It’s due to be one of the biggest Hollywood films of the year.
But there were no celebrations during the making of Top Gun: Maverick as the cast and crew were banned from boozing.
Lead actor Tom Cruise whipped the cast into action with rigorous schedules to ensure they completed their own stunts.
Co-star Miles Teller says: “There were days after a tough shoot I could have really used a couple of beers… but you just don’t want to be flying at those speeds hungover.”
A source adds: “On most sets, the cast and crew socialise and go drinking but on Top Gun, they were told to keep partying to a minimum.”
Teller admits that he made one exception for a wedding, adding: “The next day I had flight training in 100C heat. That was rough.”
Cruise, who starred in the original Top Gun film in 1986, was in charge of the production visuals and was keen to push the boundaries and make his on-screen fighter pilots as “authentic” as possible.
The Hollywood superstar insisted the actors received fighter pilot training, as well as in-depth technical lessons on how to film, light and edit footage taken from 4K cameras inside their cockpits.
Cruise wanted special effects to remain off the table, saying fans would see on screen “the G-force is real… it’s not a computer-generated image, it is actually the actors. The aerial footage is beautiful. It is a love letter to aviation”.
Cruise says putting the film’s talent through flight training let him check they could withstand the pressure and filming needs. He reveals: “I told them, it’s daunting and if you’re not sweating bullets you should not be on this film.”
The US star made sure that “impossible” missions for the stars would become reality, even though they would vomit for their art – with critics hailing it as the greatest air force film ever.
Co-star Greg Tarzan Davis adds: “It’s a lot of money and a lot of pressure of ‘Don’t f*** this up’. One time we started the jet and I was sick immediately – but I had to power through it.” Delightful.
