“Top Gun” actor Barry Tubb wants to sue Paramount for using his image in “Top Gun 2: Maverick” without his permission and compensation. A lawsuit was filed in a California court on Wednesday. What is needed is a trial before a jury, which must award Tubb both the subsequent use payment and additional damages. The amount of damages must be at least $75,000, but the court must determine the exact amount.
But what exactly is Tubb attacking?
A photo of Tubb in “Top Gun 2” – and it’s not from “Top Gun” itself
In Top Gun 2: Maverick, pilots Hangman (Glen Powell) and Coyote (Greg Tarzan Davis) discover that their comrade Rooster Bradshaw (Miles Teller) is the son of Maverick’s (Tom Cruise) old partner Goose (Anthony Edwards). They discover this through a photo. It is a large group photo with almost twenty people in it, but the camera zooms in and shows central figures in close-up: Maverick and Goose – but also Iceman and his co-pilot Wolfman. He was played by Barry Tubb in Top Gun. The actor is seen relatively prominently for a brief moment in the sequel.
Tubb now claims on the one hand: that he was not asked in advance whether those responsible for the film could use his photo. His original contract for the first film did not provide for further such use. The fact that his face is now seen in the delayed sequel gives the false impression that Tubb is somehow connected to “Top Gun 2,” which is promoting or supporting the blockbuster. The conclusion also states that other parties involved were asked about.
In addition, the actor, who has not been active in major films or series for about ten years, and his legal advisor point out that not just a fragment from the first part was used. The template for the image in “Top Gun 2” is more of a behind-the-scenes photo. This has also been revised and changedwhich also destroyed any possible copyright on the original photo.
The fact that Tubb himself is seen in close-up in the film also makes it clear that it is no coincidence, but the intention was entirely to draw attention to the actor and his character Wolfman. The usage is probably essential to the scene.
Paramount has not yet responded to the lawsuit.