The wild BTS story of Francis Ford Coppola’s 45-year-old war film cries out for a miniseries

The making of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War masterpiece Apocalypse now would make for a convincing TV miniseries. Screenwriter John Milius, the real-life inspiration for The Big LebowskiThe character Walter Sobchak was reinterpreted after Joseph Conrad’s classic novella from 1899. Heart of Darkness as the ultimate war film. Milius swapped Conrad’s setting in the late 19th century Congo for the battlefields of Vietnam. He swapped Conrad’s story of a steamboat captain who heads upriver to meet the mysterious Kurtz for the story of a disillusioned soldier who heads upriver to assassinate the mysterious Colonel Kurtz, who has amassed a cult following deep in the jungle.

Apocalypse now is a thrilling story that tells Captain Willard’s dark odyssey through the horrors of war with stunning imagery and a truly epic scope. But the story of how the film was made is arguably just as compelling. Not only did it famously go way over budget and schedule; Coppola fired his leading actor and a civil war ensued. Paramount+ dramatized the production of another Coppola film, an obscure little movie called The Godfatherin its limited series The offerBut the production of Apocalypse now would have made a much more exciting miniseries.

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The problematic production of Apocalypse Now would be perfect for a miniseries

Apocalypse Now is one of the most notorious productions in film history

The production of Apocalypse now took place in the Philippines and Filming was planned for five months, but ultimately lasted over a year. Extreme weather conditions destroyed many expensive sets. Coppola fired his original lead actor Harvey Keitel in the middle of filming and replaced him with Martin Sheen, who suffered a near-fatal heart attack on location. Marlon Brando showed up on set completely unprepared for his role. And then there was the small matter of a real civil war raging in the country they were filming in.

Apocalypse now In May 1977, filming finally wrapped, but the problems were not over yet. Coppola kept delaying the release date as he compulsively edited more than a million feet of footage. It is one of the wildest behind-the-scenes stories in film historyand after all the chaos, Coppola created a true masterpiece. Apocalypse now (in its original form, anyway) is one of the greatest films of all time. All that drama and chaos – to create something beautiful and profound – is such an incredible story that it makes for gripping television.

Why the production of Apocalypse Now is still so fascinating

Hearts of Darkness immortalized this wild behind-the-scenes odyssey

At the time of publication, production of Apocalypse now was the subject of much debate in the press. But even today, decades later, it is still a fascinating topic of conversation among film fans. When a great film comes out, curious cinephiles want to know how it was made. Mad Max: Fury RoadThe journey from development hell to a Best Picture nomination is a classic underdog story. The story of the mechanical shark that escaped on the set of The White shark is interesting because it required the ultimately most ingenious part of Steven Spielberg’s approach.

But Apocalypse now is a special case, because the story is so incredible and overwhelming that it would still be exciting even if the film itself were forgettableFascination for the demanding production of Apocalypse now was only strengthened when the documentary Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse – one of the most iconic making-of documentaries of all time – was released in 1991. It consists of footage shot by Eleanor Coppola on the set of Apocalypse now, Hearts of Darkness tells the story of an obsessed genius who wants to realize his ambitious, uncoordinated cinematic vision at any cost.

Paramount has already made the offer – The story of The Godfather

Paramount chose the wrong Coppola production for the miniseries

Paramount has already set a precedent for producing a Coppola masterpiece to be turned into a TV miniseries. It has already released the making of The Godfather in a limited series called The offer. Although The offer was supposed to be a wild, gritty Hollywood drama that captured the height of the new Hollywood, but it ended up being a disappointment. The actors are really strong and round out the ensemble – especially Matthew Goode as Robert Evans – but the script is weak. It is burdened by pointless subplots and the references to show business insiders cannot carry the whole series.

If the streaming numbers for The offer were strong enough to allow a future for the series, then the making of Apocalypse now would provide a solid foundation for a second season. The offer already cast some of the main roles for a Apocalypse now-centric Season 2: Dan Fogler as Francis Ford Coppola; Justin Chambers as Marlon Brando; Derek Magyar as Robert Duvall. The basis for the chaotic production of Apocalypse now be turned into a miniseries. Paramount just needs to find better writers.

Apocalypse now

In Francis Ford Coppola’s classic Vietnam War film, loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, an Army captain is tasked with assassinating a renegade colonel who has established a cult-like compound in the Cambodian jungle and is currently waging his own war outside of the Army’s sphere of influence. Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando play Captain Willard and Colonel Kurtz, respectively, with an ensemble cast that includes Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne and Dennis Hopper.

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Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne