Joseph Kosinski, director of Top Gun:Maverick talks about FedEx owner’s relation to the film
Joseph Kosinski said, FedEx owner Fred Smith helped him set a meeting with Skunk works
The chairman, president, and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation have confirmed that the company’s Skunk Works advanced divisions worked with the movie to create the fictional design. In an interview with Polygon Joseph Kosinski revealed how the owner of FedEx helped him crack a deal with Skunk work.
”Yeah, I mean, it was my dream. Skunk Works is this division of Lockheed that makes these planes that are top secret. They fly at night, no one knows they exist. We find out about them 20, 30 years after they fly.
I had just done a movie that was financed by Fred Smith, who is the founder of FedEx. And he told me he had a contact at Lockheed. He had just done a tour there — it helps to have friends in high places. He set up a meeting between Jerry, I, and Skunk Works, and we drove out into the middle of Palmdale and met with their senior staff. And I just said, “Listen, I want to put an airplane in this film that does this, this, and this. I know you guys have some experience in that area. We’re gonna give people a glimpse of something they’ve never seen before.”
FedEx Helped Make Top Gun: Maverick Happen
Tom Cruise, the lead star in the Top Gun sequel
Kosinski mentions FedEx owner Fred Smith helped him out with the deal with Skunk Work. Smith was a friend of Kosinski and had high contacts. The film is a huge success partially because of the in-air stunts performed on the jets provided by Skunk Work. This suggests FedEx has a huge hand in Top Gun Maverick by helping director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer by setting up this meeting.
