With Top Gun Maverick the veteran producer stuck to his beliefs about what makes a commercial crowdpleaser.
Jerry Bruckheimer has seen it all. He remembers the go go days at Paramount Pictures in the 80s with his coked up partner Don Simpson, which yielded the original “Beverly Hills Cop Flashdance and Top Gun. Simpson had incredible story instincts he invented the “high-concept movie and networked Hollywood parties while ex New York ad-man Bruckheimer kept his head screwed on straight and made sure the visually stylish movies were delivered on time and on budget.
On his own in the 90s and early 2000s Bruckheimer was cock of the walk at the Disney studio, churning out high testosterone actioners from Bruce Willis vehicle “Armageddon” and Nic Cage in Con Air and National Treasure to Will Smith in “Enemy of the State” and the Johnny Depp “Pirates of the Caribbean series which proved that movies could string together VFX-heavy action sequences without worrying about the vagaries of plot. Over the decades Bruckheimer’s movies have ranked him as the third highest-grossing producer worldwide, with $12 billion in total tickets sold.
But arguably he also turned out Oscar-caliber fare that just didn’t make it to the Best Picture race, even if some of the players were nominated, including Ridley Scott’s war picture “Black Hawk Down,” submarine actioner “Crimson Tide,” sports saga “Remember the Titans,” and teaching drama “Dangerous Minds.”
“We make films that are big audience pleasers,” said Bruckheimer on the phone. “It’s good to see a brilliant smaller movie capture the Academy’s excellence quota. Sometimes they are not entertaining movies. If you go through the years, how many pictures that are big audience pleasers have won Academy Awards? I’ve never made a movie to make an Academy Award. It’s about entertaining audiences and focusing on people. I take pride in all the people I’ve recognized for the first time and supported to help to make their careers — Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck — all the opportunities and directors I’ve worked with and broken out in our business. It’s working with talented people: you always let the story and the talent carry you.
It takes conviction from an executive to back a picture. They have to take on their bosses to make this. That’s what builds careers.”Clearly, Bruckheimer applied all that he has learned from the ’70s until today for the long-awaited sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” which earned a Best Picture Oscar slot and with it, Bruckheimer’s first Oscar nomination. He and producer-star Cruise left nothing to chance in taking the time they needed to bring this beloved fighter pilot drama back to the screen. They stuck to their long-held beliefs of what makes a commercial Hollywood crowdpleaser, and insisted on executing their movie at the highest level. Six Oscar nominations are icing on the cake.
It’s about character, it’s about theme,” said Bruckheimer. “Things that worked so well in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s changed so much with the success of comic book heroes. The way of doing business changed in the pandemic. We wanted to bring out a movie purely designed as entertainment. It’s what I’ve been doing my whole career. Tom Cruise felt the same way: when entertaining audiences you hope to get the best story, characters, and scenes, and the best people behind and in front of the camera.”Check out some of the lessons Bruckheimer applied to “Top Gun: Maverick” to capture global audiences.
0 Comments