Jennifer Connelly says Tom Cruise helped overcome fear of flying

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Jennifer Connelly wasn’t trying to admit the fear of flying to Tom Cruise, as the action star asked her to take her to the sky with him in a vintage P-51.

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“I pretended to be cool, but I was very scared,” says 51-year-old Connelly, laughing in a video chat.

for Top Gun: MaverickIn a 36-year follow-up, Connelly plays Penny Benjamin, a love concern for Cruise’s Pete’Maverick’Mitchell. She was the character referenced in the original 1986, and someone Connelly said was supposed to remain tied to Earth in the sequel.

“No, I wasn’t supposed to be in the air!” Exclaims the Oscar winner.

But Connelly, who doesn’t like to fly, finds that the experience of Cruz maneuvering her around the California sky is strangely calming. She admits, “I did something that felt like an extreme flight to me and it was therapeutic to enjoy it.”

Director Joseph Kosinski (Tron Legacy), Maverick Mitchell (landing in the theater this Friday) has found training a navy pilot’s detachment for a special mission to destroy uranium plants in a tightly guarded secret bunker. This mission will bring him into contact with “Rooster” (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s late friend “Goose” (originally played by Anthony Edwards).

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Cruise guided the new trainees, flew real fighters for the movie, and six IMAX cameras captured the action in the cockpit.

“You can’t create this kind of experience without shooting live,” Cruise said in a behind-the-scenes video. “You can’t play it, facial distortion. They’re pulling 7.5, 8 G — it’s a force of 1,600 pounds.”

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But between his high-flying training sessions, Mitchell also returns to the life of his former paramer, Penny, a middle-aged bachelor who owns a drinking fountain popular with Air Force pilots. .. Their reunion has a kind of bittersweet feeling over time with regret. The quiet moments of the two characters, who share a broken history, aren’t typical of the blockbuster action blockbuster, but far from the enthusiastic romance cruises they enjoyed in the original movie Kelly McGillis.

“I loved her as a character,” Connelly says of Penny. “She appreciates how she was written.”

The film also features Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Danny Ramirez, Jay Ellis, Monica Barbaro, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer, replaying their role as “Iceman.”

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Same summer of 1986 Top gun Released, 15-year-old Connelly appears in fantasy labyrinth On the other side of David Bowie, the part of the breakout that she lovingly remembers as being like a “wonderland.”But her memory of the cruise Top gun It was bigger than life.

“It was a big phenomenon,” recalls the three mothers. “That soundtrack was everywhere, and to this day I hear any of those songs, they’re stuck in my head. Those flight sequences, I did so before. I’ve never seen anything like that. I was very impressed. And of course, Tom’s character is very symbolic. “

On a recent Sunday morning from London, Connelly took me on a cruise to the sky and talked more about being part of a more adult romance.

I read that you are afraid to fly. How did Tom help you overcome that fear?

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“It’s a very special experience to be on such an airplane. It’s a P-51 vintage airplane and you have another kind of exposure. It’s narrow and the top of the cockpit is brushing your head. It’s the glass bubbles you’re in and you really feel like you’re in the air in another way. For someone like me who wouldn’t be a big fan of airplanes if Tom wasn’t a pilot I think it was very scary. “

So you didn’t know you would go up in the air?

“There was a scene on that plane on the tarmac and we were filming it. Tom talked to me about acrobatic flight and asked if I did anything. He asked this line. I asked him, “Will it be an acrobatic plane in the future?” And he said, “It will be really graceful.” The other day he said to me, “I heard you’re afraid to fly, why didn’t you tell me?” And I said, “Of course, I tell you. I’m not going — you’re Tom Cruise. I’m trying to be a little cool. “”

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I don’t want to use the word “adult”, but Pete and Penny’s romance has a really lively moment. What was it like to be devoted to that side?

“I like it. I thought it was an interesting choice in that it was separated from the original romance. Top gun movie. These are people who have known each other for decades, know each other really well, and have this long history. I thought it was an interesting choice and offered another kind of intimacy. It was amazing and I really liked it. “

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You also need to get out into the water in one scene and steer your boat in a place that looks like a pretty rippling sea.

“I shot the scene in San Francisco, which is famous for being very windy, but it went fast in the water, with splashes and waves, at an angle that I couldn’t.”

Did you need to learn how to sail?

“Yes, I took lessons at New York Harbor, an interesting place to learn voyages. I also took lessons while filming snowpiercers in Vancouver.”

I love Lady Gaga’s song that concludes the movie.What did you think of her choice to let her sing? Hold your hand??

“It was amazing. I think people associated the original Top gun Since I’m using the soundtrack, I felt it was really important to be truly symbolic. She is such a legend. “

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Pilot Top gun Everything has a nickname, but Penny doesn’t. Have you ever given a nickname in real life?

“I had it once when I was in college. I really wanted to play sports, so I went to a cross-country race. I thought,” I’m pretty stubborn, so I might be able to join the team myself. ” So I tried, and they forgave me — but they never made me compete. I thought he might have become a mascot (laughs). But I was on the roster, everyone had a nickname, and my nickname was Deathgrip. I think it was the latest, but I decided to stay there. “

When you were making MaverickHave you ever seen Tom and Val Kilmer paused and found it cool to make movies and entertain people here even after many years?

“Honestly, I always think so when I’m making a movie. Sometimes people say,” Isn’t it a struggle? ” But honestly, I’m grateful that I’m still here (laughs). It’s a great job and I love my job. “

Top Gun: Maverick It will open in the theater on Friday, May 27th.

mdaniell@postmedia.com