Gustav Hasford

Gustav Hasford was an American writer. His semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers was the basis of the film Full Metal Jacket. Born in Russellville, Alabama, Hasford joined the United States Marine Corps in 1967 and served as a combat correspondent during the Vietnam War. Hasford associated with various science fiction writers of the 1970s , had works published in magazines and anthologies such as Space and Time and Damon Knight's Orbit series, and briefly shared an apartment with author Harlan Ellison. In 1978, Hasford attended the Milford Writer's Workshop and met veteran science... fiction author Frederik Pohl, who was then an editor at Bantam Books. At Pohl's suggestion, Hasford submitted The Short-Timers, and Pohl promptly bought it for Bantam. The Short-Timers became a best-seller, and was adapted into the 1987 feature film Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay was written by Hasford, Kubrick, and screenwriter Michael Herr, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
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