Tom Cruise stars as Maverick in Top Gun.
Tom Cruise stars as Maverick in Top Gun.

Top Gun turns 25



Dust-off your leather bomber jacket, dig-out those aviator shades and think up a macho call sign; tomorrow the much-loved flyboy drama Top Gun will turn 25.

The story of Maverick, Goose, Iceman and their advanced fighter pilot peers as they compete at the US Navy's top flying school earned back its US$15 million (Dh55m) production budget more than 20 times over at box offices around the world. But Top Gun's legacy has stretched beyond the boundaries of cinema.

Many who have never seen the film will be familiar with the songs Take My Breath Away and Danger Zone - both were written for the movie.

Furthermore, the saying "I feel the need...the need for speed!" has become a mantra for adrenaline junkies everywhere, many forgetting that the saying originated in the 1986 film. Here are 10 more ways in which Top Gun changed the world.

1. Cruise took control

Before he become the biggest movie star in the world, Cruise had to take the parts other actors turned down, and Top Gun was one of them.

Before the Risky Business actor accepted the role of Maverick, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Michael J Fox and Tom Hanks had all been considered. One side effect of Cruise's decision to take the role was that the actor had to wear built-up shoes, because the already cast lead actress Kelly McGillis was three inches taller than him

2. Flyboy fashion took off

Bomber jackets flew-off department store shelves as if propelled by jet engines, while sales of Ray-Ban's Aviator sunglasses jumped by 40 per cent. A quarter of a century later, and Top Gun has become one of the most popular themes for that modern masculine rite of passage; the stag do. Made-up call signs and epic high-fives are mandatory, as well as full-length green jumpsuits, white T-shirts and dog tags.

3. Being a pilot never looked so cool

Top Gun made everything about the life of an aviator look appealing. Perhaps that's why the US Navy had its highest number of applications in the year following Top Gun's release. In fact, the navy even set up recruiting booths inside many major cinemas across the US in the hope of ensnaring adrenaline-charged moviegoers fresh from screenings.

4. Job security for a jobbing director

With only one feature film under his belt when he signed-on to direct Top Gun, the British director Tony Scott struggled to stand up to the heavyweight Hollywood producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. The relationship was so difficult that Scott was officially fired from the project no fewer than three times. Following the huge success of Top Gun, Scott went on to direct a string of blockbusters, including Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State and The Taking of Pelham 123.

5. The invention of aircraft carrier rental

Although the cast and crew of Top Gun were granted unprecedented access to US Navy bases, jets and aircraft carriers, real-life service personnel carried on with normal operations during shooting. While a scene was being filmed on the deck of an aircraft carrier, the ship's captain gave the order to turn the vessel. When this ruined the lighting of the shot, Scott quickly wrote the captain a $25,000 personal cheque so that he would turn the boat back again, covering the immense cost of running the engines. Scott had become the first man to in effect rent an aircraft carrier, if only for five minutes.

6. High-flying video sales

Before Top Gun became a box-office smash, the home entertainment market was minuscule – mostly focused on obscure cinema and with many mainstream videos retailing for as much as $80 each. However, due to a link-up with Pepsi that saw (for the first time) an advert placed at the beginning of the video, Top Gun was sold for as little as $16.95. A new low price for a major film, it became one of the most successful video releases of the 1980s and is credited with inspiring millions to buy home-entertainment systems.

7. The Iceman cometh...

Maybe Val Kilmer didn't change the world with his portrayal of the aviator Lt Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, but he certainly delivered one of the most memorable performances of his career and a new type of action movie antagonist. Far from the traditional bad guy, Iceman was Maverick's strait-laced competitor, forever chastising him for "not playing by the rules". His biggest flaw was nothing more than an oversized ego. If he seemed like the perfect foil for Cruise's reckless protagonist, that's because the pair's real-life relationship was reportedly far from perfect.

8. The (un)Righteous Brothers

Perhaps the most unwelcome part of the movie's legacy is that it made too many men believe that tuneless, a cappella soul renditions can help win a woman's heart, if sung with enough gusto. While this may have been true when a 24-year-old Cruise, wearing an officer's white uniform, delivered the Righteous Brothers classic, You've Lost that Loving Feeling, attempts by most men somehow end up falling short. What's more, the fact that Maverick was accompanied by scores of fellow pilots when using the song to woo McGillis's character, means it has now become a kind of male-bonding anthem – usually sounding more like a football chant than a 1960s pop classic.

9. The rise and fall of Meg Ryan

Before appearing in Top Gun, 24-year-old Ryan's biggest role had been in the trashy horror sequel Amityville 3D. But after looking so fetching as the young wife of Goose, the actress quickly became an A-list concern. Within just a few years she was Hollywood's number one girlfriend, with roles in classic romances such as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. Ryan struggled to break out of the love-interest type, however, and in recent years her career has stalled. In 2008 she received a Razzie nomination for her appearance in The Woman and her last movie, 2009's Serious Moonlight, was panned.

10. One-way trip. For now

Unlike almost every other box-office smash of the past 30 years, Top Gun has remained sequel resistant. With a story that takes place in a real-life, annual navy flying competition, it's hard to work out how Top Gun 2: The Wingmen didn't hit multiplexes in 1988. But the movie's stand-alone status might not last forever. Last year, Paramount Pictures announced it had made offers to Tony Scott, Jerry Bruckheimer and Tom Cruise for a follow-up. Scott suggested the film would grapple with the ethics of using unmanned drones in 21st-century conflict.

Army of the Dead

Director: Zack Snyder

Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera

Three stars

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima


Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650

Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder

Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm

Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km

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THE BIO:

Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.

Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.

Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.

Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

No_One Ever Really Dies

N*E*R*D

(I Am Other/Columbia)

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Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs

A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.

The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.

Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.

Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Remaining fixtures

Third-place-play-off: Portugal v Mexico, 4pm on Sunday

Final: Chile v Germany, 10pm on Sunday

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERemedy%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Microsoft%20Game%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%204%20%26amp%3B%205%2C%20Xbox%3A%20360%20%26amp%3B%20One%20%26amp%3B%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20Nintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
OIL PLEDGE

At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.

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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now