people like you in the new professional US Army !!!
11B, Ft Wainwright 1974-76…..
I am amazed big Navy did not look at the first one and say “Never Again!” But as 5JC posted above, I think this is only and all about possible recruitment. But considering the proportion of aviators to all other rates, some pumped up recruit will have a better chance of operating wheel chocks, than an aircraft.
I’ll never understand the cruise hate. Guy isn’t an obnoxious leftist asshole and does most of his own stunts including halo jumping for the next mission impossible movie. He doesn’t write the scripts.
Do we need another Rihanna battleship movie or the hurt locker 2? Haha seriously I can think of far worse actors playing military with equally cringe worthy movies.
I think it’s a combination of his asshole reputation, scientologist cult creepiness, and his penchant for taking roles that cast him as the World’s Most Dangerous Midget. Bottom line: I hate him.
That being said, I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Cruise as Les Grossman.
I’m willing to watch another Rihanna “Battleship” movie if she gets naked a few times. That way I can turn the volume off and ignore the stupidity while enjoying the eye candy.
Then you would love Edge of Tomorrow where Tom Cruise dies in a hundred different ways and plays a clueless PAO (public affairs officer).
Something to be pointed out is that when Top Gun first came out, it had mixed reviews. One of the more thoughtful ones, it might have been by Siskel and Ebert, suggested that even though the plot and dialogue tended to be lame, the film was worth seeing because of the spectacular aerial photography. Don’t wait until the home video version, the advice went. If you really wanted to get the full effect, you needed to park your butt in front of a theater wide-screen with Dolby sound.
And it was true. To this day, and even on a smaller screen, I can watch the opening Danger Zone deck sequence, and still consider it cinematography able to compensate for a lot of other flaws.
It’s probably also relevant that even though the film might be annoying to those in the Navy, it was both an effective recruiting tool and a commercial success. Consider, for example, that Top Gun was made with a budget of $15 million but generated more than $350 million in worldwide box office.
I have only one word for this:
Why?
Cash.
Not mine, that’s for goddamn sure.
The special effects of War of the Worlds was the best part of the movie.
His bull shit, the screaming kid and the dumbass teenager that was smarter than he was were the worst part.
If you fast forward through the bull shit and only watch the best parts, like the Flaming Amtrak, the first sight of the Tripods, the National Guard taking on the Tripods at the end you can watch the movie in less than 45 minutes and only see the good parts !!!
It’s no secret that Tom Snooze is a completely self-absorbed flying saucer-worshipping prick and I’m sure this flick will end up being “Top Dud”.
A lot of scenes could be shot with Stephanopoulos as a stand in.
A different sort of “top gun”:
Flowers for me? Oh honey you are so thoughtful.
Did you find anything you like at the gun show?
Just an old Army pistol dear.
https://www.gunauction.com/buy/14875678
Shiney!!!!
Waiting for the movie about the P-3 commiunity.
“Top Bunk”.
“Where IS that per diem check?!”
P-3 mottos- “Sic Semper Per Diem!” “Have check, will travel.” And a nod to my old crew, CAC-1 VP-49, “CAC-1 On Top At Home, and Abroad.”
*grin*
Years ago, there was an aircrewman whose name began with ZAK.
Anyway, a shipmate of his coined the word “ZAKNON.”
A Zaknon was the amount of time from when the wheels touched the runway until he knew what the per diem rate at that particular base.
It was lightning fast!
The guy used to deploy with boxes of tuna fish so he didn’t have to spend any of that precious per diem.
Cheap does not begin to describe him.
Didn’t see this until this morning; sorry that I’m getting in here late. First things first: AW1Ed, I hate you. Now that that’s out of the way, I can remember the Navy VF squadron pilots and RIOs who were at NAS Miramar when the first ‘Top Gun’ was filmed talking about what a complete tool Little Tommy was whenever they were around him. One of their favorite dumbass stunts that Little Tommy tried to pull was when Little Tommy thought that it would be a good idea to try to go into the NAS Miramar O’Club bar for Happy Hour on a Friday afternoon while wearing his movie costume (khakis with Naval Aviator wings, ribbons, and sunglasses). Needless to say, that didn’t play out very well for Little Tommy; the VF guys said that the real Naval Aviators and NFOs ran him out of there immediately with his tail between his legs. Apparently they’d already had enough of his I’m-gonna-play-dress-up-and-pretend-to-be-a-Tomcat-pilot Hollywood bullshit, and they weren’t going to let him pull that shit in their own O’Club bar. The first ‘Top Gun’ was ridiculous on so many levels that the sheer volume of stupid crap prohibits listing everything here. That said, some of my personal ‘Top Gun’ stupid shit faves were: – Pilots and RIOs wearing cowboy hats, sunglasses, and Walkman headphones in the Ready Room during pre-flight mission briefings. (Yeah, it would have been quite the show if anyone would have actually tried that in the mid-80s when the Vietnam-era Navy pilots and NFOs were still around.) – Always flying around in Navy tactical jet aircraft while looking cool with visors up and oxygen masks unhooked and flapping around. (– sigh –) – Navy LTs (O-3s) responding with ‘Yo!’ when addressed by a Navy Commander (O-5) squadron CO. (Again, that would have been a memorable moment for all concerned.) – Beach Volleyball. (‘Nuff said.) I could go on and on and on here, but I won’t, because if I did it would probably make AW1Ed and Atkron run screaming into the night, never to be seen or heard from again.… Read more »
I’ve heard that “Top Gun” was to Naval Aviation what “The Hurt Locker” was to EOD and “Backdraft” was to Firefighters.
Yup; pretty much.
Although it’s said that ‘Top Gun’ really did boost recruiting after it hit the theaters.
I don’t think “Backdraft” reached “Top Gun”’s critical-mass stupidity. Yes, it ran on bullshit, the special effects were obviously smoke-free propane, and extinguishers don’t work like hand grenades*, but you had Kurt Russell and Scott Glenn, and two scenes in the movie (firehouse lunch and the funeral) that actually were completely realistic to balance it out slightly. Plus there was no blatant gayness.
* There actually used to be a type of extinguisher that was supposed to work like a grenade. They’re called “glass grenades” and can occasionally be found in museum exhibits. The problem with them is that they don’t actually work, which is why they went out of style eighty years ago.
I remember seeing those glass grenade extinguishers in farmhouses and barns in the early 70’s, always seemed to be a really stupid idea. I think I heard something about them containing carbon tetrachloride or some other noxious shit.
Yep, Carbon Tet was the agent in them. actually an effective agent (and rather chemically similar to halon, though much more toxic), The toxicity was the biggest issue, when exposed to the heat of a fire (which one might expect to happen) it decomposed into Phosgene gas…”nough said..
I’m crushed, Mick. And here I was going to scare up tickets to the opener for you, so you and Tommy C could stroll down the red carpet together.
*grin*
PS, check the link to WATM posted above. Ward Carroll, a former F-14 NFO, chews the movie up minute-by-minute. It’s brutal.
I used to laugh my ass off at Ward Carroll’s ‘Brownshoes in Action Comix: The Kind Real Aviators Like’ that used to appear in the Naval Safety Center’s monthly ‘Approach’ magazine. The comic strip featured a notorious character called ‘Dangerboy’.
Sadly, I heard that ‘Approach’ is no longer being published by NAVSAFECEN. Too bad, because ‘Approach’ often contained some pretty good aviation safety gouge, not to mention some genuinely hair-raising stories about how Navy and Marine Corps aircrews who found themselves in extremis had saved their aircraft (and did so sometimes in spite of themselves).
“Approach” and “Naval Aviation News” featuring Grandpaw Pettybone were staples in every Wardroom and AW Shop in all my commands.
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/naval-aviation-news/grampaw-pettibone-collection/collection.html
Best way to learn is from other’s mistakes.
You are bringing back some long forgotten memories of reading material while standing the Balls to 0800 ASDO watch
My Thoughts on the whole Top Gun reboot pretty much line up with the other folks here.
However, I have a good reason to attend this shit show of a movie; it was a bonding moment with my oldest daughter, she was a huge fan of the movie, and, unfortunately a fan of of little mister Cruz.
She is 40 now, and darned excited about the prospect of going to see this freak show with her old man so how am I to deny her.
The thins we do for our kids.
Thins should read “things”
Save us all from Xenu Maverick!!
‘There is but One Intergalactic Overlord, and LRON is his prophet’
I will say this about Top Gun: it managed to portray – inaccurately – one of the greatest “black world” aerial insults in history. The incident occurred around 3 1/2 years prior to Top Gun’s release (fall of 1982).
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1xfea4/weekly_story_1_tales_of_the_black_bird_sr71_pilot/
Ben Rich’s book Skunk Works also includes the same tale, allegedly told by the pilot who flew the mission. The above account appears to be taken very nearly word-for-word from Rich’s book.
Yeah I saw Top Gun. And having grown up around aviators, I had a feeling that the finger scene had to be based on a real incident. I just didn’t find out the details until over a decade later. (smile)
Another tale of the SR-71.
“SR-71 – Overflight of France”
http://barthworks.com/aviation/aviation_sr71/sr71france/sr71france.htm
I believe that’s a different – and paraphrased – version of the same incident AW1Ed. The one in Rich’s book (which is effectively identical to the one I linked) was supposedly first-hand and from the pilot flying the aircraft during the incident.
No argument here, Hondo. It’s where “Sea Stories” and the like are born.
The math seems a little off on this. Top Gun came out in 1986 and featured Cruise’s character as an LT (O-3.) Even assuming he was a fairly cherry O-3, that would still put him in year group 1982 at the latest (I don’t know if a navy fighter pilot could go from 0-1 to 0-3 in 4 years, a super squared away Army officer could have, at that time.)
So, commissioned in 82 and still serving in 2017? Wouldn’t he have to be a flag officer to still be in at 35 years? At least a RADM and possibly a VADM?
Nah.
The way things are going now he would have been relived of command and canned.
After all, he lost that loving feeling….
Barring an extended break in service, you’re almost certainly correct. Per Federal law, officers who are not GOs/FOs are limited to 30 years commissioned service or less. I believe it’s 20/28/30 for O4/O5/O6, respectively.
However, given an extended (e.g., decade or longer) break in service it’s possible someone commissioned circa 1982 could be serving today as an O5 or O6.
Assuming he was commissioned right out of college at age 22 or 23, that would make the character roughly 58 or 59 today. Whether he’d be able to pass a flight physical and still fly while pushing 60 is another question.
Isn’t retirement from the military mandatory at 60 anyway?
Retirement is mandatory at age 62 for non-GO/FO officers other than service school Permanent Professors (who can serve until age 64). Those age limits are apparently specified in Federal law; the link below gives citations to the USC.
I also seem to remember that higher upper age limits apply for both Medical and Chaplain Corps officers. I believe those are 68 and 70, but I can’t remember which is which. The linked article doesn’t seem to address those.
http://dopma-ropma.rand.org/retirement-for-years-of-service.html
For active duty enlisted personnel, apparently the Army has recently changed the max retirement age from 55 to 62. Can’t speak for age policies of other services.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/army-changes-mandatory-retirement-separation-age-3976316
I’m sure Federal law specifies a max age for military enlisted personnel and warrant officers as well. However, I haven’t found the USC citations for those yet.
What is the PT test for those guys 62 and up?
The APFT stops at the 60th birthday. However, height / weight is still in effect.
They should let Kenny Loggins do the soundtrack again!
Naw…..Kenny G
E Magazine says, “Boy George has signed contract for sound track”. I can’t wait!
I seem to recall that Cruise repudiated all his gung-ho pro-military beliefs when he did the Oliver Stone movie “Born on the 4th of July.”
Was I wrong about that?
I thought the only Navy that Cruise supported was the Sea Org. 😀
For those that don’t know:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Org
Tom Snooze IS a Scientologist, maybe he DID get abducted by a UFO where he was anal probed so badly it gave him brain damage?
I hope they recreate the volleyball scene. Pilots, sweat, muscles, competition …
Fantabulously delicious!
Tom Cruise confirms he’ll play pilot of cargo plane hauling rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong in ‘Top Gun 2’
https://www.duffelblog.com/2017/05/tom-cruise-top-gun-2/
Maybe if Maverick and Goose screw up, then they will be flying a load of rubber Phildos in a cargo plane to China!