The OG Top Gun Wasn’t Filmed in Real JetsWhen you reflect on the 1980s, you remember a much simpler time. Cell phones were not yet in everyone’s pocket. There wasn’t high definition. And Top Gun star Tom Cruise was the only actor on the original movie set that didn’t vomit in the seat of a Navy fighter jet. This made Jerry Bruckheimer’s job as producer of the original Top Gun difficult. He couldn’t film a scene where his faux fighter pilots didn’t vomit and then sit back with their eyes rolling back and a green tint on their faces.
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He had to do the one thing he wasn’t interested in doing. He had to move the movie to Los Angeles and film on a soundstage. He wasn’t a fan of it, but the movie did well. It did more than well. The movie was a smashing success, but a sequel was never an option. Why? Bruckheimer wasn’t making a sequel if he had to do it on a soundstage. He wanted authenticity. He wanted real actors in real jets flying in the natural air. Fast forward to 2022.
What Kind Of Training Was Involved in Top Gun Maverick?
In Top Gun Maverick, Miles Teller and Tom Cruise had to be believable. They had to be Navy fighter pilots. There was no room in the script for anyone to fake it. They were training. They were becoming fighter pilots, and this movie would be shot in the air. When Bruckheimer decided a sequel was in the cards, he worked to convince Tom Cruise to go through with it. After all, there is no Top Gun Maverick without Maverick. When Tom Cruise was on board, he decided training was a requirement. He came up with the plans, and he did it based on his piloting experience.
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Before anyone was cast in the movie, they had to sign paperwork saying they’d learn to fly. It wouldn’t be easy, but these people would learn to fly a real jet and go through extensive pilot training. They were all unafraid – except they were likely afraid – and they did it. Months and months and months of hard work and dedication were required. From single-engine Cessna work to being inside aerobatic planes to the ultimate F-18. It was two years of training condensed by Tom Cruise. The actors had three months. Talk about intense.
What Happened to Miles Teller’s Health During Training?
In Top Gun Maverick, Miles Teller had a rough go during training. He visited the doctor, who told him that training had a profound effect on his body. His doctor found trace amounts of jet fuel in Teller’s blood. In Top Gun Maverick, Miles Teller trained so hard that he had jet fuel in his bloodstream. His blood also had flame retardant, and his body broke out in hives. He was ill; that was only his first jaunt in a jet. Thankfully, he pulled through, and he made it work.
It’s difficult to imagine Top Gun Maverick without Miles Teller in the lead role alongside Tom Cruise, so fans are happy to hear that he was able to get his health in order and pull through. Of course, no one knew at the time that he was so sick. When filming the movie, he made flying a jet look so easy that anyone could do it. Anyone can do it if they’re willing to spend three months training extensively with Tom Cruise after signing an intense waiver. All in the name of making a great movie, right? It seems Tom Cruise knows how it is done, and he’s leading by example.
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