Willard and the PBR crew rendezvous with the 1/9 AirCav, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) for transport to the Nung River. He initially refuses their request for transport until Kilgore, a keen surfer, is told by one of his men that Lance Johnson, a professional surfer, is a member of the boat’s crew. Kilgore befriends Johnson, and later learns from one of his men that the beach down the coast which marks the opening to the river is perfect for surfing.

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According to Dennis Hopper, the production was shut down for a week while Coppola read Brando the script out loud. Nine-hundred people, the cast and crew, just sat and waited! One day, suddenly, Brando shaved all his hair off and arrived at the idea of improvising his scenes and letting Coppola’s camera capture whatever came out of his mouth. Self-conscious about his killer-whale appearance, Brando also stipulated that he dress in black and for the most part be filmed in shadow. Coppola agreed to steer his camera away from his enormous belly.