Maverick and Ice Man are back: The sequel to the 1986 “Top Gun” movie is filming around San Diego, California, and when moviegoers see it in theaters next summer, they may catch a glimpse of DLA’s print work.
Employees of the DLA print facility at Naval Air Station North Island were contacted to produce posters for a squadron whose offices and hangar will be a filming location for the movie. Wanting to fill in empty wall space and make the area look movie-ready, the commander — whose name is still secret — came to DLA for a quick-turnaround order before filming started.
Within a few hours, DLA employees printed, mounted and laminated the posters that display the squadron’s mission, vision, priorities and focus areas.
“They always come to us for their orders because they know we will get it right and right away,” said Vince Farina, supervisor of DLA’s NASNI print facility. The employees routinely produce orders for this command throughout the year including flight training manuals, change-of-command programs, Navy training manuals, pilot pocket guides and maps.
“While quick-turn orders are really nothing new here, it did bring a different vibe for me knowing that there’s a chance our work will be shown in a major motion picture,” said Farina. “It may only be a millisecond on film, but I’ll be able to say to my wife, ‘See that poster? I made that!’”
The original “Top Gun” was filmed on Miramar Naval Air Base, which the Marine Corps took over in 2005. NASNI is now the closest naval air base – with the print facility sitting at the center of all of the airfield traffic and flight squadrons for the base. While the filming is going on, certain spots on base are blocked off to protect the story. The DLA employees don’t mind, though.
“Contractors, cab drivers, actual military personnel and any of the extras in the movie will have bigger and better stories, but this one is mine,” said Farina. “I am proud and honored to be able to provide our service to this and all commands on base and throughout southern California.”
The posters are already printed and hung, but “Top Gun: Maverick” won’t hit theaters until June 2020.