By Jason Apuzzo. New York Magazine’s Vulture blog is becoming the place for scoops these days, and today they’ve got a whopper. Apparently Larry Ellison’s son David wants to finance a reteaming of Tom Cruise (in a limited, cameo-esque role), Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer on a Top Gun sequel. The screenwriter on this would apparently be Oscar-winner Christopher McQuarrie, who just wrote The Tourist and also wrote Valkyrie for Cruise. As a side note, David Ellison is currently helping to finance Cruise’s Mission: Impossible 4.
I think this is a great idea, if executed properly. For those of you who weren’t around back then, Top Gun was the the movie from the 80s that romanticized American military life (without having to demonize any particular enemy nation). I personally know a guy who, I strongly suspect, was pulled into life in Naval aviation – and beach volleyball – at least in part due to this film. And who could blame him? Between the girls, the Kawasakis and the volleyball, it painted a pretty appealing picture of serving your country while flying jets in San Diego. [Whatever happened to Berlin, by the way?]
If it isn’t already obvious, folks, the 80s are mounting a major comeback these days – with Obama’s indirect help, I strongly suspect. A Wall Street sequel just came out; even Back to the Future is getting re-released this month, for goodness sake.
As a side note here: this is the Tom Cruise I miss, the guy in the shades on the motorcycle flying jets for his country – not the couch-jumping oddity we’ve come to know.
Obviously we’ll be keeping an eye on this one. Fun footnote here: years ago when I was in high school I was hanging out on the Paramount lot one day while Tony Scott was in post-production on one of his films. His Kawasaki – the one Cruise rides in the film – was parked in the lot. When nobody was looking, I hopped on. 🙂 Awesome.
I’ve just got to know just one thing about this sequel: will they be bringing back Iceman?
Posted on October 14, 2010 at 10:57am.
You’re 100% correct in saying this was THE movie of the 80’s about military and even the greatness of America. Even as a child, I can specifically remembering that this movie made me want to go out and plant a big ole Red, White and Blue in my front yard. I played the NES videogame for an eternity (those refueling planes were a royal pain) just to pretend I was Maverick and I’m not even too ashamed to say I teared up a little during the movie. Oh, you know that part! That moment was my generation’s Old Yeller moment.
The even more amazing thing about these 80’s movies is that none of them could ever rightfully be considered “great.” They aren’t AFI frontrunners, but they hold dear places in our hearts because of their portrayal of American exceptionalism. Now imagine movies with this passion and emotion for our country but produced with a Citizen Kane level of quality. That may be a dream, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who shares it.
Shin, man, you’re completely right about this film. I can’t even say that I watch the film any more, but it’s an important part of my emotional make-up, of how I view the world. That’s what movies can do, frankly. I wish more conservatives would wrap their head around that – or maybe their hearts.
Exactly right and a much more apt description of what I was trying to say. They do become a part of the very fiber of your being. I am with you, I honestly can’t understand why more conservatives don’t embrace this idea. I had a project on the Naval weapons base on Coronado Island out in San Diego and I passed an aircraft carrier, the first I had ever seen up close and I immediately felt the need for speed. Once on the base, I was even more awestruck. And this was when I was in my late 20’s, not some fresh faced, short attention spanned teenager who was enraptured by missiles and big guns. But those were pretty cool! You should support movies that have that effect not only for the political ramifications of having someone locked into an admiration of military or a general conservative mindset, but just for the joy that it provides and the admiration it engenders for all troops.
Sorry, got so lost in nostalgia that I never found my way to talking about the potential sequel.
The only way it really works is if they take the exact same tact as with the original. The largest threat currently facing our country is something that really isn’t able to be fought effectively with fighter jets. Perhaps they could work a storyline with terrorist hijacking a plane or something if they wanted to but that doesn’t sound like a very good idea nor one a Hollywood studio would take on. So the only solution is to keep the enemy a nameless, faceless entity which also provides the studios from taking any heat over failing to tackle terrorism. Additionally, I’d like to see some reference given to the fact that the current threat isn’t in the air, maybe a comment or two from Tom Cruise, who I assume will be the flight instructor, about how he can’t get top shelf talent anymore with their diminished role.
As for the cast, good luck with that. I’m not sure you could find a collection of young actors who could pull off the same confidence-in-their-own-skills act believably enough to carry the film like Cruise and Kilmer or even to provide that tough guy instructor from James Tolkan. I think Cruise will be able to pull off the Tom Skerritt role though, if in fact, that’s his part in the film.
All great comments, Shin. One interesting footnote: I notice that for Sam Raimi’s proposed Earth Defense Force he apparently wants to start the film off with our guys tangling with Chinese fighter jets. I’m thinking Taiwan would provide an interesting pretext for Top Gun-style aerial combat …
As far as our fellow conservatives go, I don’t even know where to begin on that subject. At some point down the line I will really cut loose on that topic, but that’s a ways off …
I’m glad you and I disagreed on “Inception” because I find myself on the same side of almost every other stance you take — especially this.
I would love a “Top Gun” sequel, but — especially being as you put it “THE movie from the ’80s” — it HAS to remain true to the elements that made it great: patriotism, service, and individuality.
That’s a no-brainer, but the tricky part is that now the sequel HAS to advance the themes. What gets a little overlooked in “Top Gun” is that it’s weighted in real-life conflict. The struggle for air superiority was a major element in the Cold War.
My ideas would be to work in the space element, because clearly influence over satellites and space-based defense platforms are the center of global conflicts now. Drones would also have to play a large part.
If I were to start writing the screenplay, I would look no further than Poland and how the Obama administration has completely turned its back on that country by withdrawing so many missile-defense systems. Israel and Iran would be another option.
There’s a lot that can be done here, so let’s cross our fingers that the sequel won’t have Maverick as a naval-gazing, hand-wringing leftist that’s feeling guilty about being a tool for American imperialism.
Thanks, Vince. Whatever they end up doing, the key thing here is clearly respect for the material – and the impact that it had on a lot of people who got jazzed about serving their country in the military.