A person might think that getting fired once is bad enough, but getting fired from the same job three times is something that might make a lot of people think that they’re cursed in some way. In Tony Scott’s case, it might have been even worse since the fact that he was fired three times while working on Top Gun, one of the most influential and popular movies of its time, is enough to think that anyone might think twice before hiring him on again. Obviously that wasn’t the case, but the reasons he was canned were a bit petty to be certain, especially since there didn’t appear to be a lot of compromises. But when a boss says to do a job one way and the director does it a different way there’s going to be a clash, and the winner is usually going to be the one that has more clout and more authority.
In this case, it wasn’t Tony since the first time he was fired had to do with the manner in which he was filming the movie, which wasn’t how the higher-ups wanted it to be. When he tried to play a little sleight of hand by shooting in his own style and then in the style that was desired it was easy to think it could have worked. The only problem was that the wrong roll was sent out to be reviewed, and he was canned not too long after. The second time was over how he made the female lead in the movie appear, and the third had to do with the visors being pulled down and obscuring the features of the actors. All of these sound rather petty when they’re said aloud, but when working with a studio it’s easy to think that the director isn’t going to win an argument unless they have an enormous amount of pull. Amazingly though, Tony was brought back in to finish the movie and wasn’t fired again, which is a plus.
One would think on a movie set there might be more compromise between the director and the studio, but apparently that’s not always the case since being fired three different times for different issues is something that one would think is some kind of record. Even if it’s not, being hired four different times, with three of them being a rehire after being terminated, might make a person lose a bit of faith in the studio at the very least. But somehow Top Gun was finished and released and became one of the most sought-after movies in the world. In fact, it was one of those that really helped to make Tom Cruise the star that he would one day become since it was a huge boost to his reputation.
Top Gun: Maverick is still being waited on in the theaters and people are hoping that it won’t continue to be delayed again and again since it would appear that theaters are opening up again and are getting ready to welcome people back in. Like many movies, it was moved back thanks to the pandemic, but a lot of fans are getting excited to see Maverick return to the big screen again. This time around it’s likely that there weren’t that many problems surrounding the director and the insane demands of the studio that came the first time, but it’s easy to think that there are always elements of the story that are going to be a little problematic now and then. So long as the director and the studio can iron them out though, there’s usually no problem.
It is interesting to think about whether or not Tony Scott ever entertained the thought of saying no when the studio hired him back again since the kind of abuse that people can take on a movie set makes it feel as though some folks would rather just avoid it altogether and find other work elsewhere. It’s likely far more complicated than being hired back to a regular job that pays by the hour but it does feel as though there’s a lot more to deal with and definitely more to consider when it comes to stepping back on set and resuming control once again. At least it would appear that Tony was considered to be the best man for the job, even if he didn’t always feel like stepping in line and doing what the studio wanted him to do. There are moments of rebellion in every job to be certain and while it’s not always desired it’s definitely still important since it’s better to have free-thinking individuals working in positions of authority than mindless drones that will simply do what they’re told. Of course, there are differing opinions on this, but that’s a discussion for another time.
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