OT: Movie "TOP GUN" - One of My Favorites - Played Last Week on the AMC Channel

Top Gun (1986) -

For the movie buffs in RBC and particularly the Top Gun movie trivia fans - next-under are a couple of photographs I took of pictures (four others are featured in the “photo” section of RecruitingBlogs.com) I noticed hanging on the walls of a restaurant called the "Kansas City Barbeque" located in San Diego, California.

How this relates to recruiting is the fact that in 2006 I accompanied a group, of HR managers/directors/VPs and recruiters from number of Nestle divisions, who were attending the National Hispanic MBA Career Conference being held in San Diego, CA at the time.

On the first evening there some of us happened to have dinner at the Kansas City Barbeque, to our surprise, the same restaurant bar featured in the movie Top Gun (1986). Those familiar with the movie may remember the scenes, one in which Goose and Maverick (played by Anthony Edwards and Tom Cruise, respectively) belt out "Great Balls of Fire" while seated at the piano." And, "The bar was also used in the final scene, where the song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is heard playing on the jukebox.^[5]

The reason why these photographs may have some sentimental value is that the Kansas City Barbeque was gutted by a fire in June of 2008. All of the photographs, many of them autographed by actors and Naval officers/pilots involved with the filming—were destroyed in the fire. The piano and jukebox (can also be recognized in my photos) were also destroyed.

What motivated this post was the fact that while watching “Top Gun”, one of my favorite movies, last week it reminded me of some pictures I took years ago during a recruitment trip I took to San Diego, California. And for some odd reason I googled KC Barbeque to see if they had a webpage. To my surprise the following headline got my attention and thus motivated this post.

It read:

Associated Press--

updated 6/27/2008 9:13:00 AM ET 2008-06-27T13:13:00

Fire guts San Diego eatery featured in ‘Top Gun’

SAN DIEGO — The restaurant where Tom Cruise crooned to Kelly McGillis in the movie “Top Gun” has been gutted by a fire in San Diego.

A cook at Kansas City Barbecue says the blaze started Thursday in an open cooking pit and spread quickly to the rest of the restaurant’s interior.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque says the landmark restaurant is “destroyed.”

But no one was hurt and the fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes.

A sign in the restaurant notes that the 1986 movie’s “sleazy bar scene” was filmed there.

Luque estimates the damage at $400,000, not including the cost of photographs and props from the film.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tim Spagnola on September 4, 2011 at 3:55pm

Goose R.I.P. - a classic no doubt

Wow- some story about the restaurant. I had not heard about that at all and that must have been some fire. Thankfully no one got hurt, but you know the memories and memorabilia meant everything to the owners. Such a shame.....

So Tino..... Top Gun #1 on the list or in your overall top 10?

Permalink Reply by Tim Spagnola on September 4, 2011 at 8:19pm

Bomber boots huh? Better money spent then what I threw away on those bar tending trick lessons - damn that Cocktail movie.

Permalink Reply by Helen Burbank (Appleby) on September 5, 2011 at 12:02pm

A) Also my all time favourite movie!

B) Tragic. I was at that restaurant in 2007 and it made my whole trip to California.

Just make sure you never lose that LOVIN feeling!

Permalink Reply by Valentino Martinez on September 6, 2011 at 12:25am

Tim,

I don’t have a ranked best movies list, but Top Gun would certainly figure highly on one if I did. And you’re right about the lost memorabilia. Some things can be replaced, even restored—but anyone with a heartbeat knows…there is something special about an original. And when you lose it, it’s gone forever.

Besides entertaining, Top Gun affected be on another level—a level I live on as a recruiter. Having actually facilitated the hire of TOPGUN (Naval), Marine and USAF Fighter Pilots (which included befriending many as fellow employees), for Rockwell International – North American Aircraft Division—those relationships simply made the movie theme of fighter pilots in harm’s way much more poignant. And the filming of fighter jets in action does take your breath away, particularly for those who “feel the need…the need for speed” (AFI's 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes Won for the line, "I feel the need...the need for speed!" Ranked 94^th).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8rZWw9HE7o

Permalink Reply by Valentino Martinez on September 6, 2011 at 12:28am

Bill,

Had you gone with: "Bomber jacket sales increased and Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses jumped 40%, due to their use by characters in the film.^[13] The film also boosted Air Force and Navy recruitment. The Navy had recruitment booths in some theaters to attract enthusiastic patrons.^{[14] (wikipeida)}

Bill Schultz said:

Lol I was in a bar once and the barkeep was spinnin bottles. I said "
Tom cruise, right?". He said "I was spinning bottles while he was still flying jets"

Atl least I had a company behind me with the bomber boots. Unlike the silk king tut scarves. That was my first and only mistake....

Permalink Reply by Valentino Martinez on September 6, 2011 at 12:33am

Helen,

Good to hear that you enjoyed the KC BBQ.

I happened to have my CANON with me and snapped away at what I considered to be photos of historical value.

Hope they reminded you of your 2007 visit, because that place no longer exists as we saw it.

Helen Appleby said:

A) Also my all time favourite movie!

B) Tragic. I was at that restaurant in 2007 and it made my whole trip to California.

Just make sure you never lose that LOVIN feeling!

Permalink Reply by Chantelle Legg on September 6, 2011 at 8:15am

I have never seen this film, should i be ashamed.... From these comments, i feel slightly ashamed already!

Permalink Reply by Valentino Martinez on September 6, 2011 at 2:22pm

There is nothing to be ashamed about, Chantelle (like your name).

Top Gun happened to move me. Some people won't see a movie with Tom Cruise in it and Top Gun does not compare with Saving Private Ryan--a truly dramatic movie rendition of wartime experiences that displays the human condition on so many levels. Top Gun will also hit home for some--but is more on the entertaining side--with touching(heartfelt & physical), goofy, and romantic moments all mixed into a lot of ACTION.

Having served in the military during the Vietnam Era; and having worked directly in the aerospace/defense industries in the capacity of a recruiter and corporate Manager of Employment--I had the good fortune to meet, befriend, work with, and even recommend the hire of individuals who were and are (many are still around) very impressive individuals based on their character, life exposures and capabilities. As it relates to Top Gun--flying, air-to-air combat missions and other daring-do stunts depicted in the movie--I have helped hire an astronaut with Fighter&Test Pilot credentials; TOPGUN (Naval) fighter pilots; and Marine and USAF fighter pilots as well. Knowing some of them, and having “hopped a ride”* with a few you get to know them up-close-and-personal.

(*Space A Travel
Space Available Flights, better known as Space A or military hops, are a unique privilege afforded to service members, retirees, and their families. Under this program, unused seats on board US military aircraft are made available to these passengers on a space-available basis. Unused seats on DoD-owned or controlled aircraft are made available once all the space-required (duty) passengers and cargo have been accommodated.)

On one of my "military hop" experiences I got into a Huey (Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter) because a pilot buddy had to get some extra flying hours in a Chopper. We took off at night and, long story short, thought we were almost taken down by friendly fire because we flew too close to a night-fire exercise at nearby Marine base. We saw a couple of tracers (see example of what night-fire tracers look like in Utube below) whizz-by and choppered out of harm's way. Sidebar: When I qualified on my M-16, I had a better night-fire score than I did in day-time. Go figure.

So, Chantelle, when time allows—out of curiosity, you’ll get around to catching a movie that seems to impress others. Maybe it’ll be Top Gun. And, not doubt, you have already had some instances when a particular movies was all the rage but did not impress you. To each his/her own in the matters that can move you.

Chantelle Legg said:

I have never seen this film, should i be ashamed.... From these comments, i feel slightly ashamed already!

Permalink Reply by Tim Spagnola on October 20, 2011 at 9:33am

@Tino - Were you aware of this?

Waaaay back in June 2010, we heard that a Top Gun sequel was in the works…and it just didn't seem necessary to us.

Now, it looks like it's definitely happening, and we're hearing that Paramount/Skydance Prods are currently in negotiations with X-Men: First Class writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz to pen the script for Top Gun 2.

No word yet on whether or not Tom Cruise will reprise his role, but let's be honest - the guy signed on for FOUR Mission: Impossible flicks! He's probably going to be up for this.

Permalink Reply by Valentino Martinez on October 20, 2011 at 10:24am

No, actually--but not surprising and that would be great because of the huge advances in digital enhancement capabilities for actions scenes PLUS 3D. Tom Cruise will kill to get back onboard...Val KILLMORE as well. This would pleez me.

Did you knowTop Gun did more for military recruitment than all the military recruiters put together at the time (they even had recruiters in theater lobbies...talk about going to the source and getting sign-ons. The power of a movie...inspiring young men and women to want to get in HARM'S WAY. They also need to lockdown Kenny Loggins. His magic of matching song, lyrics, and heart pounding music to action scenes is an essential part of what got the adrenalin pumping.

I'm jazzed.

Tim Spagnola said:

@Tino - Were you aware of this?

Waaaay back in June 2010, we heard that a Top Gun sequel was in the works…and it just didn't seem necessary to us.

Now, it looks like it's definitely happening, and we're hearing that Paramount/Skydance Prods are currently in negotiations with X-Men: First Class writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz to pen the script for Top Gun 2.

No word yet on whether or not Tom Cruise will reprise his role, but let's be honest - the guy signed on for FOUR Mission: Impossible flicks! He's probably going to be up for this.