You can usually tell how old a person is by their reaction to the name Peter Pettigrew. People born in the 90s or later would usually tell you it’s the name of a character from the Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling. Those who were born earlier might know Pettigrew as an aviation superstar.
Peter (‘Viper’) Pettigrew is a former Navy pilot and a Top Gun instructor. He fought in the Vietnam War, during which he shot down a MiG. The man was a technical consultant for the filmmakers and even had a short cameo as Charlie’s date.
A VHS First Was Sold Alongside Top Gun
When the "Top Gun" VHS was released in 1987, Paramount Studios imagined that it would allow them to earn extra cash while selling the movie to Blockbuster and other movie rental companies at a discount.
The VHS release of "Top Gun" was the first VHS to feature an official commercial before the movie. Paramount Pictures, which produced the film, made a deal with Pepsi. They agreed to include a commercial for the brand's diet soda before the opening credits. Before the movie started, Diet Pepsi had a 60-second "Top Gun" inspired commercial. The "Top Gun" movie was sold for $3 less per copy, an affordable price of $26.95, because of the extra money the movie studio earned from PepsiCo.
It Cost More Money to Make the Charlie Sheen Parody
With a cast that was still up and coming, the most expensive part of "Top Gun" was the $10,000 per hour jet fighter rental fee. It cost just $15 million to film the movie and that included Tom Cruise’s salary of $2 million. In comparison, Charlie Sheen’s "Top Gun" parody "Hot Shots!" cost $26 million to film. The 1991 comedy film is a parody of "Top Gun" alongside other popular movies.
While "Top Gun" wasn't initially a big success, "Hot Shots" debuted at number one in the U.S. and was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $180 million worldwide. It also holds an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes compared with the 54% rating that "Top Gun" has on the same site.
An Improvised Kiss
You know that scene where Charlie chases Maverick's motorcycle with her convertible and drives like a crazy person because he wouldn't let her finish her sentence? That same scene that ends in her telling him she is falling for him? That same scene in which they have their first kiss? That one.
Well, as it turns out, that kiss was totally off-script. In fact, Cruise had a line to say at this point but he simply forgot what it was and just kissed McGillis instead. The director loved it and decided to keep the scene that way.
Staying Alive
How is John Travolta related to Top Gun? Well, you know many names were in line for grasping the role of Maverick. Apparently, the "Saturday Night Fever" star was in line too. Could you imagine Travolta playing the role? Neither can we.
This idea of Travolta playing Maverick crumbled down as soon as the production team realized that hiring him would cost them much more than initially anticipated.