10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About 'Top Gun'

10. The bar where Maverick (Tom Cruise), Goose (Anthony Edwards) and their respective dates (Kelly McGillis and Meg Ryan) sing a boozy version of “Great Balls of Fire” was real, and still exists. It’s called Kansas City BBQ, and it’s on Harbor Drive in San Diego, Calif. Although a 2008 fire destroyed a lot of its memorabilia, the piano is still there (and they still sell "Top Gun" t-shirts). 

9. "Top Gun" was inspired by a 1983 article in California magazine called “Top Guns,” which was about young fighter pilots training at the Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego. Although the article discussed the competitive nature of the pilots, the school itself does not award a “Top Gun Trophy,” nor is there a points system. Those elements were invented for the film.

8. The bad guys’ MiG-28s that square off against the Navy’s F-14 squadron at the end of the film also don’t exist, and never have. They were made up for the film, and were actually American Northrop F-5s painted black, chosen because they looked “villainous”.

7. Before Kenny Loggins got to belt out “Danger Zone,” the song -- written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock -- was offered to Toto and REO Speedwagon, who turned it down. Moroder and Whitlock took home the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year for Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away.”

6. There’s a reason McGillis is incognito when she seduces Cruise during an elevator ride (wearing a cap and sunglasses), and why their subsequent love scene is shot through an obscuring blue tint. The studio felt the movie needed some sexing up, and those scenes were added six months after the film wrapped. By then, McGillis had dyed her hair for another role.

5. “Cougar,” the fighter pilot who loses his edge in the opening scene and gives way for Maverick and Goose to attend the Top Gun academy, was played by actor John Stockwell, writer of the Mark Walhberg film "Rock Star," and director of "Blue Crush" and "Turistas."

4. Speaking of call signs, did you know that the squat, bald officer (James Tolkan) who chews out Maverick and Goose had one? It’s never mentioned in the movie, but in the script and credits (and his name plate pictured here) it is revealed as “Stinger.”

3. Given that "Top Gun" stands as the quintessential example of Cold War, Reagan-era rah-rah America bravado, many viewers assume the MiG fighters are Russian. In fact, their country of origin is never actually identified because the studio didn’t want to anger any possible overseas audiences. In the original script, however, they are revealed to be North Korean. 

2. The introduction of Kelly McGillis famously begins with a close-up of her high heels clicking across the hanger floor as she addresses the assembled pilots. Later in that same scene, though, you can clearly see she’s wearing flats so the 5-foot-10-inch McGillis wouldn’t dwarf 5-foot-7-inch Cruise.