Full Metal Jacket discarded that in favor of a film about the Vietnam War. They met in England, and the director told Herr that he wanted to do a war film but had yet to find a story to adapt. Kubrick discovered Gustav Hasford's novel "The Short-Timers" (1979) while reading the "Virginia Kirkus Review." Herr received it in bound galleys and thought that it was a masterpiece. In 1982, Kubrick read the novel twice, concluding that it "was a unique, absolutely wonderful book", and decided, along with Herr, to adapt it for his next film. According to Kubrick, he was drawn to the
Full Metal Jacket the dynamic range of the music was too great, and we couldn't work in dialogue". A single "Full Metal Jacket (I Wanna Be Your Drill Instructor)", credited to Mead and Nigel Goulding, was released to promote the film. It incorporates Ermey's drill cadences from the film. The single reached number two in the UK pop charts. "Full Metal Jacket" received a limited release on June 26, 1987, in 215 theaters. Its opening weekend saw it accrue $2,217,307, an average of $10,313 per theater, ranking it the number 10 film for the June 26–28 weekend. It took a further $2,002,890 for