In a section for the Top Gun DVD commentary, the late, great director Tony Scott revealed that his desire to shoot the film in an artistic manner went against Paramount Studio’s more “commercial” expectations, leading to Scott getting fired from the project.
But apart from The Hunger, Tony Scott was also an established director of commercials, where his work was less experimental, and more mainstream.
The fact that Scott was brought on board to direct Tom Cruise in Top Gun was considered an unusual choice within the industry.
Before helming Top Gun, Scott was best known for 1983’s The Hunger, which was an erotic vampire film that opened to divisive reviews, and middling box-office returns.