Films these days often seem to be bereft of realistic approaches with VFX and CGI making it a piece of cake for directors and producers to get their desired results. But the producer of Top Gun: Maverick believes that authenticity and originality are the true hallmarks of the art that filmmaking is.
Jerry Bruckheimer is all about creating unique yet genuine content, and his vision behind executing the sequel to the 1986 film was more or less the same. The film and television producer is of the firm conviction that the heavy dependence of movies on CGI and special effects will soon turn out to be a major shortcoming in the film industry. Although the audience goes crazy for films with brilliant special effects, authentic and realistic work is always loved and welcomed by people.
Jerry Bruckheimer’s Take on Hollywood Overusing CGI
Top Gun: Maverick not only got hailed by audiences and critics all over the world but it also became the highest-grossing film of 2022. It even ended up being the most successful project in the entirety of Tom Cruise‘s career. And why’s that? Sure, it’s because of the star cast’s skills and talents, due to the dedication of the directors and crew members, and Cruise’s insanely dangerous stunts that he performed. It’s definitely because of all that, but one of the main reasons behind the sequel’s monumental success is also due to its authentic take on filmmaking.
Jerry Bruckheimer, one of the producers of Top Gun: Maverick, recently spoke about the importance of using “real cinematography” along with “real locations” instead of simply leaving everything on the use of CGI. In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 79-year-old shared rather valuable insight on the subject. He claimed that Top Gun 2 would surely inspire “the creative community” to lessen their dependency on special effects and resort to more original ways of filmmaking instead.
“I think the creative community will. I think directors, writers, producers will. When they pitch their stories, they’ll say, ‘This has to be done real — on real locations — and not something that’s CGI.’ The studios are always looking for the biggest bang for their buck. If they can make something cheaper, they’ll do it. Filmmakers go with it because it gives them more money to make their movie.”
“The market is so overwhelmed with all the terrific comic book films that get made. But [audiences] also love real cinematography on real locations.”
Bruckheimer stated that comic book movies are by no means unsuccessful. In fact, people are crazy about Marvel and DC films. But at the same time, he’s convinced that one can capture the true essence of it all from a more realistic perspective.
Top Gun: Maverick Producer Thinks the Sequel Revived the Film Industry
While talking about films that utilize a lot of CGI and VFX aspects, the Pirates of the Caribbean producer remarked how such movies are obviously grand hits. He even used Jon Watts‘ Spider-Man: No Way Home as an example. But Top Gun: Maverick broke box office records without having special effects at its epicenter, and that speaks volumes.
“Top Gun rejuvenated the theatrical business, here and around the world. Our foreign grosses were bigger than our domestic grosses. It goes to show that when we tell stories about interesting characters with real cameras, real locations, you can captivate the world. It’s a very American movie, but it didn’t matter to audiences overseas because they fell in love with the characters.”
Bruckheimer is not wrong, after all, Top Gun 2 did make around $700 million in its domestic circuit with its international profits running in billions. So, they’re definitely doing something right.
Top Gun: Maverick can be streamed on Paramount+.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
