 George Lucas (qv) was originally set to direct "Apocalypse Now"  from a screenplay by John Milius (qv). Lucas initial plan was to  shoot the movie as a faux documentary on location in South Vietnam  while the war was still in progress. Francis Ford Coppola (qv),  who was to be the executive producer, tried to get the film made as  part of a production deal with Warner Bros. The deal fell through,  and Coppola went on to direct _Godfather, The (1972)_ (qv). By the  time both men were powerful enough to get the film made, Saigon had  fallen and Lucas was busy making _Star Wars (1977)_ (qv). Milius had  no interest in directing the film. Lucas gave Coppola his blessing  to direct the film himself.