Top Gun

:This is an article about a movie. For the US Navy Fighter Weapons School or the US Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI) course see TOPGUN. For the Nintendo game, see Top Gun (video game).

Trivia

• Goose's real name, Nick Bradshaw, is never spoken in the film (even by his wife and son); it can only be seen (briefly) on his and Maverick's fighter jet, on his flightsuit's name badge, and on his dog tags as Maverick throws them into the ocean.
• Christopher Blair's callsign in the computer game Wing Commander III was originally intended to be "Falcon" but was later changed to "Maverick" as in homage to Top Gun. In addition, a character in the first Wing Commander game had the callsign of "Iceman".
• The romantic comedy Sleep With Me (1994) includes a sequence in which a character, played by Quentin Tarantino, describes in detail his theory that Top Gun has a gay subtext. The sequence was written by Roger Avary.
• Top Gun is also the name of a popular ride at several Paramount Parks (a Vekoma SLC and Arrow Suspended)
• Bryan Adams was approached to allow his song "Only the Strong Survive" on the soundtrack. He refused because he felt the film glorified war and he didn't want any of his work linked to it.
• Several aerial stunts were performed by Scott Altman, who would later become a NASA astronaut and Shuttle commander.
• Aerial cameraman and pilot Art Scholl was killed during filming when his Pitts S-2 failed to recover from an inverted spin and plunged into the Pacific Ocean. The movie is dedicated to him.
• 2 Uncredited actors: Adam & Aaron Weis (Twins) alternated performing as Goose's son.
• Throughout the film 'enemy' fighters are named as MiG-28s. This designation was never used for a fighter aircraft; both the hostile jets and training adversaries were actually repainted Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs for the single seat jets and T-38 Talon for the Twin Seat Jets.
• Not only did the US Navy supply vehicles and equipment for the film, they used its success by having recruitment booths in some theatres to lure outgoing patrons.
• "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (which is played during the Maverick and Charlie love scene) received the Best Song Oscar in 1987. The film was also nominated for three Oscars in that year for Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.