Citation Press is proud to announce Top Gun Memos is a 2023 BIBA® Non-Fiction: Movie History Winner! Top Gun Memos is the definitive book on the making and legacy of the movie, Top Gun , released in 1986. Praise for Top Gun Memos Top Gun's journey from a magazine article to a film is epic. Stars, F-14s, soundtrack and "need for speed" movie lines made Top Gun a box-office blockbuster, but the art and dazzling moviemaking behind it is a powerful tour-de-force for storytelling. - Michael Sean Comerford, author of American OZ: An Astonishing Year Inside Traveling Carnivals at State Fairs & Festivals . Jordan has worked a writing miracle ... she has somehow made a detailed story of how a movie was made into a tale as captivating as the movie itself. Top Gun Memos is an addictive read that includes lots of famous names for movie lovers. - David Wallace, author of the national bestseller Lost Hollywood , five other books about the film, and a memoir, I Called Him Uncle Harry. Fans of Top Gun will be in heaven learning all about it with this book. Jordan offers a complete walk-through of the making of a film that became an instant classic. Her writing provides detail of every day's work in a way that provides an education to the layperson without talking down to the reader. A fascinating read. - Matt Hurwitz, Entertainment Journalist. Top Gun Memos does more than tell the story of the popular Top Gun movie, it explains why we're still talking about it today. It also breaks news, which is unusual for a thirty-five year old movie, but not surprising given Jordan's background as an investigative journalist. Written in an engaging style, it is filled with fresh stories and insights into filmmaking behind the scenes. - Carolyn Johnston, professor of History and American Studies at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Fla., and the author of five books . CONTENTS PREFACE 4 NOTES FOR READING 8 1 GREEN LIGHT TO PREP 10 2 PREP BEGINS 36 3 CASTING THE DEPARTMENT HEADS 50 4 THE ACTORS 67 5 LAST WEEKS OF PREP 84 6 PHOTOGRAPHY LOOMS 109 7 SHOOTING THE GROUND STORY 121 8 TELLING THE SEA STORY 148 9 AERIAL SCENES 178 10 RESHOOTS, DANGER, EFX 204 11 USS CARL VINSON, MISSILES, WRAP 225 12 POST-PRODUCTION 232 13 LAUNCH, LIFESPAN 249 14 WHAT HAPPENED TO TONY SCOTT 26 4 15 TONY SCOTT'S LEGACY 283 16 FANDOM 299 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 310 PRIMARY SOURCES 314 PEOPLE/ROLES 315 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 323 Praise for Top Gun Memos Top Gun 's journey from a magazine article to a film is epic. Stars, F-14s, soundtrack and "need for speed" movie lines made Top Gun a box-office blockbuster, but the art and dazzling moviemaking behind it is a powerful tour-de-force for storytelling. — Michael Sean Comerford, author of American OZ: An Astonishing Year Inside Traveling Carnivals at State Fairs & Festivals . Jordan has worked a writing miracle ... she has somehow made a detailed story of how a movie was made into a tale as captivating as the movie itself. Top Gun Memos is an addictive read that includes lots of famous names for movie lovers. — David Wallace, author of the national bestseller Lost Hollywood , five other books about the film, and a memoir, I Called Him Uncle Harry. Fans of Top Gun will be in heaven learning all about it with this book. Jordan offers a complete walk-through of the making of a film that became an instant classic. Her writing provides detail of every day's work in a way that provides an education to the layperson without talking down to the reader. A fascinating read. — Matt Hurwitz, Entertainment Journalist. Top Gun Memos does more than tell the story of the popular Top Gun movie, it explains why we're still talking about it today. It also breaks news, which is unusual for a thirty-five year old movie, but not surprising given Jordan's background as an investigative journalist. Written in an engaging style, it is filled with fresh stories and insights into filmmaking behind the scenes. — Carolyn Johnston, professor of History and American Studies at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Fla., and the author of five books . ABOUT THE COVER Front cover design, by ebooklaunch.com, incorporates this photo taken by PH2 Michael D.P. Flynn, U.S. Navy, taken the day they shot the hangar classroom scenes. Courtesy of the National Archives. Meredith Jordan is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about the art and artistry of behind the scenes movie and television production since 2012. Her first book, Below the Line: Anatomy of a Successful Movie , was also published by Citation Press.