Photo courtesy of TopGunMovie-Instagram.
“Top Gun: Maverick” is coming to NBAA-BACE. Three people associated with the film – actress Monica Barbaro, cinematographer Kevin LaRosa II and Blue Angels pilot Frank Weisser – will be part of the second-day opening events.
“Top Gun: Maverick was an instant classic and one of the greatest aviation films ever made,” NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said. “It showcased for the world the thrill and exhilaration of aviation. We are honored to have Monica Barbaro, Kevin LaRosa and Frank Weisser with us at NBAA-BACE to give attendees an inside look into the making of the fifth-highest-grossing movie ever in the United States.”
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In the movie, Barbaro played ‘Phoenix,” the sole female fighter pilot among the new recruits. For her role, Barbaro underwent intense flight training and even became a certified pilot during the making of the movie
Early next year, Barbaro will star opposite Diego Boneta in Paramount Plus’ romantic comedy “At Midnight.” She most recently wrapped production on Netflix’s upcoming global spy adventure series opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, where the duo will play father and daughter.
Barbaro is perhaps best known for her role as “Yael” on the second season of the critically acclaimed Lifetime television series, “Unreal.”
LaRosa is a third-generation pilot and second-generation aerial coordinator and stunt pilot. Known for his work on major blockbusters like “The Avengers” (2012), “Iron Man” (2005) and “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017), LaRosa as worked on more than 100 motion picture and commercial productions.
By the time he was 18, LaRosa was a commercially rated helicopter and multi-engine fixed wing pilot, and today he is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after pilot and aerial coordinators – an ATP-rated pilot, trained and certified in a multitude of aircraft.
He also holds type ratings in several Learjet models in addition to the C-130/ L-382 Hercules and the Sikorsky S-70/ UH-60, as well as an FAA Part 107 UAS rating for flying unmanned aircraft.
U.S. Navy Commander Weisser is a Blue Angels Pilot who was deployed in combat three separate times, including to Afghanistan and Iraq.
He flew in the front seat as pilot for some of “Top Gun: Maverick’s” most memorable scenes, including the one in which Tom Cruise blisters through a twisting canyon uncomfortably close to rocky cliffs and the ground at lightning speeds. By completing that canyon course in 2:15 in the movie, Cruise was able to show his Navy bosses that, in fact, the combat mission his pilots were tasked with could be completed.
A native of Atlanta, GA, Weisser joined the Blue Angels in September 2007. He has accumulated more than 5,000 flight hours and nearly 500 carrier arrested landings. He earned a master’s degree in systems analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School in September 2009. His decorations include multiple Meritorious Service Medals, Strike Flight Air Medals and various personal and unit awards.
He is type rated in the Gulfstream 450/550 and is the developer and manager of a private airpark in the North Georgia Mountains.
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