A new book by a former real-life Top Gun pilot reveals that any time a pilot quotes from the iconic 1986 movie, they incur a $5 fine. The Tony Scott movie, starring Tom Cruise as Maverick, Val Kilmer as Iceman, Anthony Edwards as Goose, Kelly McGillis as Charlie and Tom Skerritt as Viper, was released in 1986 and became an instant hit. It made $356 million and was hailed for its exciting flying sequences and action-packed plot (including, for some reason, an extended volleyball game) that pits Cruise's hero against his rivals in the Navy's top fighter pilot training school. It was also famous for its classic 1980s soft rock soundtrack that spawned many hits, including "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins.
Top Gun remains popular to this day, and the sequel Top Gun: Maverick, directed this time by Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Oblivion), hits theaters in 2021 after being delayed from its summer 2020 slot by the coronavirus pandemic. The sequel is much-anticipated, not only because of the incredibly flying action seen in the trailer but also because of hopes that it will match the original for sheer quotability. The movie contains several classic quotes, with the best-known, including "I have the need...The need for speed!" and "Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash!" But a new book says that real fighter pilots in the Top Gun program are forbidden from using those quotes.
Insider reports that Guy Snodgrass, a former Top Gun instructor and fighter pilot, says in his book TOPGUN's Top 10: Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit that any fighter pilot caught quoting the movie while they're in the program is fined $5. Snodgrass says it's because pilots are expected to take the real institution seriously and are seen as making light of the experience when they quote Top Gun. The fines are a way to ensure the quotes aren't thrown around too liberally, though he admits most pilots fall foul of the law at least once. You can read his explanation below:
I think that's [watching Top Gun] where my real true initial love for naval aviation started. I loved the flying scenes. It was exciting. I felt myself going, "Man, if I could ever do that, it would be a dream come true." Looking back on the action film as someone who had the opportunity to serve as a Navy fighter pilot, the movie had such an impact on most of our lives. [But] when you get to Top Gun, because it is such a professional organization and you want to emphasize that you are at the top of your game, that it's about professionalism, about good leadership, you don't turn Top Gun into a joke by referencing the movie. So, it is a part of our bylaws that if someone overtly references the movie — it could be a direct quote, it could be something that is really close to a direct quote — that's an automatic $5 fine. And it's enforced. And you are expected to pay right then. You pull out your wallet and pay the $5. I think at some point we were all fined because it's so ingrained in our aviation culture.
It's a reversal of the classic trope of movies being inspired by real life. In this case, Top Gun has gone full circle, being inspired by real-life and, in turn, inspiring young pilots so much that they are guilty of quoting from it too much. You can understand the reasoning behind the fines, though. Instructors must surely get tired of hearing the same old cheesy lines over and over, and if a $5 penalty helps stop that, then it's worth it.
For pilots, though, the temptation must be great, and it's because the original Top Gun does have some classics, no matter how cheesy they may seem after hearing them hundreds of times. Hopefully, the long-anticipated Top Gun: Maverick can inject the same sense of fun and excitement into its dialogue and keep the tradition of endlessly quotable scenes alive, even if it's unlikely to have the same impact as the original.
Source: Insider
