Top Gun Exposed: Onset Secrets They Didn’t Want Out

The Participation of the U.S. Navy

The scriptwriters and the producers wanted the U.S. Navy to be heavily involved in the making of the film, and they were. The U.S. Navy particularly held influence in the approval of the script, which had many permeations. One immediate alteration was that the opening dogfight was moved to international waters as opposed to Cuba.

The salty language of the jet pilots was toned down. A scene that involved a crash on the deck of an aircraft carrier was completely removed from the film. Many Top gun pilots and assistants were instrumental in creating much of the cockpit dialogue heard in the film.

The $25,000 Course Change

Cinematographer Tony Scott and his crew spent some days onboard USS Enterprise (hey, different movie!) shooting aircraft as they landed and took off from the aircraft carrier while on an operational cruise. Scott wanted to shoot some of the aircraft backlit by the sun, but the ship had to change course before he could get all his shots in.

Scott then asked the captain to turn the ship back around, but he was quickly informed it would cost a ridiculous $25,000 to alter their route. Scott apparently wrote a check for the twenty-five grand on the spot, and then was able to grab the required shots over a tiny period of five minutes. Five minutes for twenty-five thousand dollars!