The 2022 blockbuster sky action movie Top Gun: Maverick is packed with the passion and attention to detail of the lead actor Tom Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski. As an example, a certain scene with Maverick played by Tom, and Penny played by Jennifer Connelly was significantly changed at Tom's request. Connelly revealed this in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Speaking of Penny, in the first film Top Gun (1986), she was only mentioned briefly as the "commander's daughter" in a conversation with Maverick and the others, but in the sequel, she appears as a single mother who runs a bar near the training school. She becomes Maverick's love interest.
However, if she is Tom's partner, it can't end as just a romance. Connery said that Tom wanted to reshoot the scene where Penny takes Maverick on board to repair the yacht, to make it more exciting.
"We originally shot the yacht scene in San Diego. It was a beautiful boat, and we saw dolphins, and it was amazing. We shot the scene, and I was sitting there, and Tom said, 'No, this isn't fun.' He said, 'It's not fast enough, it's not cool enough. I want Penny to be really strong.' And he was right."
In fact, the scene in the movie is set in a rough sea with violent waves, and it's worth watching the two of them desperately trying to steer it. There is a comical exchange in which Penny teases Maverick, saying, 'You're in the navy, aren't you?', when he is confused, but it seems that this composition was created to reflect Tom's intention.
"I went to San Francisco and it was really windy and a completely different environment. I got soaked and it was great. We only had a limited time to create these characters. So, do you portray her as 'she's sailing a yacht, it's calm, it's beautiful...' or do you portray her as sailing a yacht and it's a powerful, adrenaline-pumping experience? I thought the latter was a great decision."
Tom's typical decision to include a twist or excitement that would attract the audience even in the smallest scenes has elevated the scene to one that is not only romantic but also powerful and worth watching. Kosinski said that at the time of filming, he had imagined Maverick and Penny as "a relationship that has continued on and off for decades that has been reunited in the sequel," but there is certainly an air of a long-standing friendship between the two as they struggle on the yacht. After that, the two of them develop deeper feelings for each other, so Tom's suggestion must have led to a more convincing relationship between the two.
By the way, even though "Top Gun: Maverick" features many spectacular action scenes, both on the ground and in the air, Kosinski said that the yacht scene was the hardest because "it was completely out of my control."