When the original “Top Gun” movie debuted in 1986, the blockbuster led to a major increase in Navy recruiting – apparently a whopping 500%.
“I don’t know if that number is accurate, but I’ll tell you it’s definitely had an effect on recruiting if only one guy, which is me,” captain Brian Ferguson, 53, told The Post. “I saw the movie, I thought it looked like the most exciting job in the world. And it is.”
After college, Ferguson, whose favorite characters were Maverick and Iceman, joined the Navy and then took Top Gun’s adversary training course.
It is therefore fitting that at the twilight of his military career and after 28 years of piloting in the Navy, he lands the concert of his life: the technical adviser to the Navy on “Top Gun: Maverick”, which hits theaters today. today.
“It’s funny because they didn’t order me to do it, they asked me to do it. I turned it down multiple times,” Ferguson said, citing family and work commitments. But eventually, the job was his and his wife convinced him to take it. “I was indifferent to the job, which I think was attractive to the Navy because there was no fear that I would be taken with Hollywood.”
After all, among Ferguson’s many duties on set was ensuring that the values, integrity and interests of the military branch were represented. He was also responsible for ensuring that equipment was undamaged, cast and crew were safe, and flight scenes were performed as authentically as possible.
“We were using real airplanes. It’s dynamic and technical,” the San Diego resident said.
At first, Ferguson said he would sit down with the creative team, including Tom Cruise, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Kevin LaRosa II. They walked through scenes and Ferguson applied his aviation expertise to make their vision as close to reality as possible.
“It was essential that nothing bad happened during filming. If we got too aggressive, damaged a taxpayer asset or killed someone, then all the things we hoped we had accomplished would have been erased in an instant,” said said Ferguson, who said the team used “tactics that are viable and usable in the real world.” [used] in battle. The surface-to-air scene is extremely realistic.
But when it comes to dogfighting, they had to tweak a few things.
“The dogfights in these planes are not within 100 feet of each other. We’re going so fast, the planes are a mile or a mile and a half apart. If you try to film two planes a mile apart, no one will watch that.
Ferguson admits there was creative license. Bruckheimer, he said, “Told me, ‘I appreciate your passion for realism about this, however, if it’s all entirely realistic, it’s going to be a documentary and that’s not what we’re looking for.'”
He noted that Paramount reimbursed the Navy for any fuel or expenses. “It cost us nothing. Paramount refunded taxpayers and every penny was returned to the treasury. But we did it for recruitment and retention.
And when it came to filming, actors weren’t spared the realism of flight.
They took a months-long course designed by LaRosa and Cruise, whom Ferguson calls “a very experienced pilot” to acclimatize to G-force and the other physical demands of flying in an F-18. And Ferguson coordinated a Navy survival course where actors were dragged through water, dived upside down blindfolded, and forced out of an enclosed space.
“If you have to eject or a plane goes down, we need to know you can get out safely, and God forbid,” Ferguson said, adding that training is “very difficult, it is intimidating and not fun. [The cast] did well.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Only his perception of Tinseltown.
“They ruined my stereotype of Hollywood. It was a negative stereotype. Everyone was so down to earth and kind,” said Ferguson, who even ended up with a line in the film.
And that led to more work on film sets for the F-18 expert. He was technical adviser on the aircraft carrier for the upcoming Korean war film “Devotion,” based on Adam Makos’ book of the same name and starring Glen Powell. In “Maverick”, Powell plays Hangman, an arrogant and obnoxious pilot who is the spiritual successor to Val Kilmer’s Iceman in the original.
“It’s funny because Glen is the nicest person you’ll ever meet in your life,” Ferguson said.
Does he think recruiting history will repeat itself once audiences see the thrilling sonic boom of a movie?
“I absolutely do. There will be a lot of people wearing white t-shirts, jeans and green jackets…There will be a 22 year old girl who is looking to become a chemical engineer and see Phoenix [played by Monica Barbaro]who is an amazing character and wants to be a Navy pilot.
And he hopes it will shine a light on his brave colleagues as well.
“The real heroes of this film are the men and women on the ships that are deployed. They are away from their families and do dangerous things all over the world every day. »
