The original Top Gun movie from 1986 is now part of cinema folklore. Directed by Tony Scott, it cost just $15 million to make and has now grossed over $350m. As a result of the movie, the US Navy’s elite fighter pilots were lauded more than sports stars and no fancy dress party was complete without a Maverick or Goose in their naval uniform. Top Gun became a metaphor as much as a movie.
The most played clip from the movie is the sequence when Tom Cruise poorly serenades Kelly McGillis to The Righteous Brothers 1965 hit “You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling”. The bar was a sea of white testosterone. It was the soundtrack of Top Gun at the time that won over the critics and earned the movie its Oscar.
My idea at The Wolves bar in downtown Los Angeles was to play on that scene and have a room full of fighter pilots all in their crisp naval whites. The name of the bar legitimised bringing our wolf into the bar and offering another layer to the story. I also sensed that if Maverick, Goose and Iceman had spirit animals, they would surely be wolves, as they are athletic, good-looking and brimming with self-confidence.
Focus is everything when telling a single image story, as it can deliberately include or deliberately exclude. I knew in the low light of The Wolves bar, I would have the pilots out of focus, but there is enough detail to make out Kelly McGillis centre stage on the right. Josie Canseco was 100% styled on the prompt from the movie - right down to the shoulder clinging cardigan.
The Wolves is a hidden gem of a bar and the ornamental ceiling and lamp adds character to the shot. I like the tight compositional balance of it all.