Welcome to the DANGER ZONE!

May 13th is Top Gun Day.  What kid in the 80’s didn’t want to be a fighter pilot after watching Top Gun?  Every kid (and adult) wanted to be Maverick (Tom Cruise) and everyone thought Ice Man (Val Kilmer) was a PITA. “Maverick, it’s not your flying, it’s your attitude.”  No, Iceman, it’s YOUR attitude.  Top Gun grossed over 356 million on a budget of 15 million.  Check out our rundown of Top Gun‘s best moments, check out the movie trailer for the NEW Top Gun: Maverick and some cool Top Gun facts you may not be aware of…

After 36 years, Top Gun returns with a LONG AWAITED sequel, Maverick. Tom Cruise returns as Maverick to teach the new hotshots all about how to not be a hotshot like him. Remember in Top Gun, when they said anyone that gets the “Top Gun” award can come back to teach at the Top Gun school? It’s happening.  Maverick is in theaters on May 27th.  Check out the trailer:

Here are some facts (via smoothradio.com) about Top Gun you may have not known:

• 1. John Travolta?

  You hear this all the time, a movie’s lead was supposed to be someone else that you just couldn’t imagine in that role. And in the case of Top Gun,  John Travolta was initially approached. But John turned it down.  I can’t imagine John Travolta as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.  I also can’t imagine Tom Cruise as Danny Zuko or Vincent Vega.

  

• Tom Cruise said, "No' too?

  What? But he’s in the movie! Tom turned down the role at first and they turned to numerous other actors including Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Scott Baio and Tom Hanks. Jerry Bruckheimer convinced Tom by getting him up on a plane. “So they (the Navy) take Tom up there, and they do five Gs. They do barrel rolls, they do everything. He’s heaving in the plane. He gets on the tarmac, runs to a payphone … and he said, ‘I’m in. I’m doing the movie. I love it. This is great.'”

  

• Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise were not friends on set

  Even though they have no animosity towards each other now, the actors did have a poor relationship on the set. Val Kilmer, who had been working with method acting, REALLY acted as if he did not like Tom which created a realistic attitude between them. 

   

• CGI? No thank you!

  Top Gun was filmed way before Hollywood was able to create dinosaurs that you could touch, deceased actors recreated, and monsters that express themselves like actual actors. They had to use real stuff… like jets.  The total cost of the usage of actual jets cost Paramount over 1.8 million dollars. And in some cases, they even wrote checks on hand just to maneuver ships into different angles for better shots.

• Academy Award

  Top Gun won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Originally written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, the two writers gave the song, ‘Take My Breath Away,‘ to Berlin singer, Terri Hunn, after they heard her tragic take on the song. 

• DANGER ZONE!

  What song gets you pumped more? Toto, Reo Speedwagon and Bryan Adams were approached to work on Danger Zone but all declined for various reasons. It was Kenny Loggins who turned it into a serious powerhouse of a song. 

• Wanna be one of the first to see Maverick?

  Top Gun Movie Screening and Dinner!
  Monday, May 23rd, 2022
  MJR Troy at 7pm

  After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
  

  This is your chance to win a pair of movie passes to see this long-awaited Tom Cruise film at a special screening of Top Gun: Maverick on May 23rd at MJR Troy at 7pm. And that’s not all… you’ll also win a $50 Applebee’s gift card. Who would say no to dinner and a movie? Enter below and you’ll be in the running to win!  Good luck!

  ENTER NOW

  Contest details: For this contest, enter between 3:00pm on 5/10/22 and 3:00pm on 5/13/22, by visiting WCSX.com and completing the online entry form. Station will randomly select winner(s) on 5/16/22 and upon verification, will receive a pair of movie passes to Top Gun: Maverick and a $50 Applebee’s Gift Card. The Approximate Retail Value (ÒARVÓ) is $TBD. Up to ONE (1) prize winner will be selected as described. Courtesy of WCSX. You must be 18 years or older to enter. WCSX’s General Contest Rules apply and are available by clicking HERE.

• Why is May 13th Top Gun Day?

  Top Gun was released on May 16th, 1986, but May 16th is, ironically, Iron Eagle Day (Does anyone remember that movie?).  Iron Eagle was released in January of 1986.  The subject matter of the movie is similar to Top Gun, but the movie was nowhere near as successful.  Unfortunately, Iron Eagle Day was established before Top Gun Day, so instead of May 16th, we celebrate Top Gun Day on May 13th. #ripoff

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