"Good Morning, Vietnam" - The machine gun talk that revived Robin Williams from his slump

In 1965, the Vietnam War was becoming a quagmire, and terrorism by the Viet Cong was becoming more frequent in Saigon. Under such circumstances, the US military radio station in Saigon invited a popular DJ from Crete, Greece, to boost the morale of the soldiers. Air Force Corporal Adrian Kronnauer. As soon as he arrived, he ignored the military's recommended songs and immediately captured the hearts of the soldiers with his risqué jokes and machine gun talk, along with shouting "Good morning, Vietnam!!" However, he was considered dangerous by the military higher-ups.

Index

• A heavily revised script written by a real DJ
• Robin Williams' performance
• A life-saving work
• Even if I don't win an Oscar

A heavily revised script written by a real DJ

In filmmaking, it is common for facts to be skillfully rewritten to suit the audience's tastes. This is the case with Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robin Williams. The original draft of the screenplay was written by Adrian Cronnauer, a DJ at the US military radio station AFRS, who was the inspiration for the main character, and was written based on his own experiences. The original script, written in 1979, was revised several times, and then more than half of it was rewritten when Robin Williams was chosen to play the lead role. According to Williams' biography, about 45% of the information about Cronnauer is correct. Some say it's only 5%.

Let me explain a little bit. For example, there is a scene where Kronnauer falls in love at first sight with a girl wearing an ao dai he sees on the streets of Saigon soon after arriving, and steals her bicycle and chases after her. There is also a scene where Kronnauer stands at the podium teaching an English class run by the US military to promote exchanges with Vietnamese people, and confuses the students by using street slang. And there is a scene where the jeep carrying Kronnauer, who wants to be a DJ, is overturned by a bomb planted by the Viet Cong. According to Kronnauer, all of these were fabricated stories for the plot, and did not actually happen to him. "If those things were true, I would still be in Leavenworth," he says.

Above all, the biggest change in the final draft was the characterization of Kronnauer. Williams' character Kronnauer continues to do reckless things outside the DJ booth, forges a friendship with a local boy who he doesn't know is a Viet Cong, and is deeply hurt when he faces reality. From the military's perspective, he is a typical rebel. On the other hand, the real Kronnauer was a staunch Republican who became a lawyer after being honorably discharged from the military and served as vice chairman of George W. Bush's reelection campaign in the 2004 presidential election.

*Leavenworth is home to the United States Military Prison, the United States Department of Corrections (USDB).

Robin Williams' performance