Paramount
Are you feeling the need for speed ... in 3-D?
"Top Gun," the 1986 action blockbuster that inspired a surge of Navy enlistments and made everyone feel okay about Reagan-era militarism, may be flying high again — and this time in three dimensions, according to The New York Times.
Before his suicide on Aug. 19, director Tony Scott had worked with Paramount and Legend3D on the 3-D conversion of his first major Hollywood hit in the hopes that a newfangled re-release might stir up interest for "Top Gun 2," a sequel for which Scott had been location scouting with Tom Cruise just days before his death.
All plans for "Top Gun 2" have been scrapped, though a 3-D release of the original film could be seen as a tribute to a filmmaker whose death remains shrouded in mystery for fans, friends and associates alike.
The 3-D release of "Titanic" certainly went well last year, scoring $342 million in worldwide box office (the conversion cost only $18 million). Sure, "Top Gun" wasn't nearly as big a hit as James Cameron's disaster epic, but a decent-sized audience might be up for revisiting some old maneuvers with Maverick and Goose — especially in overseas markets, where Cruise is still quite the mega-star.
And just imagine that volleyball scene in 3-D ... "Playing With the Boys," indeed!
Paramount is still deciding on how to best roll out "Top Gun 3-D," though a one-week "test run" on IMAX screens in February (a strategy that worked well for the studio's digitally remastered "Raiders of the Lost Ark" this past September) is being considered.
