Stunt pilot who worked on 'Top Gun: Maverick' visits EAA AirVenture, talks aerial cinematography
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OSHKOSH – A stunt pilot who worked on one of 2022’s hottest films was in town last week to promote some of his recent work.
Kevin LaRosa Jr., a stunt pilot and aerial coordinator who has worked on a slew of well-known movies and TV shows, was present at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture convention. LaRosa recently became a brand ambassador for Bose Aviation, whom he spoke on behalf of at the Bose booth on Thursday.
On Friday, LaRosa was at the Fly-In Theater, where he introduced a trailer for “Devotion,” a film he worked on that’s slated to hit theaters this November. LaRosa then said a few words before a screening of another film he was very proud to be a part of, “Top Gun: Maverick.”
“It’s one of my most profound movies I was able to work on,” LaRosa told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin of the film.
A direct sequel to the 1986 cult classic “Top Gun,” “Top Gun: Maverick” released in May and has already grossed over $1 billion worldwide. As of late July, the action film — which sees Tom Cruise reprise his role as Navy Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell — is the ninth-highest grossing movie of all time at the domestic box office.
LaRosa served as aerial coordinator for “Top Gun: Maverick,” flying two camera jets and one camera helicopter for the film. LaRosa is ATP-rated — the highest level aircraft pilot certificate — to fly various jets, airplanes and helicopters.
“I’m a huge Top Gun fan from the first movie, so getting to work on that was a bit of a dream come true,” he said. “Plus, I feel like the flying we did on that movie set the bar for aerial cinematography.”
LaRosa described the term “stunt” as it is used in the movie industry as anything that involves taking a risk.
“A stunt to us is something that’s non-standard,” he said. “Landing a helicopter on a moving train, flying an airplane under a bridge or something.”
As an aerial coordinator, however, it’s LaRosa’s job to “de-risk” as much as possible with proper planning and communication.
“(Our work) is so well thought out and so methodical that by the time we’re actually in the aircraft doing the maneuver, it feels right and it feels good,” he said. “When we say ‘stunt flying,’ people picture something wild and crazy, and it may look that way, but typically it’s all highly controlled.”
“Top Gun: Maverick” isn’t the first high-profile gig on LaRosa’s resume. He’s worked on various Marvel movies, including “The Avengers,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Captain Marvel,” as well as the “Iron Man” and “Captain America” movies. Others include “The Gray Man,” “Jumanji,” “Godzilla” and “Transformers: The Last Knight.”
LaRosa’s career is inspired by his father, who is also an accomplished motion picture stunt pilot and aerial coordinator. LaRosa’s father was with him at EAA last week.
Although this was the father-son duo’s first time at AirVenture, they’re no strangers to Wisconsin — they’re both diehard fans of the Green Bay Packers. Despite growing up in southern California, LaRosa loved Brett Favre and regularly made the trip to Lambeau Field.
“(I’m) a little busy these days to follow football like I used to but (I’m) still through and through a Packers guy,” LaRosa said.
Contact Brad Star at bstar@postcrescent.com. Follow him on Twitter at @byBradStar.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Stunt pilot from 'Top Gun: Maverick,' Marvel visits EAA AirVenture
