‘Top Gun’ is 40 years old, and to mark the occasion, key members of the film’s creative team are looking back at one of the most memorable stories behind its creation. The story involves a fighter jet, a phone booth and a very upset stomach, and has quickly become one of the most talked about revelations of the week’s anniversary.Speaking to The Guardian, Jack Epps Jr. screenwriter and producer Jerry Bruckheimer shared their memories of bringing Tom Cruise on board for the classic action drama, offering two slightly different but equally funny versions of the same unforgettable moment.
What happened when Tom Cruise took his first fighter jet trip
Epps recalled a group of U.S. Navy pilots taking Cruise for a spin in a fighter jet shortly before he committed to star in the film. The pilots, he said, did not know who Cruise was at the time. “They look at him, and they don’t know who Tom Cruise is,” Epps said. “They do what they like: they took it, they shook it, it shook itself, and it came out and said, ‘I love this.’ From that moment on, it was on.”Bruckheimer offered his version of the story, recalling that he personally arranged the flight after fighting to get Cruise to fully commit to the project. “We couldn’t quite commit, so I arranged to fly with the Blue Angels in El Centro, California,” he said. At the time, Cruise had long hair and a ponytail from his role in the 1985 film ‘Legend’, which caused backlash from the pilots. “He had long hair and a ponytail, and they saw this guy up and said, ‘We’re going to take this hippy for a real ride.’‘”Bruckheimer added: “Sure enough they did, and he got off the plane, went to a phone booth, because there were no cell phones at the time, and called me and said, ‘I’m in.'”
Tom Cruise had already decided to make the film
In fact, Cruise had already made up his mind before the flight took place. On ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ in 2016, he revealed that he decided to star in ‘Top Gun’ after his first meeting with Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott, but wanted to use his commitment to secure a ride with the Blue Angels.“I said to my agent, ‘I’m going to do this movie, but don’t tell Jerry I want to do this movie because I want to fly with the Blue Angels,'” he said. “You have to work for these things, you know? I’m a businessman.” He also confirmed what happened in the air. “I threw up on the Blue Angels,” he told Jimmy Kimmel.
Cruise took the pilot on that famous flight
Blue Angels pilot Curt ‘Griz’ Watson previously shared an account of his flight in 2023 in a video interview. “We put 7 in the back of the jet, and I took it out. We basically did some rolls and loops,” he said. “I let the plane fly for a while.” Watson also confirmed that Cruise called Bruckheimer directly after he landed. “My understanding was that he got back from the flight and went straight to a phone booth and called the producer and said, ‘I’ll do it.’‘”Watson added that he later received a personal note from Cruise. “I got a nice letter from him saying, ‘Thanks for the trip, I appreciate it.’ And something to say, ‘He really helped me develop my characters for the movie.'”Starting May 16, ‘Top Gun’ and its sequel ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ are celebrating the 40th anniversary in cinemas around the world.
