In order to unite the cast and promote comradeship, the cast was actually encouraged to hang out together. This hanging out included long nights of partying during the San Diego-area shoot. Val Kilmer mentions in the film’s DVD commentary that he recalls it being a giant weekend.
San Diego is a stunning city that offers a ton of different hot spots such as beaches, a thriving downtown area, and hundreds upon hundreds of beach town bars, restaurants, and dance floors where a good time is guaranteed. The cast for sure had a blast off-set.
The $25,000 Change of Course
Cinematographer Tony Scott and his crew spent several days on board the USS Enterprise (hey, different movie!) filming aircraft as they landed and took off from the aircraft carrier while on an operational cruise. Scott wanted to capture some of the aircraft back-lit by the sun, but the ship had to change course before he could get all his shots in.
So, Scott approached the captain of the ship and asked him to turn the ship back around. The captain informed him that it would cost him $25,000 to change their route. Scott did what any great cinematographer with a vision would do; he wrote a check for $25,000 right on the spot. He was then able to capture the required shots over a period of five minutes. Imagine that — five minutes for twenty-five thousand dollars! Just a mere $5,000 per minute. Well, the decision was clearly a wise one.
Mighty Mishaps
The U.S. Navy was involved in the script and cockpit talk to make the film as realistic as possible. Apparently, not even that can prevent inaccuracies from popping up and the film contains several outright wrongs when it comes to jet flight and the U.S. Navy. The website The Mighty records a shameful 79 errors in the film.
For starters, there is no such thing as the Top Gun trophy. Another error is in the title of the movie itself, Topgun is actually one word. A pilot showing up to a flight brief wearing a cowboy hat would have his or her wings pulled on the spot. Maverick “hits the brakes” by forward pushing the throttles, which would increase power, not decrease it. Although the character of Goose says “[expletive], we got a flameout. Engine 1 is out” the RIO has no engine instruments in the rear cockpit of the F-14.
A Killer Soundtrack
"The Danger Zone" was almost performed by a different artist instead of Kenny Loggins. "Top Gun's" director, Jerry Bruckheimer approached soundtrack producer Giorgio Moroder to write him a song for the scene of planes landing on the ship in the ocean. Moroder composed the song "Danger Zone" along with songwriter Tom Whitlock. Columbia Records wanted "Danger Zone" performed by an artist signed to the label.
Kenny Loggins had already a slew of great successes with soundtracks, including an Academy Award nomination for the popular soundtrack to the 1984 movie "Footloose" starring Kevin Bacon. After the release of Loggins's single "Danger Zone", "Top Gun" album sales exploded, selling 7 million in the United States alone. For a greater part of the 80s and 90s, Loggins was known as the Soundtrack King.
Don't Forget the Music Video
The music video for "Danger Zone" was released in May 1986 with the intention of promoting "Top Gun" by featuring dramatic clips from the movie. However, the U.S. Navy unintentionally reaped benefits along the way. The U.S. Navy said of the video that it was “the most effective recruiting poster ever produced.”
But, the music video wasn't the only way in which the Navy attracted new recruits. They also set up booths outside of theaters in order to encourage moviegoers to join the Navy. It worked! When recruiters talked to applicants, about 90% of them said they had seen the movie. In its 1987 "Join the Navy" commercial, The Navy also brought in “Danger Zone” —sounding music and Top Gun-esque shots.