Scott interviewed British journalist Tom Secker about the Pentagon’s role in producing Top Gun: Maverick. The Department of Defense has an entire office set up to work with Hollywood. They give producers access to some military personnel as well as equipment in exchange for the final say over the script. Secker has gone through many documents over the years to find exactly what the military has changed in popular films. But with the Top Gun movies, the relationship is on a whole other level. Secker lays out the history of the first film, the sequel that got scrapped after the Pentagon pulled out in the 90s, and the eventual production of Top Gun: Maverick. Both Scott and Secker point out that they don’t have a problem with action movies like this being made, just that the military hijacks film productions in order to boost its reputation far beyond what it deserves.

Discussed on the show:

“Documents Reveal How Pentagon Shaped ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Into A Recruitment And PR Vehicle” (ShadowProof)
“Why does the Pentagon give a helping hand to films like ‘Top Gun’?” (Los Angeles Times)
Scott’s previous interview with Secker

Tom Secker is a British-based journalist, author, and podcaster specializing in the security services, Hollywood, propaganda, censorship and the history of terrorism. He is the author of National Security Cinema: The Shocking New Evidence of Government Control in Hollywood. Find him on Twitter @spyculture.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Free Range Feeder; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt and Listen and Think Audio.

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6/3/22 Tom Secker on the Pentagon’s Control Over Top Gun: Maverick