Speaking of Top Gun 2 I just heard on the news that those are real FA-18 planes being flown in the film. The movie producers paid the Navy $11,500 an hour to rent them. Needless to say that the actors were not actually flying the planes, however they did get to sit in the back seat of the jet and had to become qualified on how to use the injection seat in an emergency. I bet it would be cheaper to make a film with a gaggle of BSAs as a prop in the movie.
Not every shot is real. The combat manoeuvres in the film, aside from being unrealistic almost certainly exceed every operational "prohibited manoeuvre" rule the Navy has and would not be permitted with real F18's.
As for the actors, Cruise himself is a very experienced pilot, even owns a restored P51, but almost certainly will not be F18 endorsed.
Cost-wise, $11500 is approximately the cost of fuel for an hour in an F18 in cruise. So the navy is basically charging for fuel used. That fuel cost can go up radically, an F18 using after burner could use 72000 lbs of fuel an hour though you are never on afterburner for sustained periods and the F18 typically only holds 14000 lbs max fuel anyway.
A good review by a couple of real world fighter pilots with time in Tomcats and Hornets (take away best quote
"even if the plot is stupid, if I like nothing else abut this movie ... it's jet porn " :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMkHUzGI_P8