Tom Cruise Honors ‘Top Gun’ Co-Star Val Kilmer With Moment of Silence at CinemaCon: ‘I Wish You Well on the Next Journey’

variety.com:

Tom Cruise paid tribute to his “Top Gun” co-star Val Kilmer, who died on Tuesday at the age of 65. Cruise attended CinemaCon, the annual convention of movie theater owners, to hype up “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” which opens in cinemas over the summer.

But before he got started, he asked the crowd of exhibitors to join him in a moment of silence for Kilmer. “I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honored I was when he joined ‘Top Gun’ and came back later for ‘Top Gun: Maverick,'” Cruise said from the stage. “I think it would be really nice if we could just have a moment together, because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us.

Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.” Cruise concluded the moment of silence by saying, “I wish you well on the next journey.” Cruise and Kilmer met on the set of 1986’s “Top Gun,” in which they played Maverick and Iceman, rivals-turned-friends at the U.S.

Navy’s Fighter Weapons School. “Top Gun” was a huge commercial success, earning $350 million globally — the highest-grossing film of the year — and making Cruise and Kilmer full-blown movie stars.