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Charlie's House
“Maverick, you big stud, take me to bed or lose me forever.”
Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (Killy McGillis)
While the story of Top Gun is about the life of the United States Air Force pilot trainees in San Diego, so the location teams tried to cluster all the filming locations around the city, even though some were in Chicago and various parts of California. Important in the scenario, the small wooden house where Charlotte Blackwood, aka Charlie (Kelly McGillis), Maverick’s (Tom Cruise) girlfriend, lives, is found on the Oceanside side. Known as the Graves House at the time, this 1882 building is already considered by history buffs to be a historical monument whose architecture stands out beautifully against the landscape of the rushing Pacific Ocean.
If Top Gun fans remember with great emotion the key sequence between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis to the sound of the Berlin hit Take My Breath Away, on the set, the mood was not always right between the two actors. If the story was polished with time and the legendary animosity between Val Kilmer, the interpreter of Iceman and Tom Cruise tended to monopolize the attention, the latter did not get along with his partner either. The size of Tom Cruise being perhaps the source of the discomfort that the actor seemed to feel when he had to shoot with Kelly McGIllis. Smaller, the comedian brought to rule the box office was indeed equipped with boots with heels. Kelly McGillis for her part, was instructed to walk barefoot when the camera was filming in close-up to compensate for the difference in height.
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Thirty-five years later, at the time of the shooting of Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to Top Gun, Kelly McGillis was not called back without any explanation being given about the absence of her emblematic character. She was replaced by Jennifer Connelly. As for Charlie’s little house, it has since been renovated. It has also become part of a luxury resort and is still one of the most visited sites in the San Diego area.
Tony Scott is the third director that the producers have contacted after the refusals of John Carpenter and David Cronenberg.
102 S Pacific St
Once called Graves House, this 1882 clapboard home rose to worldwide prominence after serving as a filming location for the movie Top Gun.
The house of Charlie, the character portrayed by Kelly McGillis, emerged from the ground at 102 South Pacific in Oceanside, near San Diego. However, it was moved to 102 North Pacific Street while a large hotel complex was built. It subsequently returned to its original location, within the hotel, as a veritable monument of pop culture. A site that gave developers the opportunity to order a well-deserved renovation of what has been called the Top Gun House since 1986. The project plans to transform it into an ice cream shop.
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Top Gun Aviator Jacket
Dress like Maverick in the famous movie Top Gun with this replica of the aviator jacket. For authenticity, the leather and patches have been treated with a special vintage product to give a worn look.
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By Gilles Rolland
Passionné de cinéma, de rock and roll, de séries TV et de littérature. Rédacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinéma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dépareillées. Adore également voyager à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture.